Cheltenham Saturday Betting Preview Part3

The Grade 3 Paddy Power Gold Cup Chase has some high quality runners ready to roll and the likes of Michael Flips, Forpadydeplasterer, Calgary Bay and Al Ferof all try to get things off to a big start in this race. You’ll find Grands Crus trading as the betting choice for the most part with Hunt Ball also looking like a competitive selection for many. The ante post market for this race has been quite hot for a while in regards to this effort and most will be expecting Grands Crus to get the job done as he’s been beat down to nearly 9/4. 

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Forpadydeplasterer is around and looked fairly good in his last effort. He’s a there or thereabouts type so you may be opting for the place bet as opposed to the outright victory here. 

Respected handicapper Quantitativeeasing will be making a debut to Grade 3 action here and it’s clear that his connections think he’s ready to tangle with better quality jumpers this season. He’s won at this level before at Cheltenham so that might give him some real credibility. He has usually needed a race or two in his last few seasons before he gets going. 

We will have a proper cavalry charge going in the 3:05 - the Ultima Business Solutions Handicap Hurdle which goes 3m1f110y with a full field of 28 contenders. Bondage, by Whipper, scored in a big field at Cheltenham back on October 20 when sent off at 17/2. He’ll be looking to get a similar type of trip here and he will draw encouragement from his fifth place finish at Leopardstown last week in the big money Leopardstown November Handicap. He was only beaten by four lengths or so and was sent off at 8/1. He gets a full extra mile in this race and that will likely suit him a lot more than the shorter distance he tackled last time. 

Prince of Pirates lines up for Nicky Henderson and this will be a seasonal debut for him - he was able to score first time off the freshening last year and he’ll be looking to repeat again here. His claims are lukewarm, but he looks ripe to spring a surprise. 

The 3:40 is the Centaur Novices’ Handicap Hurdle which goes 2m110y. Canadian Diamond catches the eye with a flashy pedigree - he’s by Halling out of a Danzig Mare - he enters the race fresh off a score at Wincanton over a field of fourteen. He still managed to defeat them by an eight length margin. That’s his second win from four efforts so far since late June. It looks as though this one has turned a bit of a corner lately as he really hadn’t done much since last May and then has suddenly turned on the style having gotten a bit older and a bit more developed. 

Shabak Hom ran well two back for David Evans and he’ll be looking to replicate that comfortable victory again here today. His last race left a fair amount to be desired, especially because it was a basement level hurdles race and he could only muster a fourth place finish. 

David Pipe saddles Tanerko Emery for this one and he just scored at a 5/1 price at Stratford when going 2m6f over good to soft going. It wasn’t the flashiest of races but he was off-course since February and looked every bit the part, scoring by two full lengths.