2012 Cheltenham Day Four Tips and Preview: Vincent O'Brien Handicap

One of the festival's deepest fields is set to contest the 2012 Vincent O'Brien Handicap and there's a lot to like about this race – mostly because you'll find bookmakers paying five or even six places on this epic cavalry charge.

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Down at the bottom end of the handicap, Citizenship looks to be taking plenty of action at an 8/1 price tag while Magnifique Etoile is going to get bet down from the 14/1 price available at the moment. It will be interesting going forward into this contest with punters expected to focus on longer-odds each-way bets than single digit favourites.

Both Ubi Ace and Raya Star bridge the gap a bit with 12/1 listings and both horses looking credible for this one. Ubi Ace in particular started brightly but has been a bit unlucky in his last two – many expect he's been aimed at this one for a while and should kick on well to get the score here. He's done well carrying a lot of weight before and gets a bit of a break based on those two losses.

Raya Star turns out for Alan King's yard and the pace in the race shouldn't be much to worry about. The key race for him is the 2nd last when winning at listed level over the distance at Ascot. While it's not as testing as Cheltenham there is still plenty of verifiable form coming out of the race and 12/1 seems a reasonable price.

It's a race that is heavily dependent on positioning and race shape – a horses ability to move through traffic is absolutely critical.

VERDICT:

Raya Star to outrun the odds and land at 12/1 – back Ubi Ace in the place markets while 25/1 Lifestyle should not be ignored if you're looking for an each-way option. Check the connections.