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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...
There are still a very competitive 34 runners in the mix for the 2013 Stan James Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival. Unsurprisingly, it looks like the high-quality 2m hurdler Hurricane Fly is the one to beat once again as he’ll be looking to go undefeated this season with four victories on the bounce since his November debut at Punchestown.
Campaigned exclusively at grade 1 level since scoring a Grade 3 back in 2008 at Auteil, the former Saint Cloude listed winner is being floated by most major bookmakers at a price hovering around 6/4 ante post now that we’re about three weeks out from the kick off of festival time.
This is one of the first really big races of the meeting and will likely cap...
Rigadin De Beauchene gets a slim edge over Monbeg Dude and Teaforthree with a price hovering around 5/1 right now depending on whom you’re betting with. He took the Betfred Classic Chase in January after knocking on the door for quite some time. It wasn’t so much the victory itself, but the manner of the victory - staying on under pressure - that really got the job done at Warwick.
While it may only be a Grade 3 contest, there is still plenty of money up for grabs in this very important Grand National Trial at Haydock tomorrow afternoon. This race is going to be a proper test of many of these geldings with a full 3m4f to be navigated over ground that is expected to be heavy.
It’s going to be a big statement for whoever hits the line here first and, having had a look at the pre-race prices, there is going to be some very interesting movement and that could likely tell the tale of just how this one is actually...
Punters will find Cue Card available at a very reasonable 11/4 price tag - though any will likely favour the improving Captain Chris if they are opting for a shorter odds selection in this one.
Finian’s Rainbow is the other leading fancy for this race and the ante post punters have him backed down to a relatively slim 3/1. There isn’t a huge amount between the three leading contenders and one does have to wonder whether the jocks will be under orders to fully extend each of their charges as the connections will surely have their eyes on the much bigger prizes come Festival time.
There is a six-way shake kicking tomorrow afternoon at Ascot and it looks to be one of the best-looking contests of the weekend and one of the final big Grade 1 outings before Cheltenham kicks off in a months time. Virtually all of these contenders have festival aspirations and they’ll be looking to make big statements during this tricky 2m5f chase.
Majala progresses out of a few lower-profile chase contests and looks pretty interesting for Tom Georges yard. He has shown plenty of ability in the past but perhaps is taking too big of a step up in quality here.
Shooters Wood is an interesting option for Paul Nicholls looks to have the most credible claims here as a potential spoiler. The son of Needle Gun has finished 2211 so faar this season withs cores at Cheltenham in 28K contests. He is likely festival bound is all goes according to plan and he’ll be looking to add some...
Barafundle looks appealing at the top of the weights and has scored over course and distance. The 140-rated son of Flemensfirth only missed by half a length last time at Doncaster and was making his second start off the lay-off. He was sent off as the 3/1 favourite on the day and was beaten by a 22/1 shot carrying 9-10. It’s more or less the same distance as this contest and he takes a step down in quality here.
Spirit River has appeal but doesn’t really tend to finish races. Sivola De Sivola always takes more money than he should based on his name, while Master Of The Sea is entered for this one as well and takes a big step up off three lower-level scores in a row in handicap hurdles action at Hereford, Aintree and Wincanton.
Of the others, Ma Filleule turns out for Nicky Henderson’s yard and has been knocking on the door lately - a beaten favourite last time out as well. The grey gets McCoy in the irons first-time and will be looking to improve though taking a step up in class for this one. She came awfully close back at Newbury back on December 1st and just couldn’t quicken over the final furlong. That might trouble some as she has to handle an extra two furlongs today but she tends to run better on ground that is closer to soft.
There is a very enticing-looking Scoop6 card set to unfold on Saturday and punters are treated to another stellar line-up of quality jumping action with five higher quality races and only a single lower-profile contest to decipher. There are three races with relatively deep (16+) fields and the final one, the Grade 3 Betfair Hurdle, boasts a 23 strong group of contenders.
