There are few finer days in the winter jumps calendar than the Saturday of Cheltenham's Open Meeting, and today's card doesn't disappoint, with the big race as intriguing as ever, and hopefully the meeting will be kind in terms of punting, too.
The Murphy Group Handicap Chase at 13:50 sees a rematch between last year’s first and second Monbeg Dude and Bradley, and the pair are both shortlisted, with Michael Scudamore’s Welsh National winner having caught the eye on his return over hurdles at the Showcase, and the latter doing similar over an inadequate trip at the same meeting. Bradley is out of the handicap, but is still lower in the weights than he was a year ago, so that’s of less concern than it might be. Monbeg Dude’s Achilles heel remains his somewhat chancy jumping, but he’s young enough to improve further this term, and isn’t overburdened by any means. The pair may find themselves vulnerable to last year’s novices, however, who by definition retain the most scope for progress.
Godsmejudge is also a National winner, with Alan King’s 7-y-o landing the Scottish version when last seen, and he ought to make a bigger splash in his second season, a comment which applies in spades to Goulanes, who switched to fences only after a hurdles win at the Open meeting last year. The one who makes most appeal, however is Tour des Champs, who didn’t hit the same heights as the aforementioned pair, but that was largely due to a tendency to belt a couple, and he’s expected to leave last season’s efforts behind as he gains fluency. A good second to Friday's X-Country winner Balthazar King last month was promising in that regard, as was the way he rallied to finish clear of the others. Fourth to Godsmejudge at Ayr, he now meets that rival on some 10 lb better terms. The handicapper has been kind, and that generosity should be repaid today.
I've nailed my colours to the mast in the Paddy Power long ago, and my main hope has always been Rajdhani Express, who improved throughout last term, and jumped impeccably when winning here and at Ayr in the spring. His victory under top weight in the Rewards4Racing Novices' Handicap at the Festival was as impressive as any other novice at the meeting, but has been overshadowed because it was "only" a handicap, and he looks capable of defying another hike in the weights. Whether Sam Waley-Cohen's aerodynamic silks make the difference is unlikely, but they certainly show that the amateur is taking this very seriously indeed, and this race has been the plan for some months.
The market has been active for a while, and the obvious contenders have risen to the fore of the betting, with few exceptions. Ballynagour is the buzz horse, but he does break blood vessels, and has yet to show his form away from testing ground, so he's not one to go overboard about, while John's Spirit is still capable of the odd blunder, and was a dramatic shortener in the opening betting salvos, so I'd expect his price to ease markedly today. Champion Court looked in magnificent shape at Martin Keighley's the other day, and would be my idea of a placepot banker, while I thought about putting up Gift of Dgab as a saver, as he's the one horse I've backed at big odds, but his price has tumbled to about 25/1, which is only a fraction of what he was trading on Thursday morning. I'll still be shouting him home, however.
Recommendations:
Both at Cheltenham
Back Tour des Champs @ [9.0] in the 13:50 (NB)
Back Rajdhani Express @ [14.0] in the 14:30 (NAP)
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