Cheltenham & Fairyhouse – Saturday 11th December

I would be the first to hold my hands up and say that I have been very disappointed with the recent return of form from the selections that I have put up. There has been a combination of things, from a bit of bad luck to a few poor selections. However, when Diesel D’Allier jumped the last in third, I was cursing the option of not putting up the horse each way. However, he managed to lunge late to get there on the final stride, and gave us a big winner to hopefully change the fortunes of things. We’re back with a combination of selections from Cheltenham and Fairyhouse tomorrow. 

There is no better place to start then with the feature race at Cheltenham, which is the Racing Post Handicap Chase at 1.50 over 2m4f. I am going to be throwing two darts at the board in this one. The more obvious one is Beakstown, who comes here with an undeniable chance on the best of his form. Having won a Grade 2 race as a novice hurdler, he was a decent novice chaser two seasons ago, culminating in a good fifth in the novices handicap at the festival. He returned from the back of a big absence with an eye-catching third at Aintree in a race that has worked out well. I am hoping that he can progress from that run and he is well ahndcaipped off a mark of 132. He should go close and at a best price of 8/1 with Paddy Power, who offer 5 places, I’ll be playing him each way.

There is also a case to be made for one of my old flames, who could easily fall into my ‘insanity’ list of horses that I keep going to the well with. The horse is Zanza, who if jumping with more fluency than when a fast finishing sixth in the Paddy Power, has to go close in this race off a one pound higher mark. The risk you take with a horse like Zanza is that he has shaped well in plenty of previous efforts and has yet to get the job done in one of these handicaps. However, he is still only seven and it is conceivable that we haven’t seen the best of this horse just yet and I’m willing to take one more chance on him in this contest. This could well be make or break in my eyes for Zanza, so let’s see how he goes. At a price of 12/1, he will be backed each way also.

The other bet coming from HQ comes in the International Hurdle at 3.00. This looks a trappy seven runner race and as a result I am quite keen to exploit the few bookmakers who are offering 3 places despite the field size. There is a horse who is very interesting with that in mind, and it’s Heaven Help Us – who has a record of two wins from three at this track and ran away with the Coral Cup last year. She is also a viable contender for the Mares Hurdle this March, and I was half toying with putting her up for that race midweek, but have opted against it. She comes here with decent form and her reappearance run was a lot more promising than the bare facts would show. William Hill are offering 10/1 for this likeable mare while paying 3 places, which is more than tempting enough for myself.

Moving onto the action at Fairyhouse, and despite the early races being very interesting from a long-term view, it’s the slightly lower quality stuff at the backend of the card that make the most appeal from a betting perspective. The 1.37 is the first showing off of that, with this 2m handicap hurdle being consigned to horses rated between 80-109. This looks a typically open affair and it might prove to be forgiving, with the inconsistent but not untalented, L’Un Deux Trois for Oli McKiernan and Barry Browne. This quirky grey was a good winner of a flat handicap a few starts back and has shown enough promise over hurdles to think that one of these low grade affairs could easily fall his way. He is too a big price to not run the risk of him outrunning his odds, as I do think he is well handicapped. At a monster price of 25/1 with SkyBet, who offer 4 places, I’ll be taking that chance.  

The final selection comes in the 2.47 race, which is a 3m handicap hurdle for horses rated between 80-102. This is equally as tough as the previous handicap I discussed, but I’m quite keen on a horse that is much further up the pecking order in the betting on this occasion. It seems like this trip is the making of Call Me Freddie, who has been inconsistent but not devoid of ability himself in recent starts. He ran a very good race from a prominent position last time out at Down Royal and this is arguably a weaker race on this occasion. He should be suited by the demands of this race and I’m always very intrigued when Bryan Cooper rides for the Nolan’s now, as it usually is a fair indicator that there is some confidence behind the horse. He is currently at a price of 5/1 with 5 places available, he is a strong each way bet.