This year’s renewal of the Cleeve Hurdle looks top-class with first and fifth in the World Hurdle betting – for which it’s a trial – out to strengthen their claims.
We really like both, having tipped the odds-on favourite Thistlecrack to land the Long Walk Hurdle in December and having already put up Camping Ground three times this season.
One of those occasions was New Year’s Day where he skipped through the mud to rout a strong field of bona-fide Grade 1 performers, which included the reigning World Hurdle champ Cole Harden.
The caveat was he was in receipt of 8lbs but there’s no way that influenced the result given the race was over a long way from home.
Camping Ground has an emphatic tick in the course form box and the heavy rain that’s passed through the Cheltenham area will help to mimic those conditions, so there’s little reason to think he won’t go well.
Thistlecrack has two questions to answer.
The first is his Cheltenham form as he was thrashed last January on his solitary visit to Prestbury Park – though he certainly has left that form behind him since.
The second is his Imperial Cup form with Camping Ground, who beat him 1¼ despite receiving a whopping 15lbs.
It’s hard to argue there’s much between them in form terms and, on that evidence, perhaps Camping Ground should be favourite?
I can’t have that he won’t stay the extra four furlongs of this three-mile trip given how he easily he beat all those stayers last time out in testing conditions.
It really does look a two-horse race despite, at the time of writing, ten being left in.
Reverting to hurdles after a series of blunders over fences, Ptit Zig is third in the betting but has to prove he stays three miles.
He receives 8lbs which, given the forecast heavy ground, will give him a sporting chance although the top two in the market should have no issues discounting that.
So, in short, the 11/4 about Camping Ground looks a really solid value bet.
1.5pts win Camping Ground @11/4, Cheltenham 15:35 (Saturday)
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