Mares’ Chase

Mares Chase Ante-Post Tips – 2022 Cheltenham Festival – Will Smith

The inaugural running of the Mares Chase at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival was, as many predicted, just another opportunity for Willie Mullins to cherry pick the most suitable mare(s) in his sizable yard, and plunder the prize.

With Colreevy and Elimay fighting a rousing battle from a long way out, neither giving an inch, we were treated to a spectacle that was indeed befitting of the Cheltenham Festival. While Mullins, (with the help of Galopin Des Champs winning the final race of the meeting 35 minutes later,) had nipped up on the outside of Henry De Bromhead to claim the trainers title, with the 1-2-4 in the Mares Chase.

That De Bromhead had led that race for so long, will quietly rate him you’d imagine, and given what is a stellar period for the yard, striking while the iron is hot and notching up a maiden Cheltenham Festival trainers’ title will be high on the agenda.

To achieve this, he’ll need to be careful with where he targets certain horses, and prime among them will be Put The Kettle On. Champion Chase heroine from 2021, it is not too damning a notion to suggest that she perhaps nicked that Grade 1 prize, given the tactical set-up once the tapes lifted.

Takin absolutely nothing away from her ability and battling qualities, she was allowed to settle into her own tempo on the front end, thus helping Aidan Coleman to ride a brilliant tactical race.

Subsequent tilts at the Celebration Chase at Sandown and the Shloer Chase back at Put The Kettle On’s beloved Cheltenham, have seen her taken slightly off her hooves early on.

Given the emergence of Nube Negra, Energumene and the assumption that Chacun Pour Soi will be ridden much more aggressively this time around, if she were to be aimed at regaining her Champion Chase crown on anything other than very soft ground, I’d fear she would not possess the requisite early speed.

This element to her profile has not evaded connections, and with a step up in trip imminent on New Year’s Day, the Ryanair Chase and Mares Chase come firmly into view for next March.

Last year’s Ryanair Chase winner Allaho was just about the most impressive winner since the days of Sprinter Sacre’s pomp, and he possesses early speed comparable to that of Chacun Pour Soi, and clocked a time nearly 7 seconds quicker than Colreevy did in the Mares Chase a day later.

With the looming presence of a rejuvenated Envoi Allen somewhere in a stable nearby Put The Kettle On at Henry De Bromhead’s County Waterford base, meaning De Bromhead has a Ryanair Chase option – surely the superstar mare Put The Kettle On is best being aimed at the Mares Chase on the Friday of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival.

If she was, then you’d be lucky to get even a quarter of the 11/1 currently available with Paddy Power or Betfair Sportsbook. It is rare for me to not suggest backing an ante-post tip each-way, but on this occasion, I feel the best approach is to go all-in on the win only.

It is a recommendation that flies against my own mantra of being nailed on to a particular ante-post target, but on this occasion, the value available at 11/1 for Put The Kettle On to win the Mares Chase at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival more than outweighs the obvious risks involved.