Cheltenham Gold Cup May Not Happen For Denman

With less than two weeks until the Cheltenham Festival starts, I am hearing some strange stories coming out of the Paul Nicholls' stable, you know, the one that houses Cheltenham Gold Cup hopefuls Denman (2008's Champion) and Kauto Star.

Apparently, one of the Denman's owners, Harry Findlay has stated that he is not sure whether or not Denman will ever be back to form that landed him the Gold Cup last year. He feels that the fantasctic run that Denman put in that day may have really taken its toll, and that we may never see a run like that out of him ever again.

I must say, if this proves to be true, it will be a real shame.

Paul Nicholls however, was much more upbeat about Denman's chances, saying he was showing signs that he may be back to his best, and that for the first time in a while he was 'sparkling'.

He went on to say that he was going to take him for a gallop but having seen Denman like that, he felt that he didn't need it. Nicholls added that Denman, unlike fellow stable mate Kauto Star, is not a good work house, but that was normal for him and should not affect his chances for a s hot at the Gold Cup again this year.

So a contrast in views. My opinion is that having seen Denman's last run at Kempton 3 weeks ago, he looked a shadow of the horse that we saw win the Gold Cup last March. We do have to consider though, that was his first competitive run for a long while and that it may have simply been a case of getting rid of a few cobwebs.

We'll see. It will be a sham if we never see him back to his best again, so fingers crossed. We'll know an awful lot more in a few days time.

Are Cheltenham Racing Tips Easy To Find?

With the Cheltenham Festival fast approaching, a lot of preparation is going on behind the scenes with trainers, owners, jockeys and of course, the horses. But any tips for Cheltenham, whether its the Gold Cup or any of the other 24 races during the four day meeting are waiting on certain decisions.

Who's going to run, and in what race? Who's going to be aboard the horses? What is the going looking likely to be and what is the projected weather forecast?

Although this meeting is one of the biggest of the year, it is ultimately not really any different to any other meeting in terms of my preparation. I still need to study the form, look at the trends, do some digging and look at what could happen.

Obviously Cheltenham is such a high profile meeting, that we all kind of get caught up in the hype and interest, and thats just human nature isn't it?

Stories are coming out of Cheltenham and this is perhaps something that only happens before the bigger meetings, the Aintrees, the Ascots and the Newmarkets of this world, to name a few.

So I think this is perhaps why punters often scratch around for quality racing tips because outside of these higher profile meetings, good racing tips can be hard to find.

I certainly do hear this a lot. And I guess this is the purpose of this blog really, so when I hear a snippet of relevant news, I can convey it to you all.

Anyway, I shall be keeping my ears to the ground in the time between now and the Cheltenham Festival, so do keep an eye out and remember that you can always post an opinion or a suggestion on this blog as to what you want to see.

It is after all, more about you that it is me. Laters...

Will The Cheltenham Festival See Lightning Strike?

There was some impressive racing performances yesterday at Leicester, so I am told by my friend John Fullerton. John, incidentally had 3 winners for the day, so well done John!

One of those who stood out was the Venetia Williams trained Lightning Strike, who won the Ladbrokes.com Rutland Water Novices Stakes.

Lightning Strike is now destined for the Cheltenham Festival now, and on this showing he'll not be out of place, as despite the job being made easier by the withdrawal of Jaunty Flight, he showed good form in winning the race.

It appears at this stage, I'm hearing on the grapevine, that Williams has got Lightning Strike ear-marked for the RSA Chase in next month's Festival.

I was also disappointed to see that Willie Mullins' impressive five year old Hurricane Fly, will miss his Cheltenham festival date next month. Word is that Mullins doesn't feel that the horse had made enough progress from a recent setback, and so the sensible thing to do, albeit a disappointment, is to rest him.

The plan will then be to have him fully recovered and refreshed ready for the upcoming Punchestown meeting.

Horse Racing Expert Interview Available Soon

I've had feedback from the members of my tipster service and also from readers of my other horse racing blog, asking for more horse racing expert interviews as everyone seemed to enjoy the one that I recently published, the one with the BBC's Clare Balding.

So I'm putting the finishing touches to one that I did recently with an underground National Hunt horse racing expert. I'm in the process of having the transcript edited and finalised and it should be ready to roll in a few days, so make sure to keep a look out.

The interview comprises of a 47 minute audio interview, and at the moment what looks like it will be a 33 page transcript, so its great value and full of facts, stats, information and fun. As soon as its finished I shall annouce it on all my sites.

In fact, one interesting little snippet that came out of that interview was on the subject of racing tips for Cheltenham actually. The guy I interviewed, whom shall remain nameless until I make the interview available, has a strong feeling for a horse called Mikael D'Haguenet, who runs in the first race of the Cheltenham Festival, the WilliamHill.com Supreme Novices Hurdle.

At the moment, he's listed at about 16/1 so it may be worth a sneaky punt while the price is as high as it is, as it is not expected to stay that high, the nearer to the Festival that we get.

Oh well, thats it for today, and I'll see you all soon :)

Does Horse Racing Today See the New Dessie?

I was watching the horse racing today on the television, and something spooky happened...

No, I wasn't able to walk away from the television for 5 minutes (those of you that know me will know that is an impossibility!), but what I saw took me back a few years.

In watching the Racing Post Chase at Kempton, I saw Nacarat ridden by AP McCoy, romp to victory over 3 miles at 10-1 ... unfortunately I wasn't on it :(

The spooky part is that this horse, a grey as it happens, went round leading from the front for much of the way, just as the great Desert Orchid used to in the 1980's and early 90's. It really was uncanny. And the competition was pretty good too, with Big Fella Thanks, the 7/2 favourite, coming in third.

AP was hugelt impressed with the run and I have heard a rumour that despite this impressive showing, Nacarat won't be going to Cheltenham as he does not like running downhill, so instead he will go to Aintree in April.

One to watch out for perhaps on this evidence and I'll keep you poste of any more information that I have in the lead up to the Liverpool meeting.

Racing Tips For Cheltenham via At The Races

With Cheltenham Races on the horizon and tips a plenty in the offing, I wasn't sure whether to post this one in my regular horse racing blog or this one, but I suppose it doesn't matter really, as long as you get the information.

I've noticed that in the last day or so, our friends from At The Races have now included a separate section to their website for the Cheltenham Festival. You can get to it by clicking this link.

I've had a quick look around it and it is packed full of interesting information about the horses involved, their early prices, who to watch and much more. It's an interesting read and will give you some insight into what I'm sure will be a great meeting come March.

I am still hoping to be able to get there (commitments permitting), but regardless of whether I can or not, I will be updating on what I hear and what I see in both the run-up to the Festival, as well as during it.

So please let me know what you think of At The Race's inclusion of this wonderful Festival to their site, and I see you all soon.

Free Racing Tips For All You Statisticians

The Cheltenham Festival is always a meeting I look forward to, probably more than Aintree in fact. As 2008 ground to a hault, I turned my focus to the Festival, to find Kauto Star was available at 3-1 for this season's Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Interesting, I thought, a decent price. So I got on it, not bigtime, but I got on it nevertheless.

My thinking behind it was this. There is in my opinion, a real lack in class opposition for him, apart from Denman, who we now know may never (unfortunately) be back to his best. Of course now Kauto Star's price has come in dramatically and he could be at evens or worse come the big race.

Just to illustrate the gulf in class between him and the rest and for all you Stattos out there, here are some facts that I discovered...

Below are the top 5 chasers since the 2007/08 season, which makes for interesting reading:

1. Kauto Star - rating of 171
2. Denman - rating of 169
3. Voy Por Ustedes - rating of 164
4. Our Vic - rating of 163
5. Exotic Dancer - rating of 162

So as we can see, Kauto Star is comfortably ahead of the rest, given that Denman is unlikely to live up to his 169 rating now, and what a real shame that is. A dual between these two at the best at the Festival again, is exactly what the public want to see.

The only thing that all Kauto Star fan's need to be watchful about, is the going at Prestbury Park. If it remains as soft as it is now, or worse, gets even softer, then the top Paul Nichols horse wil not be as happy a bunny as he should be.

Who Will Catch Catch Me At Cheltenham?

Seven-year-old Catch Me has already won the Hatton's Grace, Lismullen and Leopardstown Christmas Hurdles this term, so what price a victory at the Cheltenham Festival?

Well, come next week, after his run in the Ladbrokes.com Boyne Hurdle at Navan on Monday, we may know a little bit more and be able to answer that very question.

The Edward O'Grady trained horse has certainly proved that he is comfortable with different distances, and in addition to running in the Boyne Hurdle I've heard that he has been entered in to the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle, as well as the Ladbrokes World Hurdle.

In a recent interview, Edward O'Grady commented that "We have been a little behind because of the inclement weather over recent days but I am very happy with the horse and the ground should be fine," when speaking about his inpending run at Navan.

In terms of his plans for Catch Me for Cheltenham, O'Grady would only say "We will see what happens".

I'll be keeping my ear to the ground with this one. I've watched him a couple of times and will do so on Monday if I can, to see how he copes with the softer ground.

Echo Noises, Are They True?

Eight-year-old Hear The Echo has not run over fences since winning the Irish Grand National last spring. It is hoped that he will run in the Red Mills Chase at Gowran Park and trainer Mouse Morris is understandably cautious, saying "It's going to be heavy ground and I just hope he runs respectably and gets his eye in".

I've noticed that Hear The Echo is popular in the betting for the John Smith's Grand National, but it is still not a foregone conclusion as yet as to whether or not he'll run, so all ante post bettors are waiting with baited breath.

The reason that his place in the steeplechase centrepiece is in doubt is because Mouse Morris is not overly pleased with the treatment that Hear The Echo's has received from the handicapper, as the horse has been given 10st 11lb for Aintree.

Mouse also added, "I just don't know whether we go for the Irish National again instead". Well I can tell you that if he does, it will be a huge disappointment for a lot of people, particularly those who've already had a cheeky flutter on him for Aintree. Under the circumstances though, I can completely understand Mouse's predicament.

Comply or Die plans halted

It is rumoured that Comply or Die will not run in the three-and-a-half-mile Blue Square Gold Cup Chase at Haydock, after reports that he scoped badly.

It appears the plan was for the 2008 John Smith's Grand National winner was to have used this race as a warm up for retaining his National crown, however due to this late setback he will not now be asked to carry joint top weight of 11st 12lb.

Good news considering, and it now appears the plan is to run him at Cheltenham next month in the William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase.

Trainer David Pipe commented on the reports by saying, "We had to withdraw him because of a dirty scope, so we'll have to wait a bit longer". He went on to add, "I don't know how long it will hold him up, but he'll entered for Cheltenham. Otherwise he's in great form."

I still think he'll have a legitimate chance in the National, depending in the going. This slight detour in plans will not affect his chances I don't think, but only time will tell.