Cheltenham announced the entries for their nine handicap races on Wednesday. GG’s experts have picked out what they believe to be the most intriguing horse in each of these races along with Betfair’s exclusive Grow Your Roar offer, where new and existing customers can build up to £30 in Free Bets for the Cheltenham Festival.
FRODON (Ultima Handicap Chase, Tuesday 2.50pm) 10/1
Possibly the most fascinating entry at the entire Festival to date, FRODON was initially booked for some time off in mid-March for the first time since 2017.
However, despite holding no Grade 1 entries, the ten-year-old has been thrown a Cheltenham lifeline, with Paul Nicholls having entered him in the Ultima Handicap Chase on the first day of the Festival.
He is still rated 164 and was a Grade 1 winner as recently as October, defeating the Cheltenham Gold Cup second favourite Galvin. It was a surprise to see him absent from the Gold Cup and indeed the Ryanair even after two below par efforts, but he and Bryony Frost could yet show up after all.
He won a handicap off this mark over course and distance in October 2020 and while he will almost certainly be top weight, the Ultima is usually undersubscribed from an Irish point of view. This may therefore present an opportunity in connections’ minds.
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FIL DOR (Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, Tuesday 4.50pm) 6/1
The ante-post favourite for the Triumph Hurdle for so much of this season, it is intriguing that FIL DOR has been given this handicap option.
Gordon Elliott has clearly felt Fil Dor was his ace in the juvenile pack in the past, but after being readily disposed of by Vauban at the Dublin Racing Festival, he has surely fallen below Pied Piper in that ranking.
Elliott retains faith in his ability and the Triumph would still be the likelier option, but his previous Graded form was very impressive, having plenty to spare over those behind him. He would probably earn a mark of around 145 after some tax on his Irish rating, but that may not dissuade connections if they fancy attacking both juvenile contests separately.
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I AM MAXIMUS (Coral Cup, Wednesday 2.50pm) 14/1
He was among Nicky Henderson’s most reputable novice hurdling prospects at the start of the season, but such is the strength in depth that Seven Barrows possess in that department that I AM MAXIMUS has fallen down the pecking order.
That is not to say he has been too disappointing however. The six-year-old earned his reputation due to a victory over Grade 1 winner My Drogo in a bumper last season. Though he suffered a shock defeat on his hurdles debut, the useful Jpr One was his conqueror and he raced very awkwardly anyway.
A subsequent success at Newbury was followed up by a battling defeat to the titanic Hillcrest on the New Course in Listed company. Given what that rival did next time out, that effort looks particularly impressive.
A mark of 134 is surely enough to see him in towards the bottom of the weights and he could be absurdly well-treated with improvement likely.
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EDITEUR DU GITE (Johnny Henderson Grand Annual, Wednesday 4.50pm) 12/1
Gary Moore’s chaser has improved beyond recognition since this point a year ago.
EDITEUR DU GITE was rated only 125 in February 2021, but has won four of his next five starts, only being defeated when unseating at the last at Ascot in October. Otherwise, he has gone up 7, 8, 7 and 6lb respectively for his four successes.
While it is obvious to harbour concerns about whether he can win once again in what will be a much more competitive contest in the Grand Annual, his profile is very similar to what Sky Pirate’s was this time a year ago. He had risen to a mark of 154 having improved significantly for a drop back to two miles.
The eight-year-old is also in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, but after he had to miss his prep run at Newbury, it seems distinctly possible that connections may prefer the handicap option for now.
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DALLAS DES PICTONS (Pertemps Network Final, Thursday 2.10pm) 12/1
Nine-year-olds don’t have the best record in this, but DALLAS DES PICTONS otherwise has a profile that definitely allures in the context of this race.
He has been given the option of contesting the Martin Pipe for the third time as well, having finished second in that race in 2019 and fifth last year, rewarding each-way backers with extra places at 66/1. Considering he was running off the same mark as Galopin Des Champs in the latter renewal, there was virtually no hope of him doing any better than he did.
He outran his odds in a Punchestown qualifier for this back in November, but may now be at his best at three miles on a sounder surface. At worst, he looks set to run off the same mark which he held at last season’s Festival, but it is hard to envisage a handicap blot like Galopin Des Champs turning up in this race.
As he is qualified here, it seems almost certain that connections will opt for this race and he has turned up when needed to at Cheltenham in the past.
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BUSSELTON (Plate Handicap Chase, Thursday, 4.10pm) 16/1
Joseph O’Brien usually has a few darts to throw at the Festival handicaps and BUSSELTON could be one of his more significant ones this year.
He won two of the handicaps at the 2019 meeting courtesy of Band Of Outlaws and Early Doors, while he had four more finish in the top three of a handicap in the last two seasons. One of those, Entoucas, was only narrowly denied in the 2021 Grand Annual.
Busselton holds no other handicap entries and while he is in both the Festival Novices’ Chase and Turners’ Novices’ Chase, he almost certainly has no chance in those. On the other hand, an Irish mark of 137 will mean he is very likely to get into this race without too much of a punishment.
He has already won three races over fences, all of which would be considered as over intermediate trips, while he was far from disgraced in the Irish Arkle last time out. A big run would surely be on the cards if he showed up here.
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OSCAR ELITE (Kim Muir Challenge Cup, Thursday 5.30) 16/1
Frontal Assault is obviously an interesting entry given he is already trading at such short odds. His stable won it with an equally short-priced runner in Mount Ida last year.
However, Colin Tizzard’s OSCAR ELITE ran extremely well at the Festival a year ago. It may well be that stepping him up to this trip will pay dividends.
Connections would have been understandably disappointed and concerned by his weak finish as an odds-on favourite three starts back, but two races at Cheltenham over intermediate distances have found him wanting for a turn of foot.
He is now rated just 134, which given he was second in last year’s Albert Bartlett, beating horses who are contenders for some of the open novice chases this time around, looks very inviting. The run in which he finished tired may simply have been because it was a second after a layoff.
As such, the “bounce factor” could have been the reason for that poor effort after all. He could easily prove to have the requisite blend of stamina and ability to be a real threat with his stable in much better form than this time a year ago.
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SLIP OF THE TONGUE (County Hurdle, Friday 2.10pm) 12/1
An exposed five-year-old won this race in grand fashion in the colours of J P McManus in 2020 and SLIP OF THE TONGUE could be cut from the same cloth.
A winner of two of his four starts for Padraig Roche, this son of Flemensfirth has been competing against a high calibre of opposition this season. He was second to Saint Felicien at Gowran Park in November, before mixing it with Teahupoo and Quilixios at Grade 2 level over Christmas. The former now looks one of the chief threats to Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdle and Slip Of The Tongue was not beaten far by him.
He subsequently took Listed honours at Punchestown two weeks ago and has only been given a mark of 138 in Ireland. It is difficult to imagine he will get a mark much higher than the low 140s here and that might greatly underestimate him.
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ARDHILL (Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, Friday 5.30pm) 16/1
ARDHILL has twice been a non-runner in three-mile handicaps in Ireland since his extraordinary success at Ascot in December.
That has ensured that he failed to qualify for the Pertemps Final, for which he had been ante-post favourite with most firms. Though that longer trip was where he stormed to success after having shown no form previously, it is not difficult to imagine that he could also translate that effort to 2m4f.
He has an entry at Fairyhouse over such a trip this coming Saturday and he is likely to still be rated too low without a decent run in that race. However, if his Ascot success is anything to go by, he could have stones in hand.
The British handicapper could take a dim view if he wins on the bridle once again, but there could be any amount left to come from Ardhill.
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