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The 2013 Jewson Novices’ Chase still has 65 runners in the mix and looks likely to be a very interesting puzzle to solve once we get closer to festival time. There are some really good contenders in the mix here and a solid selection of jumpers are set to push this one 2m4f over timber.
This race can be a tricky one from an ante post standpoint because a lot of the more talented contenders here carry cross-entries for at least one other race. Several of the key selections here are nominated for three different races at the festival so there are plenty of options here.
Speaking of cards, we have Cue Card on the hunt for a big score here and his price has done some serious fluctuating in the build-up to Cheltenham. He had a big attempt at the King George on Boxing Day, only to finish a tame fifth 20 lengths off the pace. His price for this race drifted out to 14/1 but now he’s back down to 8/1 after scoring at Ascot in the Grade 1 Ascot Chase.
One of the most widely-anticipated races, if not the biggest overall banker at this year’s Cheltenham Festival is undoubtedly going to be the Queen Mother Champion Chase with one of the current stars of steeplechasing - Sprinter Sacre. The talented and unbeatable brown gelding has put together a string of amazing performances over the last year or so when he emerged off the novice circuit at Kempton.
He has only been on course twice this year, once in the Tingle Creek Chase and the other time in the Victor Chandler Chase - both Grade 1 contests. He vanquished his foes by a combined 29 lengths on the day and looks set to kick on nicely again here with plenty of momentum making him nearly unbettable for Cheltenham.
At Fishers Cross is a JP McManus-owned jumper who has taken two scores at Cheltenham in a row - one a handicap hurdle in mid-December and the other a Grade 2 Novice Hurdle where he bested the New One. He looks to be in cracking form and brings an undefeated record to the table for this one. He has shown a consistent ability to stay on well under pressure and his previous efforts coming up the hill at Cheltenham have been successful. He is undefeated over course and distance and looks a force to be reckoned with at 7/1.
The 2013 Neptune Novices’ Hurdle isn’t usually where you see the absolute top echelon of young National Hunt talent, but it’s usually a race where you can spot some impressive winners at big prices. Much more open than the over-hyped and over-bet Supreme Novices’, a big field is looming ahead of this one and there are a number of very plausible winners.
Pont Alexandre is the current betting favourite and the bookmakers have him floated around 11/4 after being taken in from 5/1 a few months back. The Willy Mullins-trained jumper is undefeated so far and has won in...
He is priced at a mere 3/1 in the ante post market and you do reckon that punters will be looking for longer prices and horses with higher quality chasing experience if they’re trying to beat out the talented Simonsig.
Arvika Ligeonniere is not only irritating to spell, it’s also a pretty talented eight-year-old from the Willy Mullins yard. Despite a falling effort last time out at Leopardstown, he’s had a quality season with a pair of Grade 1 scores in Ireland setting him up nicely for a kick at the Cheltenham can....
The Arkle boasts a very significant favourite as one of the key festival bankers is set to take a significant step forward and win his second Cheltenham Festival race on the bounce as Simonsig looks to follow up his Neptune Novices’ score from last year with another rousing success here against a more talented group of novice chasers.
Undefeated this season, Simonsig has been one of the stories of Nicky Henderson’s yard since debuting back in 2011. He’s had an impressive run of form since shipping in from the point to point circuit to win his debut novice hurdle at Ascot in...
Obviously, McCoy is McCoy for a reason and he will have more than a few tricks up his sleeve as they head up the hill to that cacophony of punters. Though there are a few other interesting ones in the race, most will be anticipating a potential showdown between these two McManus-owned novices.
Un Atout is probably the most appealing from the rest of the top contenders and he’s undefeated over hurdles though he is still yet to tackle a graded contest. His last victory came in January at Naas when he won by a 19 length margin. Willy Mullins...
My Tent Or Yours put together a smashing performance in the Betfair Hurdle and that’s seen his ante post price drop like a stone ahead of the 2013 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. This one gets us all underway for the festival and it’s always an extremely overbet race.
Every single year, a young jumper with two or three novice runs under his belt gets touted as the next Kauto Star and winds up getting bet down to 4/5 ante post only to finish fourth or fifth,...
Of these three, only Zarkandar remains undefeated this season, with the most impressive being a score at Cheltenham over course and distance when he won by two lengths against Gradouet, who has been viewed as a bit of a Cheltenham specialist in the past.
Expect Zarkdandar to stay pretty close to Hurricane Fly in this one as they both tend to prefer a stalking trip behind the leaders. Hurricane Fly has shown the ability to get right on the lead if Ruby thinks that it’s the best way to go considering the pace scenario. Getting the...
