R6 CHELTENHAM par @ashsh
Une belle 3ème journée nous attend du côté de l’Angleterre avec notamment ENVOI ALLEN, très attendu!
120 – Marsh Chase
It will be hugely difficult to oppose 106 ENVOI ALLEN for Henry De Bromhead. The trainer is having a week to remember and this horse is one of the most exciting if not THE most exciting in training. He looks to have it all and has won twice in his career at Cheltenham already. If he has handled the recent move then he should bolt up.
Former Guillaume Macaire inmate (107) FUSIL RAFFLES could run into a place with the ground turning in his favour but this is all about Envoi Allen.
155 – Pertemps Final HurdleAn absolute lottery of a race with 23 runners all seemingly in with a chance and no real fancy for myself! (205) IMPERIAL ALCAZAR has been well bet through the week and the Warwick winner would stop a trend of Irish winners. (201) THE BOSSES OSCAR looks the best of the Irish chances for Denise Foster and claimer Jordan Gainford. The jockey has had plenty of rides recently to get ready for this race it seems. (211) CHAMPAGNE PLATINUM was an eye catcher in the qualifier for Nicky Henderson and has a chance and do not sleep on (225) MILINER for the unstoppable De Bromhead/Blackmore team off the lowest weight.
230 – Ryanair ChaseA race dominated by entries for Willie Mullins. (309) MIN looks the best placed to win this race having done so last year and on a redemption mission from the Dublin Racing Festival, he put up a good run before that to win the John Durkan and is the choice of stable jockey Paul Townend. (301) ALLAHO has been placed at the last two Cheltenham Festivals and has relished a step down in trip and has the guidance of Rachel Blackmore on his side however he has a lot of ground to make up with Min from the John Durkan. (306) IMPERIAL AURA looks the best of the British for trainer Kim Bailey and he will certainly be able to put his last run behind him after unseating at the second fence.
305 – Stayers Hurdle
Won last year by 50/1 shot Lisnagar Oscar, the result should not be as wild this time. Expect the finish to be fought out between (409) PAISLEY PARK and (412) SIRE DU BERLAIS. The first of the two is a previous winner of the race but disappointed last year. He looked much better on his last run at Ascot swooping late to win under regular rider Aidan Coleman. Three wins in five races at Cheltenham shows he loves the track. The second horse has won the Pertemps in the last two years and would likely have won this race last year had he turned up. Mark Walsh will take the ride for owner JP McManus and he also loves Cheltenham with 3 wins in 4 runs. The performances from him this year have been good and he is a danger.
340 – Power Plate Chase
(514) THE SHUNTER is chasing a £100,000 bonus for trainer Emmett Mullins and is in with a good chance of taking the extra bonus home however this race may have come a little too soon for him having run just 1 days ago and making hard work of it. (507) FARCLAS has been running in very hot handicaps this season and this could be the easiest field he has met yet, he was a winner of the Triumph Hurdle in 2018 and Jack Kennedy takes the ride for Denise Foster. (512) A WAVE OF THE SEA is my selection for Joseph O’Brien. He has beaten The Shunter already this season over a stiff track at Leopardstown and was previously a Grade 1 winning hurdler. a real improver over fences he could be a nice horse indeed. The best chance of the UK looks to be (517) SULLY D’OC AA who began his career with Guy Cherel. Trainer Anthony Honeyball likes this horse a lot and the ground may have turned in his favour
415 – Mares Novices Hurdle
Another race that looks very difficult to pick the winner of! (613) ROYAL KAHALA will be the favourite and she is 9lb better off with challenger Roseys Hollow. A decisive winner of her first two hurdles, this will be her stiffest test yet but she looks very good. (607) HOOK UP moved to Willie Mullins and has put in notable performances since including an eye catching run at the Dublin Racnig Festival. There has been a drift in the market on her in recent days so that is noticeable. I will take a flyer on (606) GLENS OF ANTRIM for Willie Mullins. She has not been the flashiest or most eye catching but her runs have been solid and despite coming 2nd on her last run she was a long way clear of the third and is bred from good National Hunt stock. Others to note include (601) GAULOISE and (602) ROSEYS HOLLOW but both carry penalties.
450 – Kim Muir Chase
A difficult race with no real fancy at all but if forced it would be between (703) MOUNT IDA for Denise Foster and Jack Kennedy or (709) CRIEVEHILL for the father and son duo of Nigel and Sam Twiston Davies. The latter maybe the more fancied of the two but not a race to be getting stuck in to.
