Chatterbox £10w @ 25/1 (NRFB)
Felix Yonger £25w @ 91/10
Champagne Fever £20w @ 7/1 (NRFB)
Wonderful Charm £10w @ 7/1 (NRFB)
Wonderful Charm £15w @ 7/1
I'm not particularly happy with my position in this race. I preferred Felix Yonger for the Arkle and Wonderful Charm in the RSA. Felix Yonger is a ground dependant horse and the way it's looking I can't see underfoot conditions suiting whatever race he goes for. He'd be better off waiting for Aintree and my bet(s) on him were premature. The likely gound is a bonus for Wonderful Charm as I think he's a three miler so his stamina reserves will be key. The race looks quite deep on paper but I don't rate any of the others. Taquin Du Seuil just doesn't jump well enough, looking awkward at times. Oscar Whisky has looked reasonable in small fields but Wonderful Charm is a more progressive horse and is weighted to beat him on their run at Cheltenham in mid December. Bottom line is I have the two best jumpers in the race and ground conditions will suit at least one of them.
Ryanair:
Al Ferof £20w @ 20/1 (NRFB)
Al Ferof £45w @ 65/10 (NRNB)
Cue Card £15w @ 52/10
I was really pleased with Al Ferof's run at the weekend. It wasn't a race that suited him and the decision to pull him out of the Gold Cup and go for the Ryanair is great for me. It's amazing to think BetVictor were offering 20/1 about him for this race back in the Autumn. What were they thinking? Yes, he needed to prove himself after missing most of last season through injury but Paul Nicholls is a genius at getting chasers back off the easy list. Al Ferof is the very definition of a Cheltenham horse. His best two runs both came at this track in big field competitive events. I'm hoping Sprinter Sacre turns up for the Queen Mother as that could result in the odd horse running in this and the more runners and better pace we get the better. I have read murmurs to the effect that he has yet to prove himself after his time on the sideline but I don't buy it. His run at Ascot was virtually a schooling session, he hated Kempton where he never got into a jumping rhythm and small field events like the Denman Chase at Newbury do not play to the horse's strengths. I remember attending Aintree a couple of years back and successfully opposing him with Menorah in the five runner Manifesto. The Ryanair will suit Al Ferof perfectly and he would be my nap of the meeting at this stage.
World Hurdle:
Monksland £10w @ 24/1
Rule The World £20ew @ 20/1 (NRNB)
I haven't got a clue what has happened to Monksland. No news on entries or any possible injury problems have been forthcoming and I would think it's unlikely he'll turn up now.
My enthusiasm for Rule The World has waned a tad recently. Nothing to do with the horse, but it does look as if Annie Power will be going for the World Hurdle and that makes his task a lot harder. I think he has the right profile for the race despite looking a promising future chaser last season. He ran a cracker in the Neptune behind the top class The New One and his master trainer Mouse Morris has brought him along this season to peak at the Festival. Something he has done numerous times in the past. I can't see Big Buck's being anywhere near his best at eleven years of age and it is very possible he will bounce after the hard race he had in the Cleeve Hurdle. He won't even start favourite if Annie Power does show up and she looks bombproof to my eyes. She runs like she'll stay this trip no bother. All the rest are running for place money but I'm very hopeful Rule The World can chase her home.
Triumph Hurdle:
Fox Norton £15ew @ 25/1 (NRFB)
Le Rocher £25w @ 10/1
Despite Al Ferof being my nap of the meeting if I could choose just one winner over the four days I'd go for one of these fellas. I've been following the Nick Williams stable for half a dozen years now and he's yet to have a Festival winner. But he has such a strong group of young hurdlers and Fox Norton and Le Rocher look the pick of them at this stage. The Triumph is usually my sort of race and naturally I'm a bit biased with these two animals but Le Rocher has won a couple of graded races and clearly has the best form of all the contenders at the moment. Fox Norton is a different type being a flat bred horse and he hasn't run since mid December but his form with Royal Irish Hussar was franked at the weekend in Ireland and he's still attractively priced.
Albert Bartlett Novices'
Briar Hill £20w @ 6/1
This horse has an enormous engine and Cheltenham brings out the best of him. I initially thought he'd be going for the Neptune but the stable prefer Faugheen for that. I imagine that is down to Briar Hill not being the best of workers. But he powered up the hill last season when winning the Champion Bumper and like Champagne Fever the year before he's the type to return and win again. King's Palace looks a formidable opponent and I'm not taking him lightly but his lack of a prep race is a negative given his skinny odds. The makke-up of this race isn't cut and dry just yet but it tends to be less competitive than the two other grade 1 novices' and Briar Hill will be so hard to beat.
Gold Cup:
I was very taken with Last Instalment last weekend when he comfortably won the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown. Off the track for a couple of years I didn't expect him such an epic return to form and although his legs are a worry given his problems he's a fair punt at 10/1 NRNB with his trainer unlikely to risk him unless the ground is safe. I was at Leopardstown when he won the Topaz in 2011 and I backed him to beat First Lieutenant purely on the way he looked in the paddock that day. He's a proper staying chaser and if he runs Bob's Worth will have a battle to retain his crown on his hands.
Non-Runners - Total of £34 lost
£1 Lucky 15:
Irving (Supreme) 12/1
My Tent or Yours (CH) 4/1
Briar Hill (Albert Bartlett) 6/1
Bob's Worth (Gold Cup) 9/4
£10 Each Way Doubles:
The Tullow Tank (Supreme) and Faugheen (Neptune) 10/1 and 9/2
Our Conor (Champion Hurdle) and Mendip Express (Nat' Hunt Chase) 5/1 and 8/1
Carlingford Lough (RSA) and Al Ferof (Ryanair) 14/1 and 6/1
Fox Norton £15ew @ 25/1 (NRFB)
Le Rocher £25w @ 10/1
Despite Al Ferof being my nap of the meeting if I could choose just one winner over the four days I'd go for one of these fellas. I've been following the Nick Williams stable for half a dozen years now and he's yet to have a Festival winner. But he has such a strong group of young hurdlers and Fox Norton and Le Rocher look the pick of them at this stage. The Triumph is usually my sort of race and naturally I'm a bit biased with these two animals but Le Rocher has won a couple of graded races and clearly has the best form of all the contenders at the moment. Fox Norton is a different type being a flat bred horse and he hasn't run since mid December but his form with Royal Irish Hussar was franked at the weekend in Ireland and he's still attractively priced.
Albert Bartlett Novices'
Briar Hill £20w @ 6/1
This horse has an enormous engine and Cheltenham brings out the best of him. I initially thought he'd be going for the Neptune but the stable prefer Faugheen for that. I imagine that is down to Briar Hill not being the best of workers. But he powered up the hill last season when winning the Champion Bumper and like Champagne Fever the year before he's the type to return and win again. King's Palace looks a formidable opponent and I'm not taking him lightly but his lack of a prep race is a negative given his skinny odds. The makke-up of this race isn't cut and dry just yet but it tends to be less competitive than the two other grade 1 novices' and Briar Hill will be so hard to beat.
Gold Cup:
Sir Des Champs £15w @ 10/1 (NRFB)
Last Instalment £13ew @ 10/1
Last Instalment £13ew @ 10/1
I was very taken with Last Instalment last weekend when he comfortably won the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown. Off the track for a couple of years I didn't expect him such an epic return to form and although his legs are a worry given his problems he's a fair punt at 10/1 NRNB with his trainer unlikely to risk him unless the ground is safe. I was at Leopardstown when he won the Topaz in 2011 and I backed him to beat First Lieutenant purely on the way he looked in the paddock that day. He's a proper staying chaser and if he runs Bob's Worth will have a battle to retain his crown on his hands.
Non-Runners - Total of £34 lost
£1 Lucky 15:
Irving (Supreme) 12/1
My Tent or Yours (CH) 4/1
Briar Hill (Albert Bartlett) 6/1
Bob's Worth (Gold Cup) 9/4
£10 Each Way Doubles:
The Tullow Tank (Supreme) and Faugheen (Neptune) 10/1 and 9/2
Our Conor (Champion Hurdle) and Mendip Express (Nat' Hunt Chase) 5/1 and 8/1
Carlingford Lough (RSA) and Al Ferof (Ryanair) 14/1 and 6/1
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