Cheltenham Bankers Pt 1

Now that Cheltenham is only a few short weeks away we are really seeing the ante post markets getting down to business as price fluctuations are becoming the order of the day and entries are firmed up for the first stage of their spring festival campaigns. A number of top contenders are in the reckoning for the four day battle in the Cotswalds and plenty will be anticipating the fact that so many key races are absolutely wide open this time around. 

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There are usually a few very pronounced bankers heading into festival time and, right now, it appears as though only one contender looms as an odds-on choice and even that one has been proven to be beaten this year as well. 

Sprinter Sacre has long been the talk of the chasing scene and his last run this season saw him pulled up at 2/9 in the Desert Orchid Chase - his only start of the entire campaign. He will be coming into Cheltenham ready to roll according to Nicky Henderson and that PU looms as the only blemish on his past performance since losing the Supreme Novices to Al Ferof back in March of 2011. 

Unbeaten in eleven starts since then, he was pulled up by Barry Geraghty at the seventh after never really looking comfortable. The highest rated jumper in the land now looms as a mere mortal again the French-bred son of Network is available at around 1.5 with most major bookmakers. His only real challenger here looks to be the one who was able to scoop up the spoils of the last race when he was pulled up - Sire Dr Grugy. He is no slouch in his own right and deserves to be the second favourite in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. 

You get the feeling that the rest of them genuinely feel as though they are competing for place money here with a number of them looking likely to go elsewhere at the final declaration stage. Many contenders boasted co-entries for this race in the hopes that Sprinter Sacre wouldn’t make it to this one and would point towards Aintree or Punchestown. 

Sire De Grugy will certainly go, as will Arvika Ligionniere who are available at 3.5 and 11.0 respectively.