What a beautiful sight we had yesterday. A full Saturday of racing with no fixtures being disrupted by the weather. The temperatures had picked up and we were treated to some fine performances across the various racecourses. Rather than assessing things on a per race basis, I want to put my focus on the big races, and in particular focusing on the impressive horses that have staked their claims for creating the headlines at the Cheltenham Festival.
Ryanair Chase Gets Exciting
The 2012 Ryanair Chase became more interesting within the space of an hour yesterday afternoon. Firstly we saw market leader Rubi Light recording a comprehensive victory at Gowran Park in Grade 2 Red Mills Chase. He rather disappointed last time over the 3 mile trip of the Lexus where the test of stamina didn’t seem to suit. Back over a shorter trip of 2 miles 4 furlongs he dominated from the front and easily took care of inferior opposition. It was a routine victory for Rubi Light, but trainer Robbie Hennessy was pleased with the run nevertheless. Ideally he will prefer some cut in the ground at the festival but he now heads to Cheltenham with very solid claims.
Under an hour later we saw another Ryanair challenger staking his claim in the shape of Nicky Henderson’s Riverside Theatre. The gelding looked to make it successive wins in the Betfair Ascot Chase, having won the race last year. This was his first appearance since then, however, being sidelined with an injury. He faced some useful opposition, with Paul Nicholls’ Kauto Stone and the Alan King trained Medermit seemingly his chief market rivals. Neither proved a match for Riverside Theatre though, who put in a classy performance to win well. He jumped and traveled wonderfully well and showed a good battling attitude when Medermit looked to lay down a challenge. Coming from a lengthy lay-off we can expect more to come from this talented horse. The bookmakers were quick to react, shortening him significantly for the Rynair. He is as short as 4/1 with Paddy Power but can still be backed at 7/1 with Ladbrokes. It was a taking performance, but with Cheltenham likely to be a tougher challenge for this horse I am in to rush to back him at Cheltenham myself.
Mixed Fortunes For RSA Chase Contenders
The RSA Chase remains a difficult race to assess at this year’s festival. Leading Irish challenger Last Instalment was ruled out last week due to injury, although his participation was apparently ground dependant anyway. Connections of market leader Grands Crus continue to frustrate punters with the Gold Cup still a possibility for the grey. The Grade 2 Reynoldstown Chase featured Bobs Worth and Silviniaco Conti, arguably the two biggest threats to Grands Crus. The latter failed to get home and it now seems unlikely he will feature at the festival with trainer Nicholls already having been undecided. Bobs Worth is second favourite for the RSA and in hindsight ran a fairly good race given comments afterwards. Reports suggest he wasn’t fully wound up, and he may have won if it wasn’t for blundering the second-last. He’s entitled to improve a fair amount for that run, but his jumping must still be a worry for all his fans. Invictus was perhaps a surprise winner, but clearly enjoyed the step up in trip for the first time. I’ve no doubts Bobs Worth would reverse that form when fully wound up, but they will all struggle to get the better of Grands Crus if he goes for this year’s RSA.
Binocular Shows Class At Wincanton
Over at Wincanton Binocular was winning the Grade 2 Kingwell Hurdle, showing plenty of class in the process. The 2010 Champion Hurdle winner has failed to capture the imagination this season, but had put in a much improved effort last time when just getting the better of the fast improving Rock On Ruby. He faced up against old rival Celestial Halo who had won his last two races in competitive handicaps off a big weight. He met Binocular on level terms and just a pound difference in the official ratings. However Binocular proved much too good, winning under a relatively motionless Tony McCoy. It was impressive, and like Zarkandar on Friday he has enhanced his claims for the 2012 Champion Hurdle. Again though, I have to reiterate my stance that Hurricane Fly is firmly the one to beat. And I just don’t see that happening.
Best Of The Rest
There was plenty of other taking performances in the other races. Potential Triumph horse Une Artiste made her debut in the opener at Haydock. The filly had joined Nicky Henderson and there was plenty of talk that this could be his Triumph horse. She showed some class by winning, but it wasn’t the most taking of performances. She also had the filly weight allowance and will need to show a lot more to be a contender at Cheltenham. Another horse entering Triumph contention was Balder Success who romped to victory at Ascot. He came up against Hazy Tom and Captain Sunshine who have both shown a useful level of form this season. Alan King’s charge beat them comprehensively though, maintaining his unbeaten record over hurdles. I think he’d have strong claims if going to Cheltenham and appeals as decent value for the Triumph at 14/1 with Bet Victor.
At Haydock Brindisi Breeze put in a most taking performance when hammering his rivals in the Grade 2 Prestige Novices Hurdle. It was arguably one of the most impressive performances of the day, with plenty of his rivals having some smart form in the book. He ran out a twelve-length winner and appeared to be full of running crossing the line. I’ve already put up Mount Benbulben as my ante post tip for the Albert Bartlett but I couldn’t put anybody off backing Brisindi Breeze following yesterday’s rout. He’s now a best priced 12/1 with Ladbrokes and must have solid each way claims.
The final performance that really took my eye was the bumper at Ascot which was won in style by Royal Guardsman. The victory came in a remarkable spell for trainer Colin Tizzard where he recorded five wins in the space of an hour across the cards. Royal Guardsman lined up in a warm looking contest that featured two potential hot-pots from the powerful yards of Nicholls and Henderson. River Maigue was apparently well touted in the Michael Buckley colours for Nicky Henderson and he was sent off favourite. He took quite a keen pull and will be an interesting horse to look out for in the future I suspect. However the race was all about Royal Guardsman who traveled extremely well and then powered home to a dominant victory. I have a feeling this bumper could work out quite nicely and I’m a little surprised that Royal Guardsman is available at 16/1 for the Champion Bumper. (General 14/1 shot but 16/1 is available with Bet 365). It was one of the more impressive bumper performances I have seen, and Colin Tizzard has history with the Champpion Bumper, winning it in 2010 with stable star Cue Card.