Wednesday, 14 March 2018

Cheltenham Festival Day 2 - Ladies Day






13:30 BALLYMORE NOVICES’ HURDLE

Dare I say that Gordon Elliott’s runners haven’t been firing as well as expected this month (yet) which makes Samco far too short in my opinion. Next Destination has been staying on well in his finishes and can do better than many expect under King of Cheltenham Ruby Walsh who can out-think any jockey lining up here (especially one who has never placed here before) so I'm going to take a chance on him turning over the short favourite

Vision Des Flo’s wind op made a massive difference and he won impressively enough at Exeter on heavy going last time to have me believe there's more to come

BALLYMORE NOVICES’ HURDLE
WIN
Next Destination
Each Way
Vision Des Flos



14:10 RSA NOVICES’ CHASE

Presenting Percy is an out and out stayer which is going to help if the ground is as holding as yesterday.  He came within a length of Gold Cup hope and Irish National winner Our Duke when last out so holds top credentials.

Ballyoptic is better than his results to date suggest and a little more luck this time should see him outrun his odds

RSA NOVICES’ CHASE
WIN
 Presenting Percy
Each Way
 Ballyoptic



14:50 CORAL CUP HURDLE

Burbank is spoken of as a good ground horse yet wasn’t disgraced in a G3 hurdle at Ascot on soft and looks as if the hill might see him picking them off at the end 

The Organist qualified for the Pertemps final but has come here instead so (knowledgeable) connections may be of the mind that he can cope with conditions at this shorter distance

CORAL CUP HURDLE
WIN
 Burbank
Each Way
 The Organist



15:30 QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION CHASE

Altior had a health scare earlier last week but you can be sure that Nicky Henderson wouldn’t be running him if he wasn’t 100% fit – he should be visiting the winners enclosure for the 12th time in a row and the second year running here, having won the Arkle last year

Min or Douvan should be following Altior home but if either are below par then Politologue looks sure to benefit and run into a place

QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION CHASE
WIN
Altior
Each Way
Politologue



16:10 GLENFARCLAS CROSS COUNTRY CHASE

The Last Samuri has never been unplaced in 8 runs on soft and is a class act as long as he copes with this course (trainer Kim Bailey is confident)

Hurricane Darwin coped admirably at Punchestown last month on his first X-Country and the ground today should be a little less testing so a place (or better) is not beyond him

GLENFARCLAS CROSS COUNTRY CHASE
WIN
The Last Samuri
Each Way
Hurricane Darwin



16:50 FRED WINTER JUVENILE HURDLE

The King Of May has plenty of improvement left in him yet to come and a nice low weight.  He only joined Brian Ellison this year (from France) and will come on for last month’s run

Turning Gold is a game battler and the stable is peaking at the right time but he does like to front run and won’t find it easy in such a large field this time -still he should be good enough to hold on for a place

FRED WINTER JUVENILE HURDLE
WIN
 The King Of May
Each Way
 Turning Gold



17:30 CHAMPION BUMPER

Carefully Selected with Ruby up will be able to grind this out from the front in the conditions

Mercy Mercy Me is another grinder and likely to be picking them off up the hill

CHAMPION BUMPER
WIN
 Carefully Selected
Each Way
 Mercy Mercy Me




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