Oddschecker Handicap Chase – 2.35 Cheltenham – Sunday 15th November

I’m sure they’ll give the ground a plentiful supply of artificial moisture at Cheltenham ahead of the three days of the Open meeting but come Sunday (given the freezing overnight temperatures and the dry forecast) it might well be that it is the fastest ground of the three days.

That could count against a fair few in the Oddschecker Handicap Chase at 2.35 at Cheltenham on Sunday, as the likes of Resplendent Grey, King Of Answers, Monbeg Genius, Holokea and Neo King might all want a good bit of cushion underhoof to be seen to best effect, particularly on seasonal debut. It might even be that some sidestep this valuable prize begrudgingly.

One horse who won’t mind the livelier ground is Neil Mulholland’s Double Powerful, who is steadily but quite notably, getting his career back on track after a mightily unlucky autumn last year.

Some of that poor luck was self-inflicted with his unseat at Cheltenham last November completely his own doing, but the fall at Ludlow and the subsequent unseat over hurdles back here at Cheltenham weren’t completely his fault.

With a lovely run at Galway in late summer giving him a confidence boost, which will have only been further enhanced with a ready win at Fontwell Park back over fences last month where Richie McLernon made his mind up every step of the way, he is back on that fierce upward curve. The jockey is key to unlocking the ability that Double Powerful clearly has, which in my opinion is greater than any rival he may cross swords with on Sunday, and it’s nice to see McLernon jocked up.

At a general 8/1 each-way, Double Powerful is a third 1-star * ante-post recommendation of the week, and it might well be that getting that price for 3 places is particularly advantageous if there are one or two ‘no shows’ among the opposition.