2011 Cheltenham Festival Marquee Match-Ups Part Two

We're back with another look at two other major match-ups in this year's Cheltenham Festival. 

Master Minded vs Big Zeb

Two genuine chasing sensations are set to square off in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and Master Minded, the younger of the two contenders, will be looking to simultaneously avenge his loss to Big Zeb last year and retain an undefeated record for this particular campaign. Master Minded took the Grade 1 Tingle Creek with Noel Fehily up back in mid-December and, with last year’s loss being the solitary blemish on his festival record, he’ll be nearly unbeatable if he can rediscover the chasing form he showed back in 2009. You can generally tell what type of mood he’s in once he jumps the first fence – a big, bold jump will be a clear indication that he’s raring to go. Look for him to track the leaders.

Big Zeb must prove that last year wasn’t a one-off. He has run three times in Ireland this season and was mugged near the line by Golden Silver in his most recent effort at Punchestown. He will likely look to recreate something similar to the trip he got last year when he pretty much went right to the front and was able to stay in touch for the entire race. From a ratings stand-point, he will struggle to match Master Minded should the French-bred gelding if he produces anything less than a career-best. It’s worth noting that since he took the Cheltenham victory last year, he is averaging 174 from his previous high of 164.

Kauto Star vs Denman vs Imperial Commander

It has to be acknowledged that Denman didn’t really look up to standard in his solitary effort this year, despite hitting a career-high rating while finishing third. The eleven year-old son of Presenting has now banked over £1,000,000 – putting him in a very distinct group. He was pushed extremely far last year by Imperial Commander but was still miles ahead of Mon Mome at the end. The key for Denman looks to be running a mistake-free race. He’s been his own worst enemy in that regard and he’ll be required to jump fluently and not track wide at crucial points in the race. One wonders whether this is the right choice for the eleven year-old.

Imperial Commander has only been out once this year as well and he notched a stellar 185 for his quality run at Haydock back in November. He’s been laid-off for an awful long time but did impress on a racecourse gallop not long ago. This is his chance to show that he belongs at this level and he teeters precariously on the precipice of history – another gold cup win would force punters to look at IC in a dramatically different context. His 7/2 price shows that punters may have learned their lesson after backing Kauto so heavily last year. There isn’t a huge amount to indicate that he’s going to run away with is one – but then again there wasn’t last year either.

Kauto Star remains the big variable here and he’ll be looking to avenge both his loss to IC last year and his disappointing third place to Long Run when he was contesting an unprecedented fourth King George VI on the bounce. He’ll have Ruby Walsh back for this one and Ruby’s form in the first three days of the festival will likely influence Kauto Star’s price once again. He’s shown his Cheltenham acumen in the past and there are still questions about whether he was truly fit or not for that King George tilt. A fresh and game Kauto Star will be a difficult challenge for any chaser, but one wonders how many hearts will be in throats when he tackles the eigth fence. There is probably a lot of in-race money waiting on him all based off a clean and game-looking jump on the first fence. Ominously, his price has shortened to as low as 9/2.