The 2013 Cheltenham Festival is just 64 days away and it seems like a good time to check out the ante-post markets and have a go at finding an accumulator that could really light up the week! Come and see ours and have a go yourself!!
Arkle:
No prizes on offer for originality here and there really doesn’t need to be either as SIMONSIG looks to be, quite simply, a spectacularly exciting chasing recruit and he has made the kind of seamless transition from hurdling that you associate with a racehorse that is beginning to now fully emerge from that very top drawer as he approaches the big league after a fantastic novice campaign. The grey appears to have everything. He is scopey and athletic, he travels with supreme ease and is able to make up ground on rivals with a minimum of fuss and has that rare ability to quicken his tempo more than once when push comes to shove. In a recent televised stable visit, regular work rider Jeremiah McGrath said “He is very confident in himself and very sure and like, even in his work he is very unforgiving, he doesn’t care what he is working with, he’ll just come upsides it and gallop away from it. He is extraordinary really, a special horse.”
Coming from an ordinary yard, such a statement could be taken with a pinch of salt, but he is working with the finest horses in the country around him and for him too stand out as he does among all of that has to bode well. He is priced at 1/1 and barring accidents should have little trouble getting the festival off to a good start.
Champion Hurdle:
It may seem suicidal to have such an open and competitive renewal of this race in the accumulator, but the mighty HURRICANE FLY has looked right back to his brilliant best this season. Last year he failed to fire when third to Rock On Ruby and his trainer Willie Mullins was never completely happy with him and indeed, Hurricane Fly definitely did not effortlessly make up ground like usually he can. The Irish superstar is a hurdling phenomenon though and to see him jumping with the aggression, speed and accuracy we have come to know and love last time out over Christmas, it was hard not to be excited about his chances of regaining his festival crown. Mullins is adamant he is right back to his very best now and if that is truly the case as it appears to be, the host of likely protagonists will do extremely well to outgun him; even at the age of nine. He is priced generally at 7/2 and that could look big come the day.
David Nicholson Mares Hurdle:
QUEVEGA. She is some tool isn’t she! She has come to the festival three times and left victorious on all occasions, thrashing her rivals by a combined distance of 28.5 lengths. She is an exceptional race mare and at 10/11 she looks a fairly obvious and bombproof addition to anyone’s Cheltenham accumulator. The 9yo could face her stiffest field to date if Unaccompanied and Voler La Vedette take the plunge along with progressive horses like Une Artiste and stablemate Zuska. But all things considered, Quevega is in a league of her own around here and would probably be a short priced favourite for the World Hurdle if she was a confirmed runner. Top horse, top chance.
Queen Mother Champion Chase:
We do hope that there is a sufficient test for SPRINTER SACRE to add some substance to his performance, which will almost certainly result in victory for Nicky Henderson’s monster dubbed “The Black Aeroplane” Last season’s 1-2 Finians Rainbow and former champ Sizing Europe would provide an ideal test, but both have questions to answer as to their respective targets- which is a shame. Flemenstars connections will surely think better of running for second with their horse and are rightfully giving the staying division another chance. Sanctuaire has the race as his confirmed target and spectacle wise, we can only hope he doesn’t turn out to be Sprinter Sacre’s only real challenger. In any case, the race looks a penalty kick and for those who like a short price and aren’t afraid to take one in advance, 1/2 looks a gift.
Cheltenham Gold Cup:
The staying division is shaping up nicely for the next season or so for sure and on the back of his rampant Hennessy victory at Newbury, BOBS WORTH is right at the forefront of the picture. He is the 3/1 favourite for the Gold Cup and provided the rest of this accumulator’s ducks get into line beforehand, you wouldn’t want to be on another horse to bring home the bacon on the final day than this remarkably tough and classy little chaser. His affinity to Cheltenham appears to know no bounds and it’ll take a performance of huge proportions to halt his love for the place and deny him a Gold Cup win that he so deserves given the level of guts and determination he has shown thus far. The prime Gold Cup trial over Christmas, the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown, did nothing but cement his place at the head of affairs and Nicky Henderson will leave no stone unturned in his bid to land his second Gold Cup in three years. We think Bobs Worth can carry the weight of our life changing bet upon his little shoulders and storm up the hill to victory.
Depending on who you bet with, this 5-Fold Accumulator will pay out currently at around 100/1 or just over that. A £100 stake is reasonably modest for the biggest week of the year and there is no mistaking, the £10,000 returns would certainly make a huge difference to the impending Summer!!
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Cheers
The GG.COM Team