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Djakadam, Pendra and Simonsig not running according to Racing Post.
Buywise struggling to be fit but that could be trainer attempting to inflate the price.
The betting had been suggesting that they wouldn’t line up.
I’ve never been as keen to go in ante-post with the jumps as I am with flat racing, because it seems harder to predict where they will actually go, with Novice, Handicaps and class races all potential targets for some horses and the distance preference can be undefined, or flexible for certain horses.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Charlie Longsdon says Pendra ‘won’t be ready in time for the Paddy Power Gold Cup’ but will be seen out at the end of the month.
COLOUR SQUADRON 14S for me trainer in form horse will win when no expects it.Can be this race.
Charlie Longsdon says Pendra ‘won’t be ready in time for the Paddy Power Gold Cup’ but will be seen out at the end of the month.
You had one job Charlie
http://i60.tinypic.com/242ef09.jpg
Probably more to it that ‘not ready in time’ with Pendra.
His dam Mariah Rollins ultimately flattered to deceive after looking like a potential champion early in her career. After being talked up by Longsdon as a sure thing last March and now hitting this setback, Pendra might be following suit.
Ballycasey could be a huge player in this – and judging from his price on Betfair it looks like he’s coming over. Travelling sweetly turning into the straight in the RSA he ran out of petrol and finished out of the places. But with half a mile to run he was going best of all.
Connections fancy him as their Ryanair horse and if that is the ultimate ambition, then he must go close here off 153.
Got to be Colour Squadron for me. He’s been knocking on the door for a couple seasons now and although his mark has risen considerably for his efforts; he is simply incapable of running a bad race and he saves his best for these big field handicaps at Cheltenham. Hobbs is in rare form aswell, so you have to give him a shout.
Attaglace takes the saver honours.
Unfortunately the trends lead me to the first 2 in the betting but as Johns Spirit is a favourite of mine I’ve gone ‘win’ on him BUT one I have been waiting to hear about is Indian Castle who at 25s could go well
Struggling to single out one for this at the 5 day stage, a real head scratcher.
Present View
still sits at the head of the market, and he’s obviously a leading candidate, especially as this would appear to the long term target, and he’s also race fit. Whether he deserves to be favourite though is debatable, and I’d rather be with Attaglance
who’s off a pound lower, and but for a moment of madness by Brian Hughes on the run in at the Festival, clearly had the beating of him. Attaglance is double the price too, so of the 2 I’d sway towards him.As already stated, the manner of the victory of Buywise
at Cheltenham earlier in the year, is difficult to forget, and he’s clearly going the right way. Conditions of the race sure to suit, and only concern to date was Evan Williams not being certain he could get him ready for this. Time will tell. It’s hard to make a case for his stablemate King Massini
.Vying for third favouritism are Uxizandre
, Oscar Whisky
, and John’s Spirit
. Oscar Whisky has attracted many column inches over the past few years, and he’s long overdue to land another "proper" prize. I’d easily forgive him his spill at the Festival, and although behind Uxizandre at Aintree in April, he’s never really far away that often, and available at 10’s, that’s sure to appeal to a few as a reasonable each way proposition. I’m another who was a bit disappointed in Uxizandres comeback last month, but round here with a race under his belt, he’s surely going to better that performance, and got to be considered a danger to all. Lots to like about both his runs at the tail end of last season too. I’d underrated Johns Spirit a wee bit, and continually missed the boat with him, however finally managed to catch him right at Cheltenham last month, and I thought he won with a fair bit in hand. The big question is whether he can defy a 9lb hike? I honestly think he can, he clearly thrives round here, and this may be the time of year to catch him. 9lbs is a fair old rise, but just the way he won last time really impressed me, and I think he’ll run a blinder. Of the 3, I’d be more inclined to stick with him, and I’m sure Jonjo can get that wee bit extra out of him.Jonjo also has Eastlake
entered, and I’m reluctantly leaving him out of the equation. His run in The Topham is hard to forget, where he finished 3rd, and I’m hoping he’s having a season geared towards Aintree. Ideally this race will provide an ideal opportunity to shave another couple of pounds off with a view to The Grand National. Whether I’m right or wrong, I’m pretty sure there’s a decent prize in him this season.Colour Squadron’s
been called a few names in the past, but I’m pleased to see him getting a bit of support on here. Yes, he’s not won for 3 years, but over the last year and a half, he’s ran in some hot races, and you could argue he’s just came up against better handicapped horses. He probably won’t make my shortlist, but from a stable bang in form, I’d be amazed if he’s not in the mix as they turn for home. His stablemate Persian Snow
ran a big race at Cheltenham last time, and that run alone gives him a squeak in this, he’d certainly be entitled to get a lot closer to John’s Spirit this time. He’s not done enough in previous runs to be given more of a chance, but nonetheless, it was a decent enough prep.Rajdhani Express
is a horse I really like, and I think his future is definitely away from handicaps. He ran a sound enough race off 155 in this last year, so strictly speaking got a task on his hands off 158 this time, but I just think he’s got loads of improvement to come. Easy to forgive him his unseat last time at Aintree, however his run at Aintree in April is harder to excuse, and he was well beaten. He ran a massive race though in The Ryanair, and a repeat of that will put him bang there. I’m reluctantly leaving him for this though, and ideally, with a few quid on him for The Gold Cup, I’m hoping he runs a sound enough race, but one which will leave connections considering a step up in trip. His stablemate Ericht
has probably had enough chances, and I’d be surprised if he were good enough for this, though his run last time at Cheltenham wasn’t without promise.Edgardo Sol
has been a very costly horse for me, and I’ve bet him many times the last couple of years. I thought he was going to be just short of top class for a while, but he seemed to really go off the boil. He did however, have a really good prep for this in The Old Roan behind a bang on form Wishfull Thinking, and with that being his first run over fences for a year, he could potentially be well treated for this, and not totally discounted.I initially considered this too hot for Indian Castle
, but considering how he took to here in January, then a big run isn’t out of the question. He’s surely going to find a couple too good, but at 20’s then you never know. I’d expected to see more from him in The Kim Muir, but it may just be this is his trip, and he still looks decent enough value at 20’s, with the 25’s long gone.Caid Du Berlais
didn’t jump off the page for me in this, and despite his decent track record in hot races, I’d never really taken to him that much. He was far from disgraced though in The Galway Plate and he’s been dropped a whopping 6lbs for that run, and that’s enough for me to take him a bit more seriously.I follow the Venetia Williams stable closely, and she has Kapga De Cerisy
, and Shanghani
entered. Kapga hasn’t been seen since winning at Sandown a year ago, and he’s obviously had his problems, but there’s also the suspicion he might be fairly well treated, as it was an impressive enough win, and any runner from the yard, never mind one at 33’s, is always worthy of note in big handicaps here…….Interesting. Although a big step up required for Shanghani, he can be forgiven a couple of poor runs after a really brave win in the mud at Newbury. Hopefully he’ll have recovered for this, and wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him run a big race @ 40’s. If Saturday isn’t his day, he’d still be on my radar for The Byrne Group Plate in March, as well as Kapga.Champion Court
is a bit of a standing dish round here, and he’s run many a fine race at the track, though his overall strike rate is a bit questionable. He’s starting to get a bit of help from the handicapper, but he might just need to come down another couple of pounds. He is however, another one of those who’ll no doubt be on the premises as they head for home, and at 25’s you’re sure to get a proper run for your money.If I do have a bet though it will be on one of these……..
I always follow JP runners closely, and Shanpallas
, and Cantlow
make the shortlist here. For a horse I didn’t give much of a chance to, Shanpallas ran a huge race in The Kerry National, and after being snapped up by JP, he was a very impressive winner of The Munster National last time. Things seem to be finally clicking for him, and the 6lb rise doesn’t look too harsh. I suppose I’d liked to have seen him closer to Indian Castle here in January, and there’s the thought he might need more of a trip now, but he seems in great form, and he’s impossible to be too negative about. Cantlow comes here a 1lb lower than his excellent second to Double Ross here in The December Gold Cup, and having taken in chases over 3 miles plus since then, including The Irish National, he looks primed for a big run back down in trip. The 20’s looks really appealing.I’ve been following Astracad
since his Novice days, and he’s been something of a nearly horse, not to mention (for me) a costly horse. He won off 138 here as a Novice 3 years ago, and finally, 17 runs later, he’s finally below that mark. He’s only won once since then, a weak affair at Perth, but it’s his solid enough runs in hot company since then that seem to have held him back. He deserves a break, and with him looking, finally, to be given a chance by the assessor, then I’m very much tempted to take a bit of the 33’s.Last but not least, Easter Meteor
. Was running a huge race in this last year, when falling close to home. Although beaten at the time, he still looked set for a place, and he followed this up by chasing home the very well handicapped Cantlow at Newbury, and running another solid race in The December Gold Cup. Not seen since being brought down in The Grand Annual, he’s since moved from the Emma Lavelle yard to David Pipe. It’s not gone unnoticed to me that this is Pipes only entry, in a race he’s made his own over the years, and this may just be significant. I suppose it’s a question of whether Pipe can get that bit of improvement out of him. He’s not had him that long, but it may just be that he’s seen enough of him to make him his sole entry. I think the 16’s is a cracking price, it surely won’t last.Probably Easter Meteor for me then, and of the JP pair, I’d sway towards Cantlow, with Astracad as the most attractive outsider.
GL
Great assessment, Astracad is frustrating but there’s ability there so has to be a decent each way punt off a low weight.
Johns Spirit for me though, he won this last year and looks to have improved since then so with course and distance form there’s not much to dislike.
Bit concerned that Kapga de Cerisy seems to be a bit of a Sandown specialist. Indian Castle has won first time out, the probable soft going on Saturday means that you need more of a staying type and he does like Cheltenham [sometimes]. And Many Clouds sort of franked the form [although Indian Castle was a long way behind him when they met. Although, to be honest I haven’t looked at many of the horses [still busy spring cleaning].
RE Champion Court: watch his last run and notice how reluctant he is becoming.
He tried to duck out after his first circuit, raced lazily throughout and carried his head awkwardly when coming under pressure. I think he has fallen out of love with the game, which is a bit of a disaster for a perennial second-rater!
Happy with the position on Present View and Buywise; the latter wins by at least four lengths.
Pretty boring selection but unless John’s Spirit has morphed into a genuine G1 horse then Buywise wins this.
Lee
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