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Overturn is an interesting prospect coming out of Donald McCain’s yard and he’s looking like the chief spoiler here if Simonsig is going to get beaten. He’s not raced in particularly good races during his two efforts this year, but he has put in some quality runs over hurdles to finish second several times. He’s placed to Binocular, Rock On Ruby and has also had a few runs over the flat as well in recent years.
You can chalk up a few Heritage Handicap victories as well to add to his credibility. He may not be as talented a chaser as Simonsig but he has plenty of raw talent and should move forward well as he...
One of the genuine National Hunt feathers in Nicky Henderson’s cap this year looks to be the extremely talented Simonsig - a horse with only two blemishes on his 8 race career - one a falling effort back on the point-to-point circuit and the other one a tough 2nd place finish at Sandown to the respected Fingal Bay.
A Grade 1 winner from last year’s Cheltenham Festival thanks to a score in the Neptune Novices’ saw him follow that up with a score at Aintree in the Mersey Novices’ Hurdle. A festival double for Henderson has seen Simonsig remain on the novice circuit but step up to proper fences - a move which has seen him...
Easily one of the most exciting 2m chasers we’ve ever seen has got to be the widely-lauded Sprinter Sacre. He delivered on all expectations last time out to get the job done in front of a large crowd at Sandown when he cantered home in the Grade 1 Tingle Creek Chase. He has an awful lot of credibility with that undefeated record and his ability to put together big scores over fences has made him a nearly instant fan favourite.
Watching his comment line across the last five races where he stepped up to graded level over fences, you’ll see the last word on the line going from easily to impressive to very impressive. This tells you...
Dodging Bullets boasts a stellar ante post price of 14/1 with several bookmakers and that makes him a very interesting wager - and even brings him into each way territory. You can assume his price will drop once his plans get firmed up for this race in the coming weeks.
Melodic Rendezvous is another solid contender who trades around the 14/1 mark. He most recently notched his first graded score when he took a Grade 2 effort at Sandown in early January. Some will remember him from last year’s Punchestown Festival when he finished second in their bumper race when sent off at 16/1.
He’s not exactly looked the finish project despite always finding the line in his four career efforts. His jumping is not fluent all the time, but you get the idea that this is just one of those horses that knows how to find the line. He tends to take a keen hold and race up front so look for him to try to outrun the rest of them and stay on nicely at the finish.
One does have to wonder whether this might be too much of an ask for him - to step up against high-quality graded winners for the first time. The bookmakers have him floating as a second favourite to Jezki, with a price in the range of 8/1 to around 10/1.
Jezki has emerged as the prohibitive ante post favourite for this year’s iteration of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. It’s hardly surprising that he’s going into the race with so much momentum, as it will come on the back of a string of high-quality victories at Navan, Fairyhouse and Leopardstown.
The past two victories have come at Grade 1 level and he’s won by a combined 7.5 L margin, especially impressive when you think that he’s running against the best 2m novice hurdlers in Ireland.
Jezki has a tendency to race closer to the pace and tends to deploy a stalking trip...
He’s another runner that enters this race with some serious form, having not lost a race in his past four attempts. He’s won by considerable margins against some tricky fields and captured a Grade 1 victory in his seasonal debut this year at Fairyhouse. Willy Mullins is loaded for this race and will be looking to pick up a 1-2 victory with Boston Bob and Arvika Ligeonniere completing the exacta.
Oscars Well is in the mix for this one and will be taking some money from those attempting to beat the big favourites from the Mullins yard. He scored in a novice chase at Navan after a falling effort at Punchestown in the Grade 2 Craddocktown Novice Chase. Prior to that, he won his seasonal debut with a solid performance against a weak field at...
The Frank Ward Solicitors Arkle Novice Chase is set for another exciting iteration this year at Leopardstown with a number of high-profile contenders set to duel it out over a tough 2m1f. This novice contest will set up a number of these contenders nicely for Cheltenham and Punchestown efforts. There are a couple really good contenders in here who are worth watching, and it’s going to be interesting to see what Burn And Turn is going to be able to put together with the 6 lb advantage he’s getting from the handicappers.
Sanctuaire is going to be one of the key contenders in this race and Paul Nicholls’ seven-year-old son of Kendor has a great chance of challenging Sprinter Sacre - the penultimate favourite for this one. Expect him to likely go off as the second betting favourite on the back of his Kempton victory and several strong results at this distance from last season. He looks to be just coming into form and he’s very likely to get Ruby Walsh for the trip here. He takes money in virtually every race he runs in and expect him to get plenty of support from those looking to topple Sprinter Sacre - one of the best 2m chasers we’ve seen for quite some time.
One of the key National Hunt fixtures of this time of the season is the Victor Chandler Chase - a Grade 1 affair that runs at Ascot Racecourse on January 19. There are a number of high-level jumpers pointed at this big race and it’s going to be a key prep for the festival season - and a race that could crown a new outright favourite for the 2m or 2m4f chases.
