Friday marks the fourth and final day of the Cheltenham Festival. I hope you’ve had an enjoyable and informative festival so far, but whatever your current position, there’s still work to be done, and I hope to end this column on a high note.
In the Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase (2.40), Dino Blue will be aiming for her second win and her case is clear. There wasn’t much to criticize about her last two wins in Limited Company, but she’s getting older and might not be as good as last year. That may or may not be misguided, but I think she’s someone to oppose at the kind of price she’s trading.
This is not the first time Gavin Cromwell has brought his team out of a quiet period in time for the Cheltenham Festival and I think he has some very active competition here at ONLY BY NIGHT.
The 8-year-old has so far proven herself to be a very talented woman over the fence. In fact, she was a bit unlucky in the Arkle Challenge Trophy at this event last year, whirling as she charged in front, only to be caught by Django Bey in the closing stages. Since then she has continued to run some great races against boys, most notably beating Champion Keely by a short head in the Grade 3 Pursuit at Naas in November.
The biggest unknown in Only By Night’s prospects in this race is her stamina for the long journey. But I actually think it suits her. To me, she’s in shape and ready for this mid-distance trip, and Keith Donoghue will give her a nice ride as well. She is likely to ride patiently and aim for slow attacks. I think she has a much better chance than her current price suggests.
The Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle (3.20) is the latest novice hurdle in a huge field. Dr. Steinberg sets high standards for form, but I fear he is not the right type for this race and will miss out on the opportunity.
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Anthony Ennis previews the Gold Cup at Cheltenham and tells us who he thinks is worth rooting for.
At the At the Races Cheltenham preview a few weeks ago, I chose Te Devirno for this race. There is no reason to put him off now, but the chessboard has changed since the race was filled last week with Gavin Cromwell-trained The Passing Wife.
Like many, I thought Passing Wife was beautifully campaigned with a view to the Martin Pipe Condition Jockeys Handicap Hurdle at this meeting. After his fifth hurdle, his ideal rating was 143. I believed he would be off the favorites and would be difficult to beat.
However, his connections instead made the very bullish decision to skip Martin Pipe, leaving a potentially very attractive handicap mark at home and making up for this Grade 1 novice hurdle, which he had never attempted before.
To me, this represents a very bullish call for a team that has no intention of doing anything other than a very calculated campaign. I feel there is a great hint given here and I will definitely pay attention to it. I can read his form more than enough and considering his price, he’s my pick for this race.
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Rebecca Curtis spoke to Sky Sports Racing ahead of Haiti Couleurs’ fateful day in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The final race of the meeting was the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle (5.20), and while it’s not the type of race you’d count on to win, it’s been kind to this column over the years.
I don’t want to repeat myself, but my strong inclination is to side with the British-trained runners in the handicap at this event, and I intend to stick to that policy here as well. What appeals to me the most is the Olly Murphy-trained ‘authoritative behavior’.
The eight-year-old was unlucky to run into a decent handicap at Wodou in this race last year, making a fine run away from the third home to finish. Olly Murphy has been at the Gordon Elliott Academy long enough to have learned patience, but it looks to me like they’ve been working backwards from this race for quite some time.
As is the norm in Britain, handicappers were particularly generous to him, dropping two pounds at the last Ascot in what was clearly a warm-up for the event. This drop leaves him just a pound higher than Mark, who finished second last year, and it seems unlikely that he will face a new Wodoo this year.
An important part of this is that for the first time ever a cheek piece is applied which is very likely to help his cause. He looks a very reasonable price to me and I can see him running a big race to finish this year’s Cheltenham Festival on a high note.
