• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Betting Offers UK

Best Free Bets & Casino Sign Up Offers For 2022

  • Betting Offers
  • Free Bets
  • Casino Bonuses
  • Home
  • New Sites
  • Free Spins
  • Free Bet Clubs
  • Loyalty
  • Football
    • Premier League
  • Horse Racing
    • Cheltenham Festival
      • Disruptions & Cancellations
      • Old Course v New Course
      • Prestbury Cup
      • Top Trainers
      • Top Jockeys
      • Amateur Races
    • Grand National
      • Picking a Winner
      • Grand National Winners
      • Grand National Fences
      • Disruptions & Cancellations
      • Back to Back Winners
      • How Often Does the Favourite Win?
      • Prize Money
      • Virtual Grand National
      • Grand National Sponsors
      • Reserve Horses
      • How Many Finish
      • How Many Run
      • Grey Horses
      • Popularity
      • Amateur Jockeys
  • Irish Lottery
  • Blog

Cheltenham Festival 2018 | Wednesday March 14th Preview: Take a Min to Consider All the Options in Exceptional Champion Chase Renewal

7 March, 2018

View of Cheltenham Racecourse
Credit: Arpingstone, via Wikimedia Commons

After the excitement of the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival, you might expect there to be some kind of comedown on the Wednesday. But this being Cheltenham, nothing could be further from the truth.

This is Ladies Day, and you can expect a few fine fillies in the stands as well as out on the track, plus a fantastic afternoon’s racing at Prestbury Park which should hopefully set punters up for the final throes of the festival on Thursday and Friday.

The proceedings kick off with the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, a renewal which the outstanding Samcro will surely win if his connections decide to declare him here over the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

There’s a stacked card of action as ever, but for our money the two standout races have to be the RSA Chase and the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

RSA Chase (2:10pm)

Presenting Percy
Credit: Jockeycolours Wiki Commons

How exactly the Old Course holds up under the forecasted rain showers in the coming days remains to be seen, but if we do get the deluges anticipated then it could well shape how this RSA Chase plays out.

The favourite with the bookmakers is the fantastically-named Presenting Percy, and the seven-year-old certainly prospers when the conditions are somewhat sticky.

The Patrick Kelly steed actually won on good going at the festival 12 months ago, taking the spoils in the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle, but it is his performances on heavier footing lately that have impressed.

A couple of victories at the turn of the year set the tone, and a five-length triumph in the Grade 2 Galmoy Hurdle, where he bested the likes of Augusta Kate and Alpha Des Obeaux, certainly caught the eye.

One bone of contention is that the 5/2 fancy is yet to really mix it in Group 1 company, and that may just persuade punters to look elsewhere.

One to keep an eye on is Monalee (7/2), whose trainer Henry de Bromhead confirmed will run in the RSA unless ‘the ground came up soft and heavy’.

There is every chance of that, however, and so punters are advised caution before piling in prior to the declaration stage.

After falling in his penultimate start, Monalee recovered well to clinch the Group 1 Flogas Novice Chase at Leopardstown, and this is a horse that has already shown a decent touch at the festival having finished second in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle 12 months ago.

Watch the market and more importantly watch the weather; if things don’t get too wet and wild, Monalee is a smart back for the RSA Chase.

Plenty of money has come in for Elegant Escape, into 10s from 16s, but the one that each way punters might favour is Al Boum Photo (10/1), who represents Willie Mullins’ best chance of glory here.

Second in that Flogas Novice Chase to Monalee, this six-year-old loves a tear-up on soft ground, and it seems that a fall at Limerick on Boxing Day has rather dissuaded punters of his quality. But don’t discount him on that ground, and if it rains cats and dogs for the next week you could do a lot worse than have this powerhouse on board.

Queen Mother Champion Chase (3:30pm)

Altior
Credit: Jockeycolours Wiki Commons

What a fantastic renewal this looks likely to be, with a starry cast including Altior, Min, Douvan, Un De Sceaux, Politologue and defending champion Special Tiara all listed at this preliminary stage.

Much of the hype surrounds the odds-on favourite Altior, who triumphed at the festival a year ago in the Arkle. The eight-year-old has comfortably beaten Special Tiara and Politologue since, and you sense it will take heavy going to prevent him from being in the picture here.

After winning 13 times in a row, Douvan seemingly had the world at his hooves, but a curiously below-par effort in this race 12 months ago – his last outing after suffering a number of injury problems since – has understandably dented confidence on the betting floor. Horses have come back successfully from lengthy lay-offs in the past, but in a field of this quality it would take an outstanding performance for Douvan to upset the odds.

Heavy ground won’t unsettle Min (7/2), the fine French horse who burst back to prominence with a commanding win in the Dublin Chase back in February. Second in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2016, if conditions are on the heavy side then Min would arguably be a smarter play than Altior here as far as the prices are concerned.

The defending champion, Special Tiara, is being written off after a run of four races without a win – fair enough, and so perhaps Politologue (12/1) is the each way pick here. Paul Nicholl’s charge should thrive at this 16f mark, and the softer the better as far as he is concerned; wins in the Desert Orchid Chase and Haldon Gold Cup on softer footing are testament to that.

Previous Post: « Cheltenham Festival 2018 | Tuesday March 13th Preview: Mullins Poised for Yet More Supreme Glory?
Next Post: Cheltenham Festival 2018 | Thursday March 15th Preview: Un De Sceaux Ready to Roll Back the Years in Ryanair Chase Shootout »

Primary Sidebar

Blog

Cheering Fans in 3D Stadium
Which World Cup Has Had the Highest Attendances?
Frankie Dettori and John Gosden
Frankie Dettori and John Gosden: The Best Wins of Their Hugely Successful Partnership
Cricket Umpire Gesturing Out
What are the Strangest Dismissals in Cricket?
White and Blue Table Soccer Figures
The Most Famous Twins in Sport
Transgender Flag on Concrete Wall
Transgender Athletes Banned from Female Swimming Events and Face Stricter Rules in Cycling Too
More Blog Posts | Full Archives

Archives

Betting Sign Up Offers

  • Free Bets
    • Bet £5 Get £20/£30+
  • Casino Bonuses
  • Free Spins

Loyalty Offers

  • Acca Bonuses
  • Acca Insurance
  • Best Odds Guaranteed
  • Free Bet Clubs
  • Loyalty Points

Major Events

  • Grand National
    • How to Pick the Grand National Winner
    • Grand National Winners
    • Grand National Fences
    • Prize Money
    • Disruptions & Cancellations
    • Back to Back Winners
    • How Often Does the Favourite Win?
    • What is the Virtual Grand National?
    • Grand National Sponsors
    • Reserve Horses
    • How Many Horses Finish?
    • How Many Horses Run?
    • Most Successful Owners
    • Changes Over Time
    • Female Jockeys
    • Grey Horses in the Grand National
    • Amateur Jockeys
    • Popularity
  • Cheltenham Festival
    • Festival Disruptions & Cancellations
    • Old Course v New Course
    • The Prestbury Cup
    • Top Trainers
    • Top Jockeys
    • Amateur Races
  • Premier League
    • Without the Big Six?
  • Irish Lottery

Related Posts

  • Frankie Dettori and John Gosden: The Best Wins of Their Hugely Successful Partnership
  • RIP Lester Piggott: The Life and Times of One of Horse Racing’s Pioneers
  • Going Out on a High: Sam Waley-Cohen Retires After Grand National Glory
  • Can You Clone a Racehorse? And Would Cloned Horses Be Allowed to Race?
  • Are British Trainers and Owners Giving In to Irish Dominance at the Cheltenham Festival?
  • Is JP McManus the Most Successful Racehorse Owner Ever after Recording 4000th Win?
  • BHA Reveals Changes to Minimum Weight Rules for Jockeys
  • Could the Freddy Tylicki Case Against Graham Gibbons Change the Way that Jockeys Ride?
  • The Controversial Use of Drones in Horse Racing Reaches the House of Lords
  • Is Brexit Killing UK Horse Racing?

Betting Blog

  • American Football
  • Athletics
  • Betting Industry
  • Boxing
  • Cricket
  • Darts
  • Football
  • General
  • Golf
  • Horse Racing
  • Motor Racing
  • Politics
  • Rugby
  • Snooker
  • Tennis
betting-sites.co.uk
gambling-sites.co.uk

Copyright © 2022 Betting-Offers.com | BeGambleAware.org 18+