Cheltenham Festival - my thoughts

Timeform's comment for Denman goes to the trouble of pointing out that Denman doesn't always impress with his appearance. Hard to suggest it adversely affects his form though.
 
Arial_Ortega said:
It was my understanding they had got to the bottom of MM and that it was a problem with a rib. Only one winner of the Champion Chase now imo.
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If the real MM turns up it's a question of how far.

However, at this stage 7/4 does nothing to stir the blood. I'd rather wait and look for value in the market without the favourite on or nearer the day.
 
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My only ante post bet this year of real note is Captain Cee Bee. I have had a real good at what i see as the best Novice in this Country, cant see much better than him across the water either if im honest.

Am interested in backing Quel Esprit, anyone know what his prefered target is at this stage?
 
I dont have any antepost for Cheltenham so far.

Shinrock Paddy is an interesting one for me but want to see in what race he will run.

Big Bucks looks very solid but is not a price for the moment.

Denman is my idea of the Gold Cup winner for the moment.

Watch My Back is intersting in the Mildmate Of Flete or the Grand Annual if he is targeted for the meeting.

Spirit River is another handicaper to follow in hdls.
 
Aragorn said:
Is Denman not an odd type of chestnut? Liver Chestnut if I remember correctly. So applying the chestnut thing is not necessarily correct. However, if my brain is working correctly liver chestnut's are generally the worst affected.
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I can't be having this old wives tale - apart from anything else, I have 4 chestnuts who all have a shine in their coat at the moment!!! Added to that, my liver chestnut has probably the best bloom on his coat of all of them.
 
Shadow Leader said:
I can't be having this old wives tale - apart from anything else, I have 4 chestnuts who all have a shine in their coat at the moment!!! Added to that, my liver chestnut has probably the best bloom on his coat of all of them.
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To be fair Shadz, I have no idea whether this is true or not.... It wouldn't be a factor I would be considering for punting purposes...

It would be nice to have a few sheckles on something at the moment. Still can't get excited or enthused about the all weather.
 
rorydelargy said:
Clever lad. The fact that he's the same price as Alaivan is an insult to Gordon Elliot's charge. He looked very good at Leopardstown.
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I don't know -I laid him fairly heavily for a place a couple of times on the flat and he looked completely out of love with the game.When he made his debut over hurdles you couldn't lay him as the price was astronomical(beaten out of sight) yet the following week he lands a nice touch in Scotland before landing a Grade 1.Having thought about the race I am convinced that Alaivan didn't run to his very best and has carried forward his habit of good run/bad run from the flat to the jumps.
 
I thought Alavian was given a ridiculous ride last time out and the race literally fell into Carlito's lap. I would not fancy either for the Triumph.
 
Galileo said:
I thought Alavian was given a ridiculous ride last time out and the race literally fell into Carlito's lap. I would not fancy either for the Triumph.
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I certainly couldn't have Alaivan who seems to need heavy to show his form; it's more than possible that Carlito Brigante isn't one to follow, but he crossed the line with his head in his chest, beat the rest of an apparently decent field pointless and put up a decent performance on the clock. Again I'll happily admit that his flat record didn't point to him being anything out of the ordinary, but he strikes me as a horse better suited to decent ground, whose ability may have been masked for some time because of the way he's been campaigned. To be honest, the UK juveniles have looked fairly ordinary this seson in comparison this season.
 
That would also apply to the [former] Best Arse in Racing - Guesty. Poor lad ballooned a wee bit about the time he sustained two broken legs virtually subsequent to each other.
 
Shadow Leader said:
That would also apply to the [former] Best Arse in Racing - Guesty. Poor lad ballooned a wee bit about the time he sustained two broken legs virtually subsequent to each other.
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The fact that you gave up stalking him for a while can't have helped him; poor bastard!
 
Galileo said:
Good stuff Grasshopper. The one horse I am all over for those novice staying hurdles is Quel Esprit. Whatever race he turns up in he will go off favourite and will be hard to beat.

Dunguib is a puzzler - looks brilliant but the form is not there yet for one so short. I like what Menorah did at Kempton and would be more interested in him at his 10/1 price.
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Tom Segal couldn't have spoken about Quel Espirit in stronger terms in the Weekender.
 
Would say the 3 miler Del - think if the grounds suitable he'll have a big problem coping with the Tom George horse though.
 
sunybay said:
I dont have any antepost for Cheltenham so far.

Shinrock Paddy is an interesting one for me but want to see in what race he will run.

Big Bucks looks very solid but is not a price for the moment.

Denman is my idea of the Gold Cup winner for the moment.

Watch My Back is intersting in the Mildmate Of Flete or the Grand Annual if he is targeted for the meeting.

Spirit River is another handicaper to follow in hdls.
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It's interesting that Big Bucks is going straight to Cheltenham and not taking part in any other races first. Seems to be a lot of confidence in him, although I agree he's not value in the trading at the moment. This betting blog on Cheltenham Festival tips Dunguib as the shout to go for in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, although I can see the odds getting slashed if he does well at Leopardstown next month.
 
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