The Cheltenham
Festival is nearly upon us, and as usual there has been a lot of
discussion around the horses that will be clashing in the four big
races of the festival. In years gone by, we have seen Irish dominance
in both these four races and the festival as a whole. However,
this year, things look to be set up differently. The English
trainers, led by Nicky Henderson, appear to have great chances in all
four of the Championship races, and there looks to be a very good
chance of all four titles remaining in England.
The Champion
Hurdle
The feature of
day one is the Champion Hurdle, a race over two miles to test both
the speed and jumping ability of horses.
Last
year’s champion Buveur D’Air is back to defend his crown, and
right now there appears to be no danger to him. The Nicky Henderson
trained seven-year-old has sauntered through this season, winning all
three of his races without being challenged. The one worry about him
may be that he has not had enough preparation, and hasn’t been
tested since this race last season. However, Nicky Henderson is a man
who knows what he is doing, and he is sure to have thought of this,
and ensured there is enough work in Buveur D’Air to get him in top
shape on the day.
Opposition to
Buveur D’Air is thin on the ground, with Faugheen looking to be the
likeliest to pounce on any sub-par effort from the favourite.
However, he has been nowhere near his best recently, and it is likely
that he will either go very close, or be tailed off, which would be a
disappointing sight. That leaves My Tent Or Yours as the one most
likely to chase home Buveur D’Air, potentially giving Nicky
Henderson a one-two in the race.
The Champion
Chase
The Champion
Chase tells a similar story to the Champion Hurdle. We have a Nicky
Henderson favourite, and a Willie Mullins trained challenger who has
had problems in the past. The Henderson horse is Altior, and the
Willie Mullins horse is Douvan. Altior is potentially a very special
horse, and last season he put in a great performance to win the Arkle
Chase. He’s had his problems over the summer, but has been given
time to return and was mightily impressive when he did come back,
beating Politologue with ease despite not being fully fit. We could
be seeing another Sprinter Sacre with Altior, he really could be that
special and at just eight, he is in the prime of his life right now.
The main
challenger to Altior will be Douvan if he runs - if not, it will
be the other Willie Mullins horse, Min. Douvan was a very short
priced favourite to win this race last season, but injured himself
during the race to finish nearer last than first. We have not seen
him since that run, and it is going to take a monumental effort from
Willie Mullins to get him back and beating Altior. However, if there
is a man that can do that, then Willie Mullins would be top of the
list. Should Douvan not make it then Min would be the clear second
favourite, although he has a lot to find on form with Altior,
something that looks like being too much for him to turn around.
Providing we
don’t have any scares with the favourite, it is likely that after
the Champion Chase, Nicky Henderson will have won both of the big
races so far at the 2018 festival.
The Stayers
Hurdle
The Stayers
Hurdle looks to be the best betting heat out of the four big races
this season, with a wide open feel to it. Opinions vary on this race,
but there is one horse in the field who could still be improving and
eventually turn out to be a lot better than his rivals, and that is
Sam Spinner. He will have to do this the hard way, because he loves
to race from the front, something that will be very difficult for him
to do. However, it is impossible to not be impressed by his upward
curve this season, he looks to be a superstar in the making, though
this is his toughest step so far.
His main rival
in the betting appears to be Supasundae who is currently edging
favouritism for the race. He is an Irish raider who will be tested by
the stiff three miles here. This is a big step up from the two miles
he faced last time out, and his challenge hinges on whether he will
stay the trip or not. If he does stay then he has to be respected,
but that is not a certainty. With many others having each way
chances, including Nicky Henderson’s L’Ami Serge, this is a great
betting heat, and it may be the ideal opportunity to take advantage
of a Paddy Power risk-free £20 bet, or one of the
free
bets from Timeform.
The Gold Cup
The final big
race of the meeting takes place on the final day of the festival and
it is the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Nicky Henderson looks sure to be
involved in this race as he has the current favourite Might Bite
aimed at the race, an enigmatic horse, but
one
who won at the festival last season. Whether he will stay the
trip of three miles and two furlongs on likely soft ground is the big
question mark against him. Fellow English challenger Native River is
the second favourite, and he has no such question marks by the side
of his name. He is a great jumper, with a willing attitude,
guaranteed to stay and will like the soft ground - there is
plenty going in his favour here.
Elsewhere, many
people will be looking for each way bets in the race as they look to
find value and Definitly Red, a northern challenger is one to
consider. Like Native River, he will like the ground, and is sure to
stay the trip - he could surprise a few at a big price and pick
up at least a place. He was very impressive round Cheltenham last
time out, and deserves this step up to the top level.
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