Had a great day today, with some near misses(VV 2nd and Ned Buntline falling when going well) All Yours brought home the bacon though!
Looks a lot tougher tomorrow.
1.40 - The Saint James - Came 3rd in the Fred Winter when doing his best work at the end, steps up in trip which will suit. The form of the race looks decent with All Yours winning today(rated 1 lb more in the FW) beating several decent yard sticks in Bristol De Mai and Devilment. He was raised 2 lbs for that and receives 7lb age allowance and the cat already looks out the bag as his price has been tumbling since the bookies put him up. 6/1 now.
2.15 - Glingerburn - I have been very impressed with his improvement this season winning all 4 starts most notably when beating Bristol De Mai 3 and a half lengths giving him 9lbs aswell. With BDM franking that form today he looks to have at least 8-10 lbs in hand on the rest of the field. Has been kept fresh for this and loves fast ground.
2.50 - Saphir Du Rheu - Had tickets on him for the RSA this year, it was suggested he would take top order in the 3 mile chase division but has let himself down with 2 novice mistakes in 2 races and was sent hurdling instead. Away from those mistakes he appears to jump very well and has a massive engine on him and its good to see them go back to novice chasing rather than go for the Stayers Hurdle.
3.25 - Cue Card - I dont understand why Champagne Fever is favourite, he looked beaten when falling over this trip against Don Cossack when receiving 2lbs and if i had to choose between the two id easily have the Don. However he looked to have a hard race at Cheltenham when he was hampered and couldnt get to the winner and would be no surprise if that left its mark. Cue Card has a lot to prove but if hes anywhere near his peak he would dismantle this opposition with ease. Saying that, he has looked to struggle against the very best this year but that was at 3miles+ and this trip in my opinion is his best. Best seen when he won the Ryanair in 2013 and then got to within 4 lengths of Sprinter Sacre in this race in 1 of the best performances you will see around here. He has always done his best work on good and good to soft ground and im sure Tizzard has him spot on for this.
4.05 - Rajdhani Express - Hard to be overly confident especially with the mammoth weight he needs to carry over these fences, however Henderson has a great record in this race, 3 times in 9 years including Ma Filleule last year. To top that off noone rides these fences better than Sam Waley Cohen and he has a handy 3 lbs to take off. It was only 5 months ago he was sent off 2nd favourite off 158 in the Old Roan Chase here before unseating and i would reckon that on mark of 152 is well within his reach.
4.40 - Vyta Du Roc - Has been finishing his races very strongly over 2m 5f including the Challow Novices when he went down a neck and that form stayed strong as he would have been challenging front 2 in the neptune but for a shocking mistake at the last. To the horses credit he managed to get going again to finish 4th which was remarkable, the extra 3 furlongs looks up his street. He is closely matched with Blaklion but feel that Vyta will appreciate the better ground more.
5.15 - Bellshill - Giving the trainers riches in the bumper department his sole representative is Bellshill. He was looking slightly outpaced but started making up places at the end at Cheltenham, an extra furlong is sure to suit. He was beaten a length by Vigil(Claimer on board) at Leopardstown and he has proven to be very consistent finishing 5th in the past 2 champion bumpers. There is no obvious horses of the same calibar and 3 of the front 4 in the market are there purely on the trainers, Barters Hill beat Buveur D'Air and has a better pull in the weights and he would be my favourite but happy with the value on Bellshill.
