The Cheltenham Festival is always a pleasure, with such big fields and competitive races at the meeting this year.
It hasn’t been this competitive for quite a few years and while lovers of short-priced favs might be getting withdrawal symptoms, the opportunity to back talented horses at very big prices is what sets these big meetings apart. Day two of this year’s festivities has a particularly open look to it and hopefully I can steer you in a profitable direction.
Zeus Power’s Chances in the Turners’ Novices’ Hurdle
The first race of interest is the Turners’ Novices’ Hurdle (1.20) and the Joseph O’Brien-trained ZEUS POWER is highly likely to be the biggest-priced selection that I side with all week. The main beneficiary of the changes to the handicap rules that require horses to have had five runs over hurdles have been the Grade 1 novice hurdles, as in years gone by a horse like Zeus Power would have been teed up for the likes of the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, but now he finds himself in this race along with 21 rivals at a huge price. However, I reckon he might well be capable of finding enough improvement to get in the mix against the odds.
The son of Protectionist has done nothing but improve since being sent over hurdles. He made it second-time lucky over obstacles when winning a maiden at Thurles by a very long way in December, impressing with his low and fluent jumping technique. For his third start he took a relative baby step up the ladder for a rated novice hurdle at Navan, but he was facing into a well-regarded sort in the Gordon Elliott-trained Lazare De Star.
Zeus Power was ridden with confidence and made fair headway to challenge up the inside, he showed plenty of bravery to see off the favourite snugly at the line. He is sure to benefit from that experience and while he would no doubt be a highly-attractive proposition in a valuable handicap hurdle off a mark of 131, fortune favours the brave and this tilt at Grade 1 novices’ hurdle will hopefully reward the bravery of stepping up so steeply in class. This longer trip promises to suit him well and the style of race should also play to his strengths. He rates as a really interesting contender at a colossal price.
Kaid D’Authie in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase
The Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (2.00) is another wide-open Grade 1 contest. The overpriced one in my book is the Willie Mullins-trained KAID D’AUTHIE. This is a classic case of the market not wanting to believe an unexpected result which is what Kaid D’Authie beating Final Demand at the Dublin Racing Festival was. For me, there was absolutely no fluke about it. Kaid D’Authie put Final Demand under serious pressure from a long way out and Final Demand didn’t have the answers.
It shouldn’t be a huge surprise that the six-year-old has progressed as m