Buveur D'air© Photo Healy Racing
With under three weeks to go to the Cheltenham Festival, trainers have dealt nearly all their cards as they look to get their stable stars to the Festival in top shape. The likes of Clan Des Obeaux, Laurina and Al Dancer have all been recent high profile prep-race winners and we have just about all the information we need to give you some top tips for the Festival.
The first Championship race of the week could well be the most exciting. In one corner you have the horse who has won the last two renewals of the race and victorious in twelve out of his last thirteen races, the mighty Buveur D’air. Despite winning the race twice before, Nicky Henderson’s champion hurdler has never faced a Champion Hurdle field that matches the quality of this year’s renewal and will have a huge battle on against the two mares, Apple’s Jade and Laurina. The latter is the unknown quantity with just wins over the fairer sex, but certainly has an x-factor with the style of her successes.
Apple’s Jade on the other hand has been the horse of the season with her latest demolition job in the Irish Champion Hurdle the best hurdling performance by any contender and with the seven pounds mares’ weight allowance she goes into the race as the one to beat.
In the other Championship races, the two favourites Altior and Paisley Park look solid in the Champion Chase and Stayers’ Hurdle respectively, but the Gold Cup still looks wide open. Last year’s Gold Cup one-two Native River and Might Bite have failed to fire so far this season and it looks like time for a new breed of classy staying chasers to come to the fore.
Step forward Presenting Percy and Clan Des Obeaux. Paul Nicholls knows what it takes to win the Gold Cup and his King George winner Clan Des Obeaux looks to have all the attributes to give Nicholls another great chance of glory, but he’s taken to come up just shy against Pat Kelly’s Presenting Percy.
Presenting Percy© Photo Healy Racing
Presenting Percy has won at each of the last two Cheltenham Festivals despite unorthodox campaigning and he’s been trained again to peak for the big one in March. It’s hard to get away from the impression he made in last year’s RSA Chase where he destroyed a field which included likely Ryanair Chase winner Monalee and the test of a Cheltenham Gold Cup appears to be right up his street.
Away from the big four races, Glen Forsa looks a great bet in the Arkle Chase on the Tuesday, with several tipsters selecting him to triumph on Champion Day in their early Cheltenham tips. He’s gone from an unknown handicapper to major contender in the space of just two runs, but it’s hard not to be impressed with his rate of improvement and there won’t be a better jumper in the race than Mick Channon’s seven-year-old. Despite not racing at the track before, you can’t help but feel that the test of an Arkle and the Cheltenham track will play into Glen Forsa’s hands with jockey Jonathan Burke likely to attempt to make good use of his immaculate jumping by making all the running. It will take a serious animal to get by him.
In the handicaps it is worth chancing the mighty duo of Gordon Elliot and JP McManus to prosper not once, but twice. Last year’s Pertemps Final runner-up Glenloe looks to have a major chance in the Kim Muir with his season being prepped around the race in which he will surely have the assistance of crack amateur Derek O’Connor. Whilst you’re there, take a chance on Sire Du Berlais for the same connections in the Pertemps Final itself. Sire Du Berlais ran a good race finishing fourth in the Martin Pipe last season and ran an eye-catching trial to qualify for this race at Leopardstown over Christmas. The Pertemps looks very much the plan for his shrewd connections.
