Cheltenham 2021/22

Clocked that yesterday, PJ, and even went looking for a price for the Ballymore (not quoted anywhere I could see).

I dare say I'll end-up having something on him. I can barely ever let a C. Byrnes runner in the UK go by me.
 
Grasshopper said:
Clocked that yesterday, PJ, and even went looking for a price for the Ballymore (not quoted anywhere I could see).

I dare say I'll end-up having something on him. I can barely ever let a C. Byrnes runner in the UK go by me.
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The GE horse it beat at Galway won the bumper at the weekend by 10L and would appear to be liked by the stable
 
Grasshopper said:
It was £175 return Edinburgh Waverley/Cheltenham Spa, which I thought was reasonable (not that I would be in any way an expert on train prices.....or indeed anything else).
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Long time since I went but the last time was Carlisle-Ch/Spa and I'm pretty sure it was £36 return. 2005 maybe?

I did try to go after that and recall paying £55 air return GLA-BRS but took ill and had to forfeit it. 2012 maybe.
 
Euronymous said:
I like Editeur du Gite in the 2m handicap chase on Friday. He went too fast at Ascot and jumped noticeably to his left so I think Cheltenham will suit him. Was 6/1 with Powers yesterday.
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Just 'done' the race, Euro. You did well to get 6s. Hard to get away from it.
 
Thanks Dessie. Have you looked at the Greatwood? I like the look of Galice Macalo who ran well despite a less than stellar ride last time at Chepstow.
 
Euronymous said:
Thanks Dessie. Have you looked at the Greatwood? I like the look of Galice Macalo who ran well despite a less than stellar ride last time at Chepstow.
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Haven't looked beyond the PP on Saturday yet. Plan to do the rest of Saturday's card tomorrow and if I get the chance I might look at the Greatwood although I did take Ballyandy at 33/1 not long ago.
 
I think most will agree Honeysuckle 7/4 will hack up in the Champion Hurdle again barring accident.

I must admit I am a sucker for champions and hoping horses prove to be just that.

Nothing would please me more than Envoi Allen missing the Ryanair and winning the Gold Cup 16/1

You have to wonder what price he would be had he not fallen and injured himself that caused him to be pulled up in the 3 mile Champion Chase

The King George would be the perfect stepping stone but perhaps the lexus could be on the Agenda.
 
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Desert Orchid said:
Haven't looked beyond the PP on Saturday yet. Plan to do the rest of Saturday's card tomorrow and if I get the chance I might look at the Greatwood although I did take Ballyandy at 33/1 not long ago.
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Yes I jumped on Ballyandy early too Maurice. He's on a pretty compelling mark now. He's unlikely to improving as a 10 year old, but as long as he hasn't regressed he has to go close. The other two I got on early were Advanced Virgo at 25/1 and West Cork at 16/1, so I'm happy the market has spoken strongly about both.

I'll be really interested to see how you rate the race when you get to it.
 
Danny McMenamin often rides for Brian Ellisons and has 2 mounts for him this Saturday both with chances

He teams up with Nietzsche in the big one and is right at the bottom of the handicap.

He was never going to get the trip behind Vintage Clouds at the festival over 3m1f in soft ground.

He did move up just behind the leaders 3 out but then hit a brick wall.

The race has been won over 20 times with horses 10.7 or less so it wouldn't be a huge surprise for him to run well

If the ground is good I'll be tempted to back him EW
 
I did the PP race yesterday and, while I still have faith in Milanford down the line, my figures confirmed my gut feeling for Zanza, which I took at 14/1, as a very serious contender.
 
As regards travel be aware if coming from the South West there are major roadworks with long hold ups at the first roundabout on the A40 after leaving Junction 11. Once you get through and past GCHQ do not take the first exit at the next roundabout as Princess Elizabeth Road is closed. The whole of Cheltenham is an utter mess wih temporary traffic lights not in sync with the normal lights even when no one is working in the vicinity. Cables are being laid for fibre broadband everywhere and most roads are full of potholes. Your best bet is to go through the town centre route and out along Evesham Road to the racecourse.

There is a severe shortage of bus drivers and taxi drivers which will probably impact travel from the station to the racecourse.

Finally, although covid cases are dropping, our area of Gloucestershire has some of the highest rates per 100,000 people in the country. Not so long ago Cheltenham had the highest rate in the country. You'll be best sticking to outside at the racecourse where it's currently quite mild, beware being in crowded bars or whatever.

Personally not going near the place even though I live here.

Apart from all that have a great weekend :lol:
 
Desert Orchid said:
I did the PP race yesterday and, while I still have faith in Milanford down the line, my figures confirmed my gut feeling for Zanza, which I took at 14/1, as a very serious contender.
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Had a look today and God it's weak at the front end. Lalor, Midnight Shadow and Al Dancer all way too short. I've gone with Caribean Boy who actually ran ok in the Plate at the Fest and one can ignore his run over the National fences a month later and I'm also inclined to dismiss his runs RH as well. He got outpaced but stayed on really well up the hill at Cheltenham and ran all the way to the line (something Midnight Shadow never does.) He was off 153 in that race (the handicapper as usual going way OTT on a small field novice win) but is on a not bad looking 148 on Saturday.
 
CB is on my radar too.

I forget how to post my ratings but this is the summary of the race I put out this evening:

I’m already on Zanza (14/1) and Paint The Dream (22/1, 6 pl) but will probably back one or two more for a bit of value. It’s not hard to see why the favourites are there, bar maybe Lalor who must surely be poor value even if Nicholls has got him back to his best. I concluded the season before last that Spiritofthegames didn’t like to get involved in a fight but they’ve tweaked his wind. Maybe they felt that was the problem but maybe it won’t make any difference. I can let him go although he is a nice price (20/1). Al Dancer’s (7/1) switch to Sam Thomas caught my eye. There was a point last year when his strike rate was something ridiculous like 40% long-term and, apart from his debut defeat in a bumper, Al Dancer is 5/5 after a break of 100 days or more. I much prefer second-season novices in this race. Although he was nine last season, Coole Cody (16/1) was also a second-season novice and he is now well handicapped again but I’m focusing on Deyrann De Carjac (40/1), Zanza, Caribean Boy (14/1), Belargus (28/1) and Farinet (25/1). The last-named probably just has a bit much to find but I’ll spread some cash across the others at the best morning terms. If it had been softer, I’d have fancied Midnight Shadow (10/1). The form last year with Chatham Street Lad is brilliant but it maybe bottomed him.


As you know, I'm not at all averse to backing several in a race like this so long as I think they're longer than they should be.

(Perhaps some kind soul can put me right about ST's strike rate.)
 
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I emptied a nice bit of my betting tank on Simply The Betts for the Paddy Power last year. I don’t fancy him this year but I’ll be sick as a dog if he comes in.

On Lalor AP at 20s but looking at the race he wouldn’t be my main fancy. I like Zanza if jumping improves. Think Protektorst could go off 3/1 and bolt in as well.
 
I’ve backed Midnight Shadow (7 places) but take the point about him never seeming to run to the line so I’ll be surprised if he’s good enough to win. His run in the Old Roan offered some encouragement so don’t agree last year’s second in the Caspian Caviar bottomed him


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viking said:
I’ve backed Midnight Shadow (7 places) but take the point about him never seeming to run to the line so I’ll be surprised if he’s good enough to win. His run in the Old Roan offered some encouragement so don’t agree last year’s second in the Caspian Caviar bottomed him
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Yes, I would prefer to be wrong about that. The evidence is flimsy: one run over hurdles followed by a long break. I agree there was encouragement in his reappearance but the form still amounts to a significant shortfall compared with my figure for the CSL race. I went a bit daft about that race at the time and still think it is sh1t hot but I would be happier if Midnight Shadow had franked it.
 
Rachel Blackmore take a bow! How the heck did she sit that? Her balance is superb!
 
Is the ground a bit slippy? A horse slipped on the bend in one of the earlier races.
 
Euronymous said:
I like Editeur du Gite in the 2m handicap chase on Friday. He went too fast at Ascot and jumped noticeably to his left so I think Cheltenham will suit him. Was 6/1 with Powers yesterday.
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Magic stuff. I stole 7/2. Dead clever. Still, better to lose out on the price than the race.
 
I'm not sure how it looks bad. Harry Skelton went after My Drogo as if he could remount. If Rachael could (as she did) stay on, and the mare felt ok, it was one fence to jump in its own time to collect for owners and punters. I think if its seen as unacceptable for a jockey to do what Rachael did there, there will be even fewer runners and finishers in races.
 
I think had she not moved OK as she cantered away, Rachel would have pulled her up. And she moved fine.

Harry would not have been allowed to remount but it did look as though he had forgotten that rule for a moment.
 
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