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Sam Waley-Cohen likely had his last chance aboard Long Run in this year’s King George and he answered all of his critics with aplomb. The neck victory over Captain Chris put him right back in the mix for the Gold Cup ante post market and many are likely surprised that he’s not the overall favourite.
Bookies continue to float prices on others much shorter than Long Run - he can be had around 7/1 with most major bookmakers.
With no other races really on his schedule (you don’t expect him to take the Denman Chase option again this year) he will likely sit and wait in training for his shot at securing another Gold...
The shortest price you’ll find on Bobs worth is a 5/2 listing with most bookmakers pricing him in the neighbourhood of 3/1. William Hill has recently trimmed him to 11/4 in their gold cup ante post market.
Willy Mullins knows a thing or two about big wins at Cheltenham and he’s going to be bringing Sir Des Champs into the mix for this year’s de facto chasing championship. Though he hasn’t won yet in either of his efforts this year, he has put in some solid shifts - particularly in his last race at Leopardstown.
Despite Long Run producing a smashing performance to win back the King George and etch his name onto one of steeplechasing’s most prestigious lists (previous winners who have regained the King George trophy). After dueling with Captain Chris down the stretch at Kempton with both contenders looking likely to win it at various points on the run-in, it was Long Run (piloted ably by Sam Waley-Cohen) who managed to find more and make up an additional half-length to just get his head down at the right time.
It’s worth noting that he also finished second to Sizing Europe last December and, up until Thursday, Sizing was pointed towards this race. He has the claims and the credibility and it’s just a matter of how much he’s moved forward between 5 and 6 - along with just how well he can handle the added distance.
Kauto Stone is a horse who is comfortable at the highest level, though he has run inconsistently in the past. Which Kauto Stone shows up will likely be the major factor in this race.
The Giant Bolster, a chaser who made a major statement in the Cheltenham Gold Cup last year,...
It is not so much Long Run that really intrigues in this race as it is more about the cadre of talented up-and-coming chasers who are in the 5/1-10/1 range - many of them look ripe for a serious breakout here and this could be just the race to do it. Long Run must get it exactly right and, with results not really going his way that often, his short prices and piles of support from punters who’ve napped him for months may start to dry up. For many, this may be his final chance to be that genuine superstar that everybody seems to think he really is.
Long Run is looking to etch his name into the annals of National Hunt racing with a returning victory in the King George stakes at Kempton tomorrow. The emerging superstar of the jumps racing scene has not been at his most consistent over the past year or so after vaulting to prominence by capturing this race over the beloved Kauto Star two years ago.
Prospect Wells put in a very good shift against the talented Zarkandar in his seasonal debut at Wincanton, finishing second in a Grade 2 contest 1/4 of a length behind Zarkandar. He’s moved forward nicely since finishing fifth in the Supreme Novices’ last year. He was sent off at 14/1 on the day and looked good without ever having quite got there.
Smad Place has been out only once this year and it was a disappointing run as he finished 3rd despite being sent off at 10/11. Tidal Bay romped home that day and scored by a 4.5 length margin. Smad Place cantered home 25 lengths off the pace. He likely needed the prep race and...
Another selection of staying hurdlers are set to challenge the living legend Big Buck’s at Ascot in just a few days as the Christmas National Hunt fixtures kick off in earnest this coming weekend. There’s a lot to like about this race and, at a distance of 3m1f, it looks like it’s going to be another interesting iteration of Big Buck’s dominance.
The living legend son of Cadoudal has been out only once this year but it was a smashing performance with his usual amount of panache and verve, as he stormed home to win by an emphatic nine lengths. Reve De Sivola chased him home that day and he’s looking...
There’s a very winnable Scoop6 card kicking off over fences on Saturday and there are only two really deep fields to be navigated - one of them has 18 runners entered at this stage while the final one boasts a full 16 contenders. Some cheaper tickets can get put together on this one fairly easily and we have some high-profile jumpers ready to compete.
The day’s feature contest is the Stanjames.com International Hurdle while the Paul Stewart Ironspine Charity Challenge Gold Cup has attracted some prominent names as well.
We’ve got a really solid weekend of racing ahead of us with an enticing fixture at Cheltenham on Saturday featuring the Grade 2 Stanjames.com International Hurdle. We have 9 runners at this point and the ante post market is already firing - some of the premier stars of hurdling are lining up for this one and it is set to be a very fascinating race with a number of interesting permutations.
The race really looks to be a three-way battle at the outset between three high-profile runners. The betting favourite right now is Zarkandar, who comes out of Paul Nicholls yard and will be...
