CHELTENHAM DAY 2

Evening All ,

Yes thats all of ya including the mardy fuckers that cant be arsed commenting or chatting...
Today was in some ways spectacular , some ways very sad and in others..well quite epic.
The spectacular was seeing the brilliant QUEVEGA win for a record 6th time in the mares race battling like a true legend all the way this is one mare that doesnt know how to take defeat....the Very sad news was the demise of Our Conor who had to sadly be put to sleep due to back injuries caused when falling ( and nearly brought down the brilliant The New One ) and the epic was watching the quite majestic VAUTOUR destroy a top quality filed to make all and run away with the Supreme....a brilliant first day in which i got a lot of things right, made some good calls, made a profit and had fun...although not all the selections run as hoped but they were mainly the speculative choices.


Now as we move into Day 2 we look ahead to the Fred Winter and the RSA among others.

Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle (Registered As The Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle) (Grade 1)

..A tough start to the day but its also a start im happy with as im super keen on the Irish Runner FAUGHEEN unbeaten in five runs this Germany gelding will take a world of beating.

The 2m5f trip will not be a problem as it absolutely hosed up over 3m in Heavy , testing conditions lto and has also won on good and yielding ground so that wont be a concern , this beast moves effortlessly well never really off the bit and jumps like a stag and i simply cannot see past this today...another winner and another star for Ms Ricci >>

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Race Card Stats > 

WIN : FAUGHEEN ( NAP ) - 1st @ 2.74

EW : RED SHERLOCK - 

LONGSHOT : FENNELL BAY - 

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BET ADVICE : Win on Faugheen > 

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RESULT :

Full Result

Pos	Dist	Horse	Trainer	Age	Weight	Jockey	SP
1st		6 Faugheen (IRE)	W P Mullins	6	11-7	R Walsh	6/4f
Tracked leaders, went 2nd before 4 out where not fluent, led and hit 2 out, clear before last, stayed on strongly, impressive £1300-£800(x4) £3750-£2000 £30000-£20000 £18000-£12000 £6000-£4000 £3000-£2000(x3) £1500-£1000(x6) £1200-£800(x3) £900-£600 £6003750-£4002(x2)
2nd	4½	1 Ballyalton (IRE)	Ian Williams	7	11-7	W Kennedy	20/1
Mid-division, headway and in touch 4 out, effort 2 out, ridden to chase winner before last, kept on when hard pressed for 2nd flat, no chance with winner opened 18/1
3rd	½	12 Rathvinden (IRE)	W P Mullins	6	11-7	P Townend	11/2
Mid-division on outside, lost place 4 out, headway next, chased leaders when not much room and switched left before last, ridden and stayed on to press for 2nd flat, no chance with winner opened 6/1 £30000-£5000

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RSA Chase (Novices' Grade 1)

..This for me is one of the toughest races to call as its so wide open and i dont feel i have any sort of edge here....this is a toughie...the RSA a race for those that wont quite make it to the top of any specific tree but can make hay in these...

I would love to see the brother of Grands Crus win Gevery Chambertain but its been so disappointing this term even at big odds im not interested so i will look at a few others , CARLINGFORD LOUGH comes here in very rude health and carries a ton of form most of which is rather useful and cannot be overlooked , LE BEC has had all the proverbial dogs a barking and i know Emma rates this her best chance for a win this year , if SMAD PLACE can translate his superior hurdle form into workable Chase form then this is a done deal , DON COSSACK looks a very nice prospect ( getting an idea now of how tough this is ) and finally but not least we have the highly regarded BALLYCASEY from the all powerful Mullins yard a horse that has only been beaten once and that was by the re-opposing Morning Assembly but im not sure this fully gets this trip.

This list is not finite and i could easily name at least 4 or 5 others who all have a strong shout but we must try to narrow the field so with best intentions i will nominate the following three against the field..

1. LE BEC - 18.5 - Fell

2. SMAD PLACE - 8.2 - 2nd @ 8.40

&

3. CARLINGFORD LOUGH - 9.6 - Not good enough

With the best " Longshot" being Gevery Chambertain @ 36.0.- Hampered & weakened.

BET ADVICE : FAP DUTCH on Carlingford Lough and LE BEC and a Win on Smad Place.*
* Easy trade for a profit as it hit 1.40.

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RESULT :

Full Result

Pos	Dist	Horse	Trainer	Age	Weight	Jockey	SP
1st		12 O'faolains Boy (IRE)	Miss R Curtis	7	11-4	B J Geraghty	12/1
£14000-£1000 £7000-£500
2nd	nk	15 Smad Place (FR)	A King	7	11-4	R Thornton	13/2j
opened 7/1 £35000-£5000 £14000-£2000 £3500-£500
3rd	6	11 Morning Assembly (IRE)	P A Fahy	7	11-4	D N Russell	9/1
opened 8/1 £10000-£1000 £6000-£600

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Coral Cup (Grade 3 Handicap Hurdle)

..This is just a ridic , bonkers pinstickers race  ( Should suit Ricky Hurd then ) , 28 runners , 2m5f and a lot of class on show....this is a bookies dream and a pundits nightmare...im actually muttering FFS!!!...as i type...this is crazy...

What i do know is that " Nico " is very much looking forward to the ride on WHISPER and the yard are very bullish regarding its chances and this will be carrying the biggest portion of my money and @ 27/1 i think this is an OUTSTANDING bet in such a crazy race , a CD winner , in form , has the excellent Nico steering and can race from anywhere on or off the pace and has multiple placed form in hot big field events and this imo and the yards opinion has a very live chance.

Elsewhere we have the hugely talented DUNGUIB a horse once thought to be heading right to the very top but was sidelined for almost 2 years after suffering a nasty injury but returned in good form and looks primed for a big run as this could prove to be different gravy.

And finally we have the very useful BAYAN that appears to have been laid out for this...these are my three against the field.

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Race Card Stats > 

WIN : WHISPER - 1ST @ 16.0

EW :  DUNGUIB - 

LONGSHOT : BAYAN - 3rd @ 15.50

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BET ADVICE : 3 WAY Dutch ( WIN ) and a Place LAY on both Dunguib and Bayan.

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RESULT :

Full Result

Pos	Dist	Horse	Trainer	Age	Weight	Jockey	SP
1st		2 Whisper (FR)	N J Henderson	6	11-11	Nico de Boinville (5)	14/1
opened 20/1 £10000-£500
2nd	s.h	9 Get Me Out Of Here (IRE)	Jonjo O'Neill	10	11-6 pt	A P McCoy	12/1
opened 14/1 £5000-£300(x2)
3rd	2¼	22 Bayan (IRE)	G Elliott	5	10-10 pt	D J Condon	11/1
£11000-£1000 £10000-£800 £10000-£1000 £3300-£300
4th	1¼	13 Smashing (FR)	W P Mullins	5	11-1	A E Lynch	25/1

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BetVictor Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1)

..This is arguably the days biggest race and most anticipated and most of the attention will be pushed towards the Fav Sire De Grugy but this is one easy to back Fav im happy to take on today , yes it comes here in the rudest of health and tremendous form but it has shown a dislike for Cheltenham before and was convincingly beaten by Captain Conan over CD last year and with this being a modest affair i think its worth taking on.

In fact most of these are worth taking on as so many have failed in the past, have questions to answer or are simply racing out of their age or comfort zone.

I have a feeling we will now start to see the best of HINTERLAND who is also a CD winner and arrives right at the top of his game having easily beaten some quality sorts in the Henry VIII chase and this is still improving and is def one for the short list.

My second selection is my EW selection and that is the aforementioned CAPTAIN CONAN who will strip a lot fitter now after the tardy and ring rusty fto run when behind the fav for todays race and old adversary Sire De Grugy.

Finally i think we can call upon a longie to fill the berths and the longshot slot is taken by MODULE who is very classy although i didnt really think this would be his ideal trip although he has won previously over both Course and Distance.- 3rd @ 20/1

BET ADVICE : EW on Captain Conan with a saver on Hinterland.
* Captain Conan pulled after 2 fences , injured..but if you follow us on Facebook you will see i smashed Sire de Grugy @ 4.2 for a very nice win...the price was just too big to pass up in the end.

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RESULT : 

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Glenfarclas Handicap Chase (Cross Country)

..A super tough event over 4m which takes some specialist getting.

Balthazar King loves the challenge of these cross-country fences and has now won six times around here, including this contest in 2012. He was last seen beating Uncle Junior by a length over track and trip in November, though the runner-up is a couple of pounds better off today and has also won here in the past. Last year's winner Big Shu has 11lb more to carry this season but made a promising reappearance behind Love Rory at Punchestown and there shouldn't be much between the pair of today's terms. Sizing Australia, the winner in 2011, lines up again and Any Currency was a bit unlucky when beaten half-a-length by Sire Collonges over course and distance in December and should be thereabouts again. Hey Big Spender, Duke Of Lucca and Diamond Harry all have ability but Enda Bolger's runners in this are always worth a second look. As well as Love Rory, he saddles Quantitativeeasing, Quiscover Fontaine and STAR NEUVILLE. The latter looks very well treated and can be a fifth winner in 10 years for the stable.

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Race Card Stats > 

WIN : STAR NEUVILLE - 

EW : BALTHAZAR KING - 1ST @ 5.87

LONGSHOT :  SIZING AUSTRALIA - 

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BET ADVICE : 3 Way WIN Dutch

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RESULT :

Full Result

Pos	Dist	Horse	Trainer	Age	Weight	Jockey	SP
1st		1 Balthazar King (IRE)	P J Hobbs	10	11-12	R Johnson	4/1
opened 5/1 £25000-£5000 £20000-£4000 £22500-£5000 £9000-£2000(x2) £4500-£1000(x10) £2250-£500(x2) £1600-£400
2nd	s.h	13 Any Currency (IRE)	M Keighley	11	10-8	Ian Popham	10/1
3rd	3	3 Big Shu (IRE)	Peter Maher	9	11-9 t	P Carberry	3/1f
opened 5/1 £15000-£3000 £10000-£2000 £5000-£1000 £2000-£400 £9000-£2000 £12000-£3000 £20000-£5000

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Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3)

..There have been four long-priced winners of this in its short history, including the last two renewals, so the market isn't always the best guide. Noble Inn and Arzembouy Premier look closely matched on Gowran running so it's no surprise that Ruby Walsh has chosen Ivan Grozny, fourth in a Grade 1 at Leopardstown last month. Paul Nicholls, who trained the winner in 2010, has three entered with Daryl Jacob on board Katgary who makes his UK debut. Gordon Elliott has two with the consistent Clarcam possibly the pick and Nicky Henderson is hopeful of a good run from Dawalan, who had Certification behind when winning at Newbury in December and had earlier finished ahead of Baradari at the same track. Goodwood Mirage could be interesting having been highly tried since making a winning debut at Kempton but we were impressed with ASTRE DE LA COUR at Ascot and this lightly-raced type could represent a bit of value. Second Handiwork enjoys a big turnaround in the weights but is a hard-puller and may not get home here, though the overall form of that race has a solid look about it.

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Race Card Stats > 

WIN : CLARCAM - 

EW : BARADARI - 

LONGSHOT :  ASTRA DE LA COUR - 

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BET ADVICE : 3

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RESULT : 

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Final on request.....Have a great day all , im off to soak my weary body and get ready for more fun n games tmrw...