Tag: Betfair Hurdle

Horse Racing Preview February 7th

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

It’s all systems go for a cracking Newbury card on Saturday with the Betfair Hurdle supported by the reappearance of champion chaser Sire de Grugy.

We previewed the Betfair Hurdle last month and our ante-post selections have both made the final line-up. Activial (tipped at 10-1) has been trained for the race and I see no reason to desert him at this late stage. It could be argued that he is badly weighted with Calipto on novice form but I think the favourite has a few quirks and I’m prepared to oppose him.

Vasco Du Ronceray (tipped at 33-1) is currently showing at 75-1 on Betfair and seems virtually friendless in the market. Whether that is because Barry Geraghty has chosen to ride Sign Of A Victory I am not sure but Peter Carberry claims 3lbs and it wouldn’t be impossible for him to make the frame. There don’t seem to be any natural front-runners in the field so I can see the field packed up turning for home and there could be some hard-luck stories.

As expected, Vibrato Valtat has headed to Warwick for the Kingmaker Chase rather than take on Sire de Grugy in the Game Spirit. That leaves the improving Mr Mole as his most likely danger and even still looks a good price about the popular chestnut. Gary Moore obviously won’t have him at 100% for this but I’d be disappointed if he wasn’t fit enough to win. Hopefully he can take this and set up the three-way clash with Sprinter Sacre and Dodging Bullets in the Champion Chase next month.

The Denman Chase is a tricky one with question marks against several of the runners. Houblon Des Obeaux ran a cracker in the Hennessy in November but has been beaten since while Taquin Du Seuil, Harry Topper and Double Ross have all been out of sorts. Unioniste is not quick by any stretch of the imagination while Coneygree has done nothing wrong since returning from injury. It may be between the pair with the Nicholls runner narrowly preferred.

Over at Warwick, Vibrato Valtat takes on the game front-runner Top Gamble in the Kingmaker Chase. The race is perfectly set up for the grey to get a nice lead through the race and challenge at the last. Glens Melody should be able to win the Mares’ Hurdle for a second consecutive year without Mischievous Miss in attendance. The Irish mare produced a great run at the Cheltenham festival behind Quevega and nothing else in the field can boast form at that level.

Vibrato Valtat 2.05 Warwick @6-5 Bet Victor

Unioniste 2.25 Newbury @4-1 Coral

Glens Melody 2.40 Warwick @Evens Bet365

Sire de Grugy 3.0 Newbury @10-11 Sky Bet

Activial 3.35 Newbury @10-1 ante-post

Vasco Du Ronceray @33-1 ante-post, 75-1 Betfair

Betfair Hurdle Ante-post Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Betfair Hurdle has always been one of the top handicap hurdles of the season. It is still fondly remembered by the older generation as “The Schweppes” and has since been equally acclaimed as the Tote Gold Trophy.

The race is often won by a high-class hurdler with names like Deep Sensation, Large Action, Mysilv, Make A Stand and Landing Light bringing back fond memories. More recently the race was won by Zarkandar and My Tent Or Yours, both Champion Hurdle class.

The quality of entry does not look quite up to that grade this year with Garde La Victoire topping the weights ahead of the veteran Get Me Out Of Here and Nicky Henderson’s Sign Of A Victory. Henderson has won this race five times and Sign Of A Victory is one of five entries from the Lambourn yard.

His latest press conference suggested that Sign Of A Victory would run provided the going is not soft but I’d have to say that seems unlikely. He does not believe that Snake Eyes will get into the race but put in a good word for Haydock winner Vasco Du Ronceray. The six-year-old is not exactly thrown in at the weights having been raised 8lbs for his latest success but still has scope for improvement.

He finished fifth in the Triumph Hurdle in 2013, the year of the ill-fated Our Conor. He wore a hood for the first time that day and carried the headgear when winning easily at Haydock in November. The grey could be worth an each-way bet at 33-1, a price that would soon disappear if Henderson’s main fancy were to be withdrawn.

I also like the claims of Activial, trained by Harry Fry. He is very lightly-raced having swerved the festival meeting in March in favour of Aintree. I was disappointed with his run there when only eighth to Guitar Pete but he showed his true form in the Ladbroke. He was well-fancied for the Ascot race and looked to have every chance until fitness told in the closing stages. Fry believes that he may eventually prove better at two and a half miles but Newbury’s long galloping straight should be ideal. He is still available at 10-1 in places.

The ante-post favourite is Calipto, trained by Paul Nicholls. He was unlucky in last year’s Triumph Hurdle when his rider’s stirrup leather broke and finished ahead of Activial at Aintree. He may have raced too keenly when beaten at Cheltenham in October and has been well backed for this race. He still holds a Champion Hurdle entry but I think any value has gone at around 5-1.

Activial @10-1 888Sport, Sportingbet

Vasco Du Ronceray @33-1 Betfair

Each-way ¼ odds, 1,2,3,4

Denman Chase Preview

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Once again we face a week of uncertainty as regards the prospects of racing at the weekend. The Betfair Hurdle (formerly the Tote Gold Trophy, Schweppes Gold Trophy) is the big race of the week. Those who remember it as the Schweppes will be half expecting the meeting to be abandoned as it used to be even money whether or not the meeting would take place.

I have just read that one forecast has estimated 70mm of rain for the Newbury area. If that is true, we could be having a raft race instead! Assuming that particular forecast is wrong, let’s take a look at the Denman Chase.

The hot favourite here is the popular grey Al Ferof who was third in the King George VI Chase at Kempton. The thing about this one is that he is yet to win over three miles and it is personally reasonable to doubt his stamina. It is worth remembering that he won the two-mile Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and he has only had three starts in the past couple of seasons.

I’m certainly prepared to take him on but the question is with what? Triolo D’Alene is my long-term Grand National fancy and I’ve noted that Nicky Henderson has pulled him out of two races recently due to the heavy ground. The weights for the National are due out next week and I can’t see him risking getting a late hike in the weights.

Harry Topper interests me after running on stoutly to finish third behind The Giant Bolster and Rocky Creek in the Argento Chase. His jumping was a bit deliberate at times and it was a bit of a stop-go effort. Newbury should suit him better and he has to be respected.

However, after last weekend’s Venetia Williams benefit, I am going to side with Katenko. He was fancied by a few people to run a big race in the Gold Cup last year before injury intervened. I wouldn’t quite put him in that class but he loves this ground and ran a stormer in the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock.

He kept plugging away and was not beaten far in fourth place, a marked improvement on his previous efforts. The Williams horses last weekend ran as though they had improved a stone overnight and Katenko only needs a few pounds to go close here.

Katenko at 6-1 Bet Victor

Betfair Hurdle Ante-Post update

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Twenty-nine horses have been left in the Betfair Hurdle including both Irish Saint and Irving from the Paul Nicholls stable. The Trainer has warned that Irving is unlikely to run if the going is extremely testing and that seems to be heavy hint as to the direction our cash should be going in.

Irish Saint bolted up in the mud at Ascot last time and has been raised 12lbs by the handicapper. Because of the conditions of Saturday’s race, he gets in here with only a 5lbs penalty so is theoretically 7lb’s well in at the weights.

These handicap good things don’t always win but, with the going currently soft and heavy in places, the omens are good for Irish Saint. Noel Fehily keeps the ride and I imagine that he couldn’t believe how well he was going at Ascot on this horse. He had previously run in the Ladbroke and got bogged down in the middle of the chasing pack.

That race may also hold the key to his biggest danger as David Pipe’s Dell’ Arca was still in touch when unseating his rider three out. The form for the big two-mile handicaps is really hard to fathom this season with neither the Greatwood nor the Ladbroke being boosted since. I backed Sametegal (2nd) in the Greatwood but he was slaughtered up at Musselburgh on Sunday.

It is difficult to be too confident about how Dell’ Arca will run as Pipe has had a couple of notable disappointments with Dynaste and The Liquidator. The victory of Red Sherlock recovered a bit of faith so we’ll give Dell’ Arca an each-way chance here.

Alan King’s Montbazon was on my horse to follow list a couple of seasons ago but has been out injured since finishing fourth at the festival behind Cinders And Ashes. This would be a very ambitious place to start him off by King has entered him in the Champion Hurdle so obviously believes the talent is still there. With the stable still recovering from the virus, I can’t support him here but I shall be keeping a close eye on him.

Of the others, Cheltenian is another that has had his problems and is hard to weigh up on a win in a poor race at Uttoxeter. His trainer managed to get that good hurdler Snap Tie back to win a big prize a couple of seasons ago so you cannot rule him out here.

Irish Saint at 7-1 Bet365

Dell’ Arca (each-way) at 9-1 Coral

¼ odds 1,2,3,4

Betfair Hurdle Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The weather is continuing to play havoc with the racing programme in the UK and it is not looking that great for the weekend. The bookmakers have not even bothered pricing up the Saturday races so perhaps they know something we don’t?

If the weather relents by the following weekend, the Betfair Handicap Hurdle is scheduled for Newbury. Last year’s runaway success for My Tent Or Yours seems to have put everyone in the mind-set that a smart novice is what is required to win this. Admittedly Darlan was travelling ominously well the year before when he fell but he was exceptional too. What a shame that his life was so cruelly cut short.

The “talking horse” this year is Irving, trained by Paul Nicholls. He is currently vying for favouritism in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and there is no doubt that he is pretty smart. Having said that, he is not exactly thrown in on 11st 2lb against some seasoned handicappers.

Although I tipped him when he won impressively at Ascot last time, I’d be worried about those that he beat. Prince Siegfried had not yet been shaken off when he fell and he ran deplorably next time. The third and fourth have also been well beaten so I don’t think we should rushing to take 7-1 in a race like this.

Having mapped out this race for Irving, you get the feeling that Nicholls was taken slightly by surprise when Irish Saint romped home at Ascot in the heavy ground. It is true that he expected some improvement but he won so easily that the trainer is almost obliged to run him here under a 5lb penalty. The handicapper has stuck him up 12lbs for winning that race so he is officially 7lbs better off here.

The doubts are whether he will be so effective over this shorter trip and on potentially better ground. I’d also wonder whether he will get such a free run here as they tend to go like a bat out of hell in this race and we’ve seen him struggle in similar contests. If the field cuts up and the going rides heavy, then Irish Saint would be a logical choice.

I was really impressed by Flaxen Flare’s run in the Boylesports hurdle at Leopardstown last week. I had gone through that race inside out and come to the conclusion that he was just too high in the handicap but he ran a blinder to finish second to Gilgamboa. The vibes are that the winner will miss this and head to Cheltenham but I have no idea whether Flaxen Flare will have a crack at this race.

Cheltenian has been through the wars since winning the Cheltenham bumper in 2011 and it’s hard to fancy him on the back of an easy win in an egg-and-spoon race at Uttoxeter. He did hit a few hurdles there and this will be a different kettle of fish if we get a big field.

With several trainers holding multiple entries, the sensible policy at the moment is to sit tight and wait for the next acceptance stage. The weights could go up and change the complexion of the race completely. Watch this space!