A top renewal worthy of its status as a trial for the Neptune at the Festival.
Let’s start from the top of the betting where Yanworth and Shantou Village dispute favouritism after unbeaten seasons and easy Grade 2 victories apiece.
Yanworth steps up in trip and hasn’t come off the bridle yet this season, though stamina will be very important in tomorrow’s deluge and you mightn’t be overly confident on those grounds.
Whilst Shantou Village stays, he’s done all his winning on good ground and you’d have to be concerned he’ll not handle the ground either – a view echoed by connections.
He thrashed the re-opposing Champers On Ice at Cheltenham in November, who then went on to win at Newbury before taking his own Grade 2 at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day.
Champers On Ice had clearly improved since the November meeting, so at a best price 10/1 you’ve got to fancy his each-way chances.
Whilst all three named are clearly classy and have every right to run their races tomorrow, they do have to concede plenty of weight to some decent horses and every pound counts up the muddy hill.
The unexposed horse of the race, Nicky Henderson’s Baden, comes in at the bottom of the weights and at the bottom of the betting at 20/1.
He travelled greenly but well last time out and threw his race away by veering left at the business end in a race won by North Hill Harvey.
His conqueror has decent form of his own, having got to within 14 lengths of Albert Bartlett favourite Barters Hill in a race where he might have gone closer had he not blundered the second last – he was eased home a long way clear of third.
Having only had one run in Britain Baden could still be anything, and this is a tough race to be pitched into so connections must see something significant at home.
Worth an each-way wager, then.
0.5pts each-way Baden @20/1 with Coral, Cheltenham 15:00
Leave a comment