1:15 Cheltenham
Fingal Bay sets the standard here as far as chasing goes with a good win over Tiger O'Toole at Chepstow first time out. This however is a much better race and he must give weight to 2 main rivals. Dynaste is one of them, and last years top class staying hurdler now tries his hand at chasing. If he jumps a fence as well as he did a hurdle, he should have no problem making his presence felt. But with himself being an unknown quantity, Fingal Bay not doing much in front and the other two not looking good enough. I will take a chance with Paul Nicholls' representative, Unioniste, whose win at Aintree was no more than workmanlike. Darryl Jacob didnt really ask him for maximum effort until very late on however and in truth it was pretty comfortable. There were alot of fences shut off that day which will have held him back, as jumping looks his forte. Carlito Brigante was a long way behind then and he still receives weight for age from the top two. One last positive is that Cheltenham will be much more to his liking as he will eventually need further, but for now this is fine.
1:50 Cheltenham - Free World
Arthur Moore has one runner here all weekend with this ex Paul Nicholls inmate. He has more letters than numbers beside his name, but on his best form should take the beating, he was also still in contention when coming down 5 out in the Grand Annual. Davy Russell takes the ride and back on much preferred going, it'd surprise me were he not to find something near his best. Back in his Novice year he was beaten a neck by Araldur at Sandown, doing so he ran a faster time than Master Minded on the same day. He was then tried at the highest company but lost his way a tad, yet he still remains more than useful on his day and should be close up at the end.
2:25 Cheltenham - Duke Of Navan
Dodging Bullets looks the part here and the others could be playing for minor money after firmly putting Baby Mix and Hi Note in their places. Duke Of Navan looks to be the best each way bet and is probably too big of a price at 14/1. He was beaten 16 lengths by River Maigue in a bumper last year but pulled too hard that day and looked much improved when romping home at Newcastle last time out. He has the fitness edge over the Henderson representative today and could outdo Tominator in the jumping department. In my opinion he is the biggest threat to the favourite, again for Davy Russell and this time Nicky Richards.
3:00 Cheltenham - Sizing Australia
Henry De Bromhead's charge doesn't know how to run a bad race here and after a recent run over hurdles at Naas will have blown the cobwebs away. The connections of course had a winner yesterday with Sizing Europe romping the Clonmel Oil Chase as expected. This different destination named Sizing could well be another for the stable and owners. Should be one to go close and has a huge chance today.
3:35 Cheltenham - Coffee
As im writing this (4am England time, 8pm Vancouver time) there has been strong support for Titan De Sarti in this race. Jonjo O'Neill has been hit and miss early on this year with his string, but Coffee has been in good heart excluding his last race at Fontwell. Maurice Linehan rides Prestbury Park well and takes off a valuable 6 pounds taking the weight down to 11-1. With others in the field not in the best of form, the price currently offered for the selection looks too big (10/1 up to 14/1). As long as he can forget his last effort he should continue his progress this season and turn in another good effort.
4:05 Cheltenham - Jamsie Hall
This is one of the stronger bets of the day after turning in a good effort last time here behind Nadiya De La Vega. He managed fourth that day and was best of the hold up horses after the three front ones got away. It was no Surprise to see him staying on strongly at the end of the day last time as it was a trip far too short. the return to three miles will be right up his street after a fourth in the Kerry National earlier this year. Some of you may remember today's pilot from his Cheltenham festival winning ride aboard Character Building in 09. That is when he burst onto the scene and has remained an Amateur since, also being one of the best Amateurs in the game. He won the Kim Muir that day and has continued to ride at the top level in following years. The biggest threat to Jamsie Hall is the novice There's No Panic who is unbeaten this year.
That concludes day one at Cheltenham, but one horse I expect to go well at Newcastle is the fantastically named Lukie (wonder why?). He will have matured no end over the summer after being green in his first two bumpers. Should be an attractive price.
I will do my best to get a blog up tomorrow, but before I go today. My ten to follow this year are:
Ambion Wood (stable star)
Big Bucks
For Non Stop
Flemenstar
Cue Card
Pique Sous
Champagne Fever
Grandouet
Captain Conan
Sanctuaire
Happy Punting guys
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