Somersby Heading Towards Victor Chandler Chase

One of the most talented chasers on the 2.5m-3m National Hunt circuit has just has himself firmed up for the 2012 Victor Chandler Chase on January 21st and Somersby looks sharp for this widely-anticipated Cheltenham Festival prep race.

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This race represents a cut back in distance from where he's been running in his past few outings but you can expect Somersby to jump with plenty of verve and acumen on the day. That's something that a wide variety of punters seem to agree on, considering you'll now find Somersby trading as the third favourite.

Speaking to the racing post, conditioner Henrietta Knight declared that his run last year put him right back in the frame for this one. “I've put him in the race because he ran so well in it last year against Master Minded... I know he went up to three miles and I know he probably does stay three miles, but he's a horse who could probably run at any distance. It's certainly on the cards he'll run at Ascot.”

She also used the opportunity to state that Calgary Bay would be heading for another run in the Grand National at season's end.

It's important to remember that Master Minded was only just able to head Somersby on the line in last year's iteration of the Victor Chandler Chase and it will be interesting to see if the betting choices Al Ferof and Finian's Rainbow are going to put in a better shift than Master Minded did last year.

Kauto Stone and Forpadydeplasterer are also entered for this one and looking competitive in the ante post market. Punters with an eye on the long-term markets for Cheltenham will be keeping their eye on this one, especially as the winner and any stand-out performers will see their ante post prices drop like stones.

Somersby can be backed as high as 7/1 while Finian's Rainbow was taken into 7/4 this morning. Al Ferof is priced at 11/4 or 5/2 while Kauto Stone can be backed at a 5/1 price.