After winning seven on the bounce, even-money favourite Unowhatimeanharry dominates the market for this year’s Cleeve Hurdle and shouldn’t have many issues giving weight away to most of the field. Some will argue Nigel Twiston-Davies’s Ballyoptic might have won the Long Walk Hurdle when falling at the last, while the 4lb…
1pt win Defi Du Seuil @6/4, 12:00 Cheltenham, Saturday
Cheltenham’s fantastic Trials card contributes to what is one of the biggest Saturdays in National Hunt racing memory, with the rescheduled Clarence House Chase stretching the card to nine big races. The opener looks fascinating, as Barry Geraghty, retained rider for JP McManus, has opted against riding Grade 1 winner…
1pt win Kimberlite Candy @8/1, 15:25 Cheltenham, Saturday
The unexposed KIMBERLITE CANDY looks the bet at 8/1 in the 15:25 Grade 2 Hurdle on Cheltenham’s Saturday card. Purchased by J P McManus after an impressive victory under Richard Johnson at Ascot, he then breezed home when odds-on at Newcastle and arrives at Cheltenham with any amount of improvement possible and now…
1pt win Bishops Road @10/1, 15:15 Haydock, Saturday
Alary is the unexposed quantity in the Peter Marsh Handicap Chase having raced in Grade 1’s over in France. He carries an entry for the Gold Cup at Cheltenham, and if he can defy the burden of top-weight off a mark of 162 then he will be well worth his…
1pt win Maximiser @16/1, 13:30 Haydock; 1pt win Mohaayed @8/1, 14:05 Haydock
Frozen ground has claimed Ascot’s big jumps meeting today, denying us a chance to see Ar Mad and Un De Sceaux lock horns and shed some light on their respective Cheltenham targets. Haydock, however, has the green light and a solid card featuring several graded races. In the 13:30 novices’ chase,…
Ar Mad ante-post bets for the Cheltenham Festival
It’s not uncommon for the Cheltenham Festival’s Ryanair Chase and Queen Mother Champion Chase to attract a similar book of entries – there’s a five-furlong difference in distance and trainers like to keep their options open. Gary Moore’s AR MAD is entered in both and can be backed at odds of 25/1 for either;…
1pt win Kruzhlinin @5/1, 15:15 Saturday, Kempton Park
Sandy Beach is favourite for this primarily due to his trainer Colin Tizzard. The jolly returned to action to comprehensively beat weak opposition on his seasonal reappearance, and receives an 8lb penalty for that win. He could be progressive, and you can understand his position at the top-of-the-market, however, the…
0.5pt ante-post each-way Sceau Royal @33/1, Champion Hurdle
With nine weeks to go, it’s about time we got our hands dirty in the busy ante-post markets for the Cheltenham Festival. Every man and his dog seems to be playing the long-term game these days and, as such, value can be hard to come by with even the remotest…
0.75pt each-way Old Guard @14/1, 15:10 Cheltenham, New Year's Day
Nine go in the feature race of Cheltenham’s New Year’s Day card, the Relkeel Hurdle, and there’s rain forecast to potentially change the unseasonably good ground at the track. That could potentially upset the betting market where Lil Rockerfeller shades favouritism from 2015 World Hurdle winner Cole Harden. The latter…
1pt each-way Carole's Destrier @8/1, 0.75pts each-way Firebird Flyer @16/1, 14:40 Tuesday, Chepstow, Welsh Grand National
The Welsh Grand National was run in arguably the most disastrous conditions that you could ever run a jumps race in last season, and just about went ahead in January, having been postponed from its usual spot on the 27th December. Mountainous prevailed in that slog, and is guaranteed a…