3m1½f (3m1f56y) (New) Paddy Power Cotswold Chase (Grade 2) (Class 1) (5yo+)
Colin Tizzard has all but confirmed his Grade 1-winning novice chaser SLATE HOUSE a runner in Saturday’s Cotswold Chase, and at 9/1 the betting market hasn’t reacted, which really surprises me. He was the stand-out entry in the race on Monday and I had assumed by his price that he was an unlikely runner, with a novice chase at Ascot previously suggested as his pre-Cheltenham Festival target. He looks every inch a Grade 1 staying chaser and I make him a 5/1 shot, assuming Delta Work doesn’t make the trip over from Ireland – he surely goes for the Irish Gold Cup the following weekend. Slate House is generally ridden with restraint and travels powerfully through his races, which often means he doesn’t win by far, and he still has loads of potential upside to his mark of 156. Whether he’s good enough to beat proven Grade 1 performer Bristol De Mai or match the potential of RSA Chase-second Santini is of course a guessing game, but he gets 3lb and 1lb respectively from each of them so his task is made a little easier. He is undoubtedly the stand-out value in the race at 9/1, which is a price I’m expecting to contract by half before they’re off.
1pt ante-post win Slate House @9/1, 14:25 Cheltenham, Saturday
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