Cheltenham Day Two: Wayne Bailey’s race-by-race guide as Edwardstone looks ready to claim Champion Chase
Energumene won this last year and Willie Mullins’ nine-year-old is a fine sight to observe on a good day, where he’s full of class. But I’m concerned about the Clarence House blip priced 4/9, where his jumping wasn’t great at the second-last fence, and fell apart when clouting the last.
It’s unfair to say Editeur Du Gite stole the Clarence House; he’d shown some nice form when winning the Desert Orchid Chase previously, but certainly Niall Houlihan gave him a very positive, tactical ride in front, and caught Edwardstone and Energumene by surprise, with those two more worried about each other.
As for Edwardstone, Tom Cannon got a lot out of him when the penny dropped and he flew home, finishing a neck-second, having hit 1/100 in-running on Betfair.
Although he lost, it was great to see him bounce back from the Desert Orchid Chase where he unseated Cannon at the fifth, and the 6/4 about him reversing the form with Editeur Du Gite seems like a very good deal to me.
With an incredible 12 winners in the Champion Bumper (5.30) including the last three renewals, Willie Mullins-trained horses are the obvious starting point for most, and he has a massive 10 entries here from the 24 runners.
Jockey bookings would suggest It’s For Me is the pick of the bunch, but I reckon they may all struggle against John Kiely’s A Dream To Share, which is 7/2 in the early markets.
Bred by RTÉ presenter Brian Gleeson and his wife Claire, he’s been successful in his three bumpers to date under their son John, including a very impressive display in a Grade Two at the Dublin Racing Festival, where he kicked clear easily once taking the lead.
That success piqued the interest of JP McManus, who purchased the Muhaarar gelding privately for quite a large sum, and he is going to remain in training with Kiely.
It’s nice to see John Gleeson keep the ride here, and this classy sort can send punters home smiling.
In the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (2.10), Gerri Colombe puts his unbeaten record on the line, but he looks nailed on for this at 13/8, and is my idea of a Nap of the day.
Trained by Gordon Elliott, he’s won all of his eight races if you include his point-to-point success and he’s looked particularly good over fences, winning three so far including two at Grade One level. His latest success in the Scilly Isles was on good-to-soft ground and his previous two on heavy, so he’s clearly quite versatile.
He’s one of the most exciting novices in Ireland at the moment.
Patrick Neville’s The Real Whacker is the one I’m most worried about. Although the best he’s won is at Grade Two level, he looked top-class when winning the Paddy Power Dipper Novices’ Chase here in January and surely has more to come.
Sir Gerhard is also worth a mention here, having won twice at the Cheltenham Festival.
1.30
Willie Mullins has a very strong hand here, particularly with Gaelic Warrior and Impaire Et Passe. Gaelic Warrior was narrowly beaten in last year’s Fred Winter, and his tendency to jump right could cost him again. Impaire Et Passe is less experienced, but he won a Grade Two at Punchestown in good style and gets the nod at 13/8.
2.10
The Real Whacker has claims, but Gordon Elliott’s Gerri Colombe (NAP) is the standout entry here under Jordan Gainford. A point-to-point winner, he’s been successful in two bumpers, two hurdles and three chases, most recently the Grade One Scilly Isles. A worthy favourite at 13/8.
2.50
We’ve had lots of high-priced winners of the Coral Cup so don’t be afraid to take a chance on a big one. Dual chaser/hurdler Elvis Mail gets an each-way vote at 66/1 back over timber with a reasonable rating of 134 and jockey Bruce Lynn claiming 3lbs.
3.30
An excellent enterprising ride by Niall Houlihan saw Editeur Du Gite beat Edwardstone and Energumene in the Clarence House here in January, but Edwardstone lost nothing in defeat and can reverse the form for Alan King under Tom Cannon, priced in the region of 6/4.
4.10
I backed Gordon Elliott’s Delta Work last year and am tempted to do so again at 11/10, but the 2/1 about stablemate Galvin offers better value. The mount of Davy Russell on Wednesday, he was fourth in the Gold Cup last year and now aged nine, this type of race should suit his style.
4.50
Andy Dufresne was second in this last year off the same rating of 155 so is highly respected, but he’s a little short in the betting at 5/1 in an open-looking race. Instead, Coeur Sublime is tipped at 10/1 or thereabouts having gone close in a couple of graded chases, with Ben Harvey’s 5lb claim likely to be helpful here.
5.30
Trained by John Kiely and bought by JP McManus, A Dream To Share has the right profile and it will be interesting to see what market support he receives. Priced at 7/2 on Tuesday, he was classy when winning three bumpers, and is the one to beat.
Stat Attack
Established in 1993, Martin Pipe’s Olympian won the first running of the Coral Cup (2.50) as joint-favourite at 4/1, but we’ve had some very high-priced winners in more recent times including Commander Of Fleet last year for Gordon Elliott at 50/1.
Heaven Help Us was 33/1 the previous year, and although Dame De Compagnie was a relatively short price in 2020 at 5/1, that victory came on the back of William Henry’s 2019 success at 28/1, and Bleu Berry at 20/1 in 2018. That said, there’s usually a large field going to post, with the average number of runners in the past ten years at 26.
Nicky Henderson is the leading trainer with wins for Spirit River, Whisper, William Henry and Dame De Compagnie, while Martin Pipe and Gordon Elliott come next in the table with three victories each.
