Cheltenham Festival Day 2 - Part 3

Here is our third of three guides to all the action Wednesday at Cheltenham focusing on the final three races.

The Coral Cup (A Handicap Hurdle) at 16:00 is the fifth race of the afternoon and is widely regarded as the principal handicap hurdle race run at Cheltenham. Bookmakers have Pendra at the head of the betting with Wonderful Charm expected to miss this race for the World Hurdle. The Charlie Longsdon runner enters in good form with two wins and a second from three starts over hurdles. The Second was no disgrace either coming in behind Melodic Rendezvous at Sandown in January. The five-year-old may be one of the younger runners in the race but two of the last three winners of this race have been of the same age (Carlito Brigante and Spirit River) so this should hold no barrier.

The Recommendation here comes with Paint the Clouds who at time of writing was a value 33/1 each-way shot. The Warren Greatrex runner has not run since 2011 but is a course specialist with two wins a third from three runs here. If fresh and in the field he might spring a major shock at a venue that has proven to suit.

The penultimate race of the Afternoon is the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle at 16:40. The market is headed by Saphir Du Rheu from the Paul Nicholls yard. Those who follow the trends will be interested to note that five of the eight winners of this race were either French bred or French imports and this Nicholls runner certainly fits the bill. While I think this horse wil certainly be in the mix I prefer taking a play on another runner at a much bigger price in the each-way market.

The one I will be putting my each-way money on is one of the other Nicholls runners Sametegal. The Horse also has French breeding and has some strong top speed figures. True a third last time out at Taunton was a disappointment but that does not make it a bad horse overnight. Sametegal has some good wins in the past and is likely to go off at triple the price of his stablemate Saphir Du Rheu.

The final race of the day is the Champion Bumper at 17:15 a unique race at the festival in that it is the only one where obstacles do not have to be negotiated. This looks a wide-open contest to end proceedings on day two. Bookmakers are split as to just who should head the market with Le Vent D’Antan, Sgt Reckless, Golantilla and Union Dues all featuring highly in the betting.

This is a race that the Irish have dominated in recent years with Wille Mullins in particular doing very well here with six winners of the race. Mullins has a number of runners this year with Union Dues the pick of his selection. The five-year-old can not do any more with two wins from two runs and has impressive top speed figures.

The horse I like the look of at decent each-way prices is the David Pipe trained Doctor Harper. Two wins from two runs at Sandown and Taunton and at odds approaching 20/1 it looks worth taking a chance that this horse could have more to give especially with solid top speed figures behind it.

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BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Sametegal, EW in the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle
SILVER: Doctor Harper, EW in the Champion Bumper (17:15)
BRONZE: Paint the Clouds, EW in the Coral Cup (16:00)

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13/03/2013     © Frixo 2024