Most Supreme winners are by stallions who were 1m to 1m4 flat horses, or have NH claimed the likes of Kings Theatre? A good few of them have USA next to the stallion name. Wicklow Brave is the same flat bred cross as Cinders And Ashes, Beat Hollow out of a Rainbow Quest mare. Al Ferof appears to be one of the very few french breds who have won this race, and quite a few have tried, which looks the biggest negative against Vautour for me. He has the best form, is the best jumper in the race, has the right blend of cruising speed, power and stamina, and the best jockey. He deserves to be fav, but I also like Wicklow Brave and Western Boy for pure style although Wicklow Brave will need to brush up his jumping and it remains to be seen if Western Boy really has the class to win, both would have big chances on good ground but if its closer to soft then they might struggle to get past Vautour. Irving is a nice horse but im not convinced, think his jumping could be suspect in a big field and in a serious race, and im not sure he has what it takes to go with and pass a horse like Vautour. Irving may turn out to be the best 2 miler in the race but they often get beat in the Supreme for some reason. Overall, I think Vautour is going to be hard to beat but I have a sneaky feeling about Western Boy but that might just be be because I like him the most.
Brave Inca was the last favourite to win in 2004 at a price of 7/2 I think? Holding off old boy War of Attrition in a driving finish...Ahhh happy memory
Biggest mover of late is VANITEUX for Nicky Henderson. Disappointed at Kempton on Boxing Day but backed into 14 on exchanges and a strong lay column after he was confirmed to be heading here. Interestingly, he is now shorter than Josses Hill! Double figure Hendo horses- maybe they will be the ones to break his losing streak in this race? Might look to have savers on them on the day if they still trade at interesting odds.
I think that Irving has looked visually the most impressive but I am wary of backing the favourite in the Supreme.
