The second day of the Cheltenham Festival is headlined by the Champion Chase where, much like the Champion Hurdle on the first day of the meeting, we have a pretty unopposable odds on shot. Indeed, the Wednesday card is littered with odds on pokes.
They all look unopposable and with doubts over whether the Cross Country will pass an inspection to go ahead, we are left with few true betting possibilities. There are a couple of handicaps on the card though and we’ve picked out three selections for them.
2.50 Cheltenham: Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle
Preview
24 runners for the typically difficult to solve Coral Cup & whilst a long priced winner is not uncommon, the market leaders look relatively solid this year. Langer Dan, last year’s winner, hasn’t been in form but if ever there was a plot horse, he appears to be the one. He cannot be backed on form but back off the same mark & allegedly ‘coming into form’, it would be no surprise if he doubled up. Built By Ballymore is in form, makes his handicap debut & would be a deserved winner for a trainer that’s had the runner up in the race for the last 2 years. Sa Majeste is hard to ignore but Mullins has a poor record in the race whilst Doddiethegreat would be more feared if the Henderson horses were in form.
Betting
We’d normally have 2 bets in this but the only one with solid claims is JIGORO. The trainer has a good record in the race & his horses ran well on Day 1 without success. He’s just a 5 year old with 1 win from his 4 starts but there’s enough to suggest he’s ready to strike. He won a 26 runner maiden hurdle on heavy ground when travelling well & quickening up nicely before finishing behind top novices Mystical Power & Tullyhill. He had been entered in this & the Martin Pipe so it’s clear they believe he’s ready & in need of this step up in trip whilst all his runs have come on very soft ground. His age group have a good record in the race as they are typically hard to handicap & a mark of 141 could prove lenient. It would be surprising if this isn’t run to suit & provided the trip is within range, which it’s expected to be, we make him the best bet of Day 2.
Tips
Back JIGORO (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 15.00 William Hill BOG (⅕ odds 1-6)
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3.30 Cheltenham: Queen Mother Champion Chase
The second Championship race to have a long odds favourite & again, I can’t see the Mullins hotpot getting beat. El Fabiolo, last year’s Arkle winner, is 6 from 6 over fences & it’s hard to see him being beaten here. Perhaps the one that would have given him most to do is Jonbon but Day 1 did nothing to allay the fears of the stable’s wellbeing so cannot be backed with any confidence. Edwardstone, Captain Guinness & Elixir De Nutz can battle out minor honours but ultimately I expect the favourite to add to the Day 1 success of Paul Townend & Willie Mullins.
4.50 Cheltenham: Grand Annual Handicap Chase
Preview
With 3 spaces not filled, there’s a field of 17 for this 2 mile chase where jumping is at a premium. Evan Williams has the favourite in Libberty Hunter given he’s won his last 2 but his mark continues to rise & he’s prone to a mistake which won’t be easily forgiven in this. Last year’s winner, Maskada, won’t go down without a fight especially as he beat Dinoblue 12 months ago & has since finished behind the likes of El Fabiolo & Allegorie De Vassy. We are going double handed in this.
Betting
HARDY DU SEUIL is the first selection. Hailing from a yard coming into form, and arguably the jockey of the season from these shores aboard, there are certainly positives from that side. Form wise, he’s 2 from 8 over fences with a further 3 second placed finishes & he did run a good race on his only start of the season when 3rd of 9 at Sandown on rain softened ground. He had a campaign over hurdles last term but previous to that, he finished second 3 times off higher marks than he faces today & won off just 3lbs lower. He handles all sorts of ground & has shown winning form on heavy when trained in France so the conditions won’t be an issue. Only a 7 year old, he should have plenty of improvement in him & I fancy him to run a big race.
The second bet is SOLNESS who looks overpriced on account of his recent form over fences. 3 wins and 3 seconds from 8 starts over fences is almost enough to recommend but there’s some substance to that form too. He won a Listed Handicap 2 starts ago albeit off a 10lb lower Irish mark but followed that up with a 3rd in the big Handicap at the Dublin Racing Festival in February behind 2 of today’s rivals. Not only is he much better off at the weights but he stayed on well near the line, raced very wide which, to me, was a negative & made a couple of mistakes, one on the approach to the straight. He’s normally a very good jumper & with the hard in very good form, including a winner on Day 1 of the Festival, he looks a cracking each way bet.
Tips
Back HARDY DU SEUIL (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 Boylesports BOG (⅕ odds 1-5)#
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Back SOLNESS (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 19.00 William Hill BOG (⅕ odds 1-5)
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