Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase Tips

The great thing about ante-post betting is that it never stops. Historically, the ante-post price about a horse you feel will be carefully plotted towards a long-term target, has been the domain of the slightly nervous request to a betting shop assistant.

Not so anymore, a swift look at many an odds comparison site reveals a raft of opportunities way beyond the upcoming Cheltenham Festival, at which every race already has a fairly mature market to boot.

Having had one ante-post look ahead to racing beyond this season’s Cheltenham Festival already, in the shape of this selection for the 2021 King George VI Chase – which is still available at 33/1 with Paddy Power – a lazy perusal through some of the further afield markets threw up something else of real interest.

William Hill and Unibet have priced up a handful of races for the 2022 Cheltenham Festival already, and while to some, the mere thought of locking up your money for the best part of 14 months seems like madness, I’d suggest many would do similar with your savings accounts for a much smaller potential interest rate! Obviously, there is the chance that your investment could well bite the dust before the dividend date, but therein lies the risk/reward rationale that you need to apply to ante-post betting.

My Drogo is a horse who will probably have novice hurdle entries at this year’s Cheltenham Festival, but it wouldn’t be the biggest shock to see Dan Skelton sidestep March, and aim his strapping young horse to Aintree, or something else away from the spotlight at this stage of his career.

It is this patience and ability to ascertain what is best for a horse’s career that sets aside Skelton to many, and is inevitably a quality learnt from his previous boss Paul Nicholls.

My Drogo is without doubt going to be a smashing chaser at some stage, and more likely than not, that transition to the bigger obstacles will come next season. He is 50/1 with Unibet for the 2022 Arkle Novices’ Chase, and 50/1 with William Hill for the 2022 Marsh’ Novices Chase – I advise having a small EW bet on both, as essentially you’re getting roughly 25/1 that he wins at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival.

My Drogo looks blessed with a lovely blend of latent ability and pace and is also very much bred for stamina, so I wouldn’t know which one of the Arkle or Marsh would be more suitable just yet, but I do know that his three runs this season have made just about as striking an impression on me, as any novice hurdler has.

That impression is a combination of visual impression and also a dissection of the times of the races he’s been involved in.

Second on debut in a Cheltenham bumper to another potential star, the Nicky Henderson-trained I Am Maximus, My Drogo‘s run was worth marking up significantly, as the winner got first run at a crucial time and bagged the favoured stands-side rail up the straight.

Little time was wasted, and the Skelton’s sent My Drogo straight over hurdles for a ready win in a decent Newbury maiden hurdle, before again they were keen to set him a new and bigger challenge for his next run.

In winning a Grade 2 novice hurdle at Ascot on just his second hurdle start, in a strikingly good time, My Drogo has cosily accomplished every assignment his handler has posed of him. The bare form of that Ascot Grade 2 gives us mixed messages, but that it is more a factor of consequence than anything else.

Fast forward 12 months, and I really do believe that granted a fair wind, My Drogo could be a name on everyone’s lips – and at 50/1 for either the 2022 Arkle with Unibet, or 2022 Marsh with William Hill, both are investments well worth locking away now.