Day Two of Cheltenham sees the feature Queen Mother Champion Chase take centre strage. We’ve gathered the opinions of all the writers, editors and tipsters here at GG to get their pick for the opener.
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Daryl Carter (GG Top Tipster and Writer)
EDWARDSTONE was the horse to take out of the Clarence House, whichever way you look at it, be that from a sectional point of view or a visual one. He can confirm the form with Energumene, who I am not convinced has the form on offer to trouble the selection, even if at the peak of his powers. Edwardstone is simply the faster horse, and he is tactically versatile. He has one more big performance in him before I would be enamoured to take him on. I do think Greaneteen will outrun his odds at a big price, but with the field down to seven, Edwardstone looks a good bet for anything bigger than 11/10.
Andrew Mount (GG Top Tipster and Writer)
I’ll probably side with EDWARDSTONE but I’m struggling to find to find a bet in the race. I’ve never really been a fan of Energumene and the form in this race last year wasn’t really worth anything. He’s probably best off right-handed.
At bigger prices Nube Negra and Graenateen and worth looking at for other bets such as forecasts, trifectas etc.
Kate Tracey (GG Weekend Watch Presenter)
I’m sticking with ENERGUMENE here. I think he’s the horse with the most innate ability and I’m hoping the return to the old course will see him to better effect than the new course last time out. The rain has come so he has his ground and I’m hopeful he can retain his Champion Chase crown.
Dave Young (GG Cheltenham Expert)
EDWARSTONE traded at 1.01 (1/100) when beaten here in the Shloer Chase but I fully expect that he’s the horse to beat in here as I’m not buying into the fence colour being the problem for ENERGUMENE. GREANETEEN is not far off the top two in the betting on his Official Rating and his career best efforts would be enough to land this. 7 runners is a shame for the EW terms but I still think he’s worth mentioning.
Rob Plumbridge (GG Editor and Content Lead)
I’ve had to join many in going for EDWARDSTONE in this having won so well in the Clarence House. This is his time of year and he thrives at Cheltenham. His win here in the Arkle last year was superb and he stays up that hill so strongly. Alan King will haver him bouncing for today and he looks a great bet in what is effectively a match race.
At a price I could also see NUBE NEGRA running a big one too.
Tom Aldridge (GG Editor)
I’m confident EDWARDSTONE will win. He was unlucky not to win the Clarence House after giving Editeur Du Gite too much of a lead but he won’t make that mistake again. Energumene is a danger now the ground is in his favour but I simply think Edwardstone is a better horse than him – He’s my NAP of the Day Two card!
Dan Corbally (GG Writer and Social Media)
ENERGUMENE had been the ante post favourite for most of this season and for this and I can forgive his last run, he made some good ground to get closer to the eventual winner before making a mess of the last. He wasn’t given an overly hard time and there’s a chance he didn’t show his full ability that day with the race having been rescheduled. That final, and hopefully race winning, challenge may be delayed a little bit more today and the Closutton team will have left no stone unturned in this bid to retain the race.