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As the Christmas National Hunt fixtures approach we’re starting to see some real movement in the ante post market for the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day. There’s a lot to like about this race and it’s one of the most open iterations of it we’ve seen in years now that King Kauto looms over the race in statue form only.
Look for Long Run to see his price clipped just a bit as the true believers come out of the woodwork following positive comments from connections. Apparently he worked over the weekend on the gallops and the word was “full steam ahead” to Kempton.
We are still very much at the pre-entry stage for the 2012 Navan Novice Hurdle, an important Grade 1 event that usually sets up an important contender for the Supreme Novices in March. A full 23 runners are in the mix at this point and many of them still boast hot records with plenty of momentum. Several group level winners are also on the card here and will likely carry quite short odds over the 2m4f distance.
Of the 23 runners on the pre-entry list for the December 16 race, Willy Mullins and Noel Meade have a full 12 of them coming from their yards. There will obviously be a few withdrawals here and there but the higher...
With the absence of Kauto Star, this year’s iteration of the King George looks to be one of the most fascinating in years - particularly with Long Run not really hitting the heights he has flashed in previous efforts. His lackluster second place in the Betfair Chase at Haydock was definitely not what connections (or punters backing him at 11/8) would have wanted there and it remains that his only real victory since his epic score at Cheltenham in 2011 was beating a field of five in the Denman Chase.
We’ve got a fascinating iteration of the Hong Kong Cup with last year’s winner California Memory trading as the second choice behind Sheema Classic winner Cirrus Des Aigles, who will take a second crack at this race having finished fifth last year, two lengths off the pace. A number of other fascinating local runners will contest this one and some high-profile shippers from Australia should also make their usual appearances. Expect some real fireworks at Sha Tin this time around.
After rolling home in one of his easiest efforts ever going over hurdles, Big Bucks’ made a major statement about his intentions again this year during his seasonal debut at Newbury. The legendary Paul Nicholls-trained long distance hurdler will be looking for his fourth World Hurdle on the bounce and attempting to accomplish a feat few have ever seen.
Needless to say, he went off at a microscopic price on Saturday but that didn’t do much to shorten his odds for the penultimate race at Cheltenham in March 2013. It was the relatively poor showing of Voler La Vedette at Fairyhouse on Sunday that prompted bookmakers to slash his price into odds-on across all major books.
Five Dream is the second choice Paul Nicholls runner in the race and, like many here, he’s not exactly been a regular in the winner’s circle. He was beaten a full 115 lengths at Cheltenham in the World Hurdle (and he still didn’t even finish last). He finished fourth in his seasonal debut at Exeter and that was in a field of six in a 9K race. Clearly he has room to move foraward but looks to be out of his depth, tangling with Big Buck’s numerous times and only coming close here in 2011.
Smad Place is an upstart five-year-old turning out from Alan King’s yard. These guys have tangled before - at Cheltenham and Aintree at the tail end of last season. He unseated Robert Thorton at Aintree and could only muster a nine-length defeat to finish third at Cheltenham when sent off at a 20/1 price tag.
His last victory came at Ascot in January of 2012 when he scored by a seven length margin over Shoreacres.
That victory came at a mere 2m3f and he just hasn’t really kicked on with as much verve when stretching out to 3m. He tends to run in the same areas as Big...
While it may not be the feature contest from Saturday’s impressive range of National Hunt action, it will definitely be one of the mostly-watched races as the seasonal debut of living legend Big Buck’s is usually something that dedicated jumps racing fans make an effort not to miss.
Undefeated since unseating his rider in 2008, Big Buck’s has been one of the best, if not the best, 3m+ hurdler of the modern era. It may not even so much be all the victories but the lengths of the victories that really tells the story.
A really interesting variable in this one just might be Lion Na Bearnai last season’s Irish Grand National winner. He bested a field of 29 to romp home by a full four and a half lengths - his second victory on the bounce at that point.
While not exactly a proven contender at the highest level of chasing, he definitely looks like he could be able to put something solid together here and at least outrun the odds that he’s likely to get. He has a nice weighting for this one at 10-8 and could capitalize.
The Hennessy Gold Cup Chase is always one of the most widely-anticipated Grade 3 contests of the season. This massive handicap attracts some of the most intriguing fields you’ll find anywhere and there’s a lot to like about this year’s edition of the famous Newbury race.
