Un Temps Pour Tout returns for a second crack at the Ultima Handicap Chase, the first handicap of the festival. He comes into this off the back of some very indifferent chase form this season, and, unless David Pipe can rekindle a somewhat unlikely revival, he looks quite vulnerable off a 7lb higher mark and is not fancied to make it two on the bounce.
The other returning winner is The Druids Nephew, who is a fantastic chaser and seems to really lovely his jumping on good ground. He’s a fascinating contender and is bound to run well off the same mark (146) as when he won this race two years ago. His price has gone, though, and he’s not the most attractive betting proposition at 9/1 given his last success was in this race two years ago – you’d be taking a small leap of faith by backing him. Neil Mulholland is a shrewd trainer but the stats will tell you that more exposed horses do not tend to win this race.
Most recent winners have been 1st or 2nd season chasers with low mileage, and that’s where our selections come from.
As I watch his price contract on Oddschecker, I can’t get away from the chances of novice chaser SINGLEFARMPAYMENT. This could arguably be trainer Tom George’s best chance of the week and he hasn’t been shy in commenting about how much he is looking forward to running him.
Already a course and distance winner, Singlefarmpayment looked to be bang in contention when getting brought down here at the end of January. It’s hard to say where he would have finished that day, but he went off favourite for that race and as a result of that misfortune races off an unchanged mark of 142. In terms of the bare statistics, he ticks all the boxes of a previous winner’s profile.
His trainer thinks he could be a good 7-10lbs well-in – and you normally need to be to win a Cheltenham handicap. His ante-post odds were slashed after several Cheltenham preview events, and it’s not too late to join the party with 15/2 still available which we are going to gobble up.
The other potentially progressive novice chaser in a wide-open betting race is IBIS DU RHEU, an entrant for Paul Nicholls, who many seem to think will have a quiet festival this year.
Nicholls generally makes his money in the handicaps at the festival, and this six-year-old has taken to chasing extremely well having finished in the frame on each of his three chase starts.
His first run over the obstacles was a highly-respectable 14-length third to Thistlecrack, and he followed this up with a decent second to Pobbles Bay when giving 7lbs at Chepstow. The form of that race looked half decent, and he then chased Grade 1-winner Royal Vacation up the Cheltenham hill here to finish a respectable third (off of top-weight) last time out (the same race where Singlefarmpayment was brought down).
A winner of the Martin Pipe last year, he seemed to come alive on this track and Nicholls think the better ground will bring out the best in him once more. His mark of 146 has remained constant since his run behind Thistlecrack, and it is very possible that he could progress beyond that here and improve for the longer trip.
1pt win Singlefarmpayment @15/2, 14:50 Cheltenham, Tuesday
0.75pts each-way Ibis Du Rheu @12/1, 14:50 Cheltenham, Tuesday (five places, 1/4 odds with BetVictor)