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I expect Celestial Halo to win well and firmly establish himself as the two mile hurdler to beat this season.
Punjabi won the Fighting Fifth on his reappearance last season, but he’s apparently a tough horse to get fit and it’s asking an awful lot of him to beat the sharper Celestial Halo on his seasonal bow.
He was well beaten by Ashkazar in the Kingwell Hurdle last year and I think David Pipe’s horse is well overpriced at 14/1. He’s been a model of consistency over hurdles and you can forget his Champion Hurdle effort (tried in blinkers for the first time). If back to his best after a short spell chasing, he’ll give the favourite most to think about.
Medermit probably falls short of this standard, whilst Kyber Kim is very talented, but not one to trust. Little should seperate them once again. Cape Tribulation, Ebadiyan, Oslot and Songe look outclassed, but I think Secret Dancer could surprise a few at a massive price (66/1).
Ran a cracker when third behind the talented Loosen My Load here last month, with Some Present not too far ahead. Some Present has once again seen the backside of Dunguib (also runner-up to the same horse in Champion Bumper) when second in the Royal Bond, but he had some decent sorts behind him that day. I’m not saying that form is good enough to win this and Secret Dancer has a mountain to climb on official ratings, but he’s open to plenty of improvement and I think he’s capable of collecting a nice prize before the end of this season, if not, next.
Hard Held
You can’t discount PUNJABI.
Runs well 1st time out and has a decent Cheltenham record – 3 runs – 1 win (Champ Hrd) – 1 3rd (Champ Hrd) – 1 4th (Triumph Hrd)
The fitness edge that CELESTIAL HALO holds must be a big advantage however…..
On ratings alone the others have a tough task.
I’ve just had my max bet on Celestial Halo with Ladbrokes at their very generous price of Evens. Don’t think tht price will last the day. I make him no bigger than a 4/7 shot in this. The bigger 2m1f track will be far more to his liking than the Champion Hurdle track. Furthermore he will be rock hard fit whereas his only realistic rival Punjabi may not be. And even if Punjabi is at 100% I’d still fancy the Halo to beat him well enough. Nice way to earn 100% interest in 5 days anyway.
I’ve just had my max bet on Celestial Halo with Ladbrokes at their very generous price of Evens. Don’t think tht price will last the day. I make him no bigger than a 4/7 shot in this. The bigger 2m1f track will be far more to his liking than the Champion Hurdle track. Furthermore he will be rock hard fit whereas his only realistic rival Punjabi may not be. And even if Punjabi is at 100% I’d still fancy the Halo to beat him well enough. Nice way to earn 100% interest in 5 days anyway.
Somebody on here with more confidence than me! I like your style Hard Held!I can afford to just sit and watch this one having all the prices for the Champion i need!I agree he has to be odds on in any ground,but he must win,No excuses!
Kyber won cosily as well .. saw it in the flesh .. he was going away
not the first time hes finished like that at chelt not bottomless ground but soft enough – something to think about come march as he made them look ordinary
Are all those people having ‘max bets’ on Celestial Halo licking their wounds this morning?
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I can’t imagine anyone who piled in to Celestial Halo is overly pleased with the result, rich1985.
According to Andrew Black’s blog, Celestial Halo was said to have improved by ‘over a stone’ during the summer. So, either something went horribly wrong on Saturday or he simply isn’t as good as connections thought. Either way I wouldn’t be rushing to back him for the Champion Hurdle.
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