Thyestes Chase – Thursday 27th January

Thyestes Chase Betting Tips – Thursday 27th January – Andrew Blair White

At this time of the year, it is very easy to get so swamped up by the anticipation for Cheltenham, that it can dominate the narrative of ante-post betting. However, there are still some very juicy handicaps to get stuck into between now and then, and there are races to try and get to the bottom of. There is no better race to get the teeth into then the Goffs Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park – which is taking place next Thursday and is the feature handicap race of the month in Ireland. 

The Thyestes is a typical competitive handicap and it can be hard to solve at the best of times. However, on this occasion I quite like the look of one horse at a long term view for the race – and although there are plenty of potential hazards of backing a week out for a race, we might be procuring a much better price than he would go off if they do run. 

The most pressing horse in this field is an unexposed second season chaser, which is usually a good angle for a race of this nature, and I’m convinced there is wiggle room in the mark of 145 with Longhouse Poet. Having won his Punchestown Bumper at the festival, this horse has always been touted for big things but has slightly failed to live up to those lofty expectations after a good novice hurdle campaign. In truth, despite his novice chase campaign looking perhaps a shade disappointing at the time, time has been his friend as some of the formlines he has been involved in looks a lot stronger now than it may have done so at the time. 

The most pressing angle of that form is his beginners chase win at Punchestown, where he beat none more so than Run Wild Fred and The Big Dog – who have both gone on to win lucrative handicap chases over staying trips since that run. His previous chase run behind Latest Exhibition and School Boy Hours also took some lucrative boosts throughout the season. He lurks off this mark of 145 and he showed enough on his seasonal debut, when finishing seventh over an inadequate trip in the Tim Duggan at Limerick to suggest that better was to come. 

He looks sure to appreciate this step back up in trip and Martin Brassil has always made a habit of targeting his good horses at these types of races and running very well with them. There has been a bit of money around for him this week already, which could well be pressing as to his likely destination and I don’t see where else he would find his favored softer ground. 

As it is a competitive 3 mile handicap chase, there are obviously a host of things that could go wrong and there are plenty coming into this race with a good chance. However, this horse might have a class edge over some of these rivals and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him show up very well off a mark like this would suggest. Sky Bet are offering 20/1 on Longhouse Poet, with Ante-Post rules applying, and they are paying out 4 places each way. You will be able to get more places on the day, but if declared, you will certainly get nowhere near the 20/1 available right now. Therefore, Longhouse Poet is a bet for me.