The November meeting reaches its finale at Cheltenham on Sunday, with the Greatwood Hurdle the highlight of the card at 3.10pm. Idaho Sun could make his long-awaited return in the two-mile handicap, having not been seen since landing a Grade 1 at Aintree on Boxing Day.
Joe Napier picks out three selections from the final day’s action, including a Dan Skelton mare who could take advantage of a strong pace in the Greatwood.
1.25 Cheltenham – Kap Ouest
Crystal Island‘s profile is immediately alluring, but his second success last season was not quite as easy as may have been expected. As such, he might not be Nicky Henderson’s next superstar, and is vulnerable conceding weight to all but one of his rivals. The JP McManus-owned KAP OUEST might prove a considerably different proposition chasing compared to hurdling and remains relatively unexposed. In two starts last season, he was a good second in a competitive race at Doncaster, then followed up with a composed jumping display to win at Exeter in March. He is up 9lb for that win, but both of those chasing runs were superior to anything he had produced previously, even though he displayed promise over hurdles too. 2m4f on ground quicker than soft could be the making of him and the seven-year-old looks decent value at double-figure odds.
2.00 Cheltenham – Highlands Legacy
There may have been no horse as unfortunate as HIGHLANDS LEGACY last season in terms of the opposition he bumped into. Twice he finished second before the new year to extremely progressive rivals (Mambonumberfive and Mighty Bandit) and gave both of those a serious fright. He duly won at Windsor when getting going almost too late in January, but then found another improving rival too strong at Aintree in Ryan’s Rocket. The selection was more than seven lengths clear of the third in that Grade 3 handicap though, so while another 4lb rise could leave him vulnerable to yet another handicap blot, he himself should still have mileage in his mark of 137. He won first time out last season too.
3.10 Cheltenham – Let It Rain
Idaho Sun could prove the Graded horse in this handicap, but the removal of hurdles at Aintree leaves his Grade 1 form slightly open to question. He could dominate still, but there is enough pace in the race to potentially set this up ideally for LET IT RAIN. Dan Skelton’s mare threatened to reach the upper echelons in her early racing days when a ready winner of a Listed bumper in 2023, then won on her second novice hurdle start with disdain two years back. She then missed a lot of time off the track though, running well on her reappearance before finally putting things together at Stratford in March to win off a mark of 124. She faced exclusively soft ground or slower last term, but her best early form came with good in the description. She should get that on Sunday and has only raced seven times. With a strong pace to aim at, this could be the day she blossoms.
