Through my eyes, the totally inexcusable bollocks that Rich Ricci and Willie Mullins came up with when justifying their switching of Vautour from the Gold Cup to Thursday’s Ryanair takes the gloss off his inevitable win.
They should have run him in the Champion Chase.
Water under the bridge and he’s now the best horse in this race by miles – he should win by miles if anywhere near the form of his King George second or Grade 1 wins at the last two Festivals.
Anyone who placed bets on the remaining runners before he was switched over will be gutted to see him take his chance, and the ‘betting without Vautour’ market now makes the most appeal in finding an angle into the race.
The horse I’ve been keen on for a while is JOSSES HILL, who chased Vautour home in second in the Supreme two years ago and also placed behind Un De Sceaux in last year’s Arkle.
That’s top-class Festival form and he’s clearly a horse who likes the track and good spring ground – exactly what he’ll get.
Jumping has always been his vice but he put in a much-improved round when slamming God’s Own in his Festival prep race, and the fact he jumps left at times – like Vautour – is no negative at a left-handed track like Cheltenham.
His stable is in excellent form, having saddled Altior and Sprinter Sacre to Grade 1 success this week and seeing My Tent Or Yours defy a lengthy absence to snatch second in the Champion Hurdle.
If we literally take Vautour out of the equation he’s a cracking each-way bet at 12/1 in Bet365’s ‘without’ market.
A word on Road To Riches, who has long been ante-post favourite for this race and does indeed take his chance.
I feel for his trainer Noel Meade as he’d get his ideal conditions in the Gold Cup and would have an excellent chance of going one or two better than his brilliant performance behind Coneygree last year, but Ryanair race-sponsor Michael O’Leary has switched his horse here instead.
Over this shorter trip his stamina might not come into play, leaving him vulnerable to speedsters like the selection.
1pt each-way Josses Hill w/o Vautour @12/1 (Bet365, 3 places), 14:50 Cheltenham, Thursday
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