Cheltenham’s Open meeting ended in frustration with Sametegal just touched off in the Greatwood Hurdle on Sunday. That was a terrific run under a big weight and he will surely pick up a decent prize before too long.
If that meeting has blown away the cobwebs for National Hunt fans, they can now look forward to the return of the Gold Cup winner in Haydock’s Betfair Chase on Saturday. This race has been dominated by Paul Nicholls, largely with the help of a certain Kauto Star but also with Silviniaco Conti winning last year.
Not everyone was convinced by Silviniaco Conti, even though he hardly put a foot wrong on his way through to the festival. His unfortunate tumble at the third last left a load of unanswered questions and we could get some answers this weekend. It certainly appeared as though he was travelling as well as anything at the time but it was too far out to make a confident judgement. Nicholls admitted to being gutted whilst Ruby Walsh was his usual unflappable self and refused to be drawn on whether or not he’d have won.
With Walsh now enjoying a rich harvest for Willie Mullins in Ireland and Daryl Jacob riding at Ascot, it falls to Noel Fehily to partner the gelding on Saturday. The trainer has stressed that it is only logical that Jacob rides Zarkandar and Al Ferof and points out that Fehily has ridden the horse to victory earlier in his career.
Bobs Worth only appeared twice last season, winning the Hennessy Gold Cup and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. For those of us who are old enough to remember, it revives memories of Henderson’s training of See You Then prior to his Champion Hurdle victories. We won’t be seeing much more of Bobs Worth this season but it seems safe to assume he will be fit enough.
Looking beyond the big two, you have to respect Dynaste after David Pipe’s Sunday four-timer. His horses seemed to keep finding extra, reminiscent of Pipe senior in his glory days. This is a cracking race as I see Silviniaco Conti and Dynaste as the two horses most likely to give Bobs Worth a run for his money at Cheltenham in March.
Tidal Bay is an intriguing runner after his fine win over hurdles at Wetherby but will need everything to go right to win this. Long Run is best watched after his poor run first time out whilst I am still not convinced that Cue Card will stay this trip. I think 11-4 is a fair price for Silviniaco Conti and 7-1 is too big for Dynaste with Pipe in flying form so I’ll take those two against the field.
Silviniaco Conti 11-4 BetVictor
Dynaste 7-1 Coral
