Racing News
	Wednesday 20th November 2013

Novices Impress at Cheltenham Open Meeting to Stake Festival Claims

The Open Meeting at Cheltenham is considered by many to be the first major horse racing Festival of the season and once again it has lived up to its reputation. We have enjoyed three days of thrilling action at Prestbury Park with a number of horses stepping into the limelight after producing some impressive displays. As always, there were some big movements in some of the ante-post Cheltenham Festival markets.

Taquin Du Seuil
© Racehorse Photos

There were a number of nice performances on the first day of the Open Meeting with hot novice, Taquin Du Seuil perhaps the best of them. The six-year-old won the Steel Plate and Sections Novices’ Chase over 2m4f in good style from the classy hurdler, Oscar Whisky, who was making his chasing debut for Nicky Henderson, to enhance his already burgeoning reputation.

The Jonjo O’Neill trained runner was conceding a penalty of weight to Oscar Whisky who went off as a warm favourite but after a slow gallop, it was Taquin Du Seuil who won by a neck under a strong drive from AP McCoy. The Festival target for Taquin du Seuil remains up in the air, but the Jewson Novices Chase is the most likely target, for which he was trimmed into 10/1 from 16/1 as a result of this latest win.

Also on Friday afternoon we saw a stellar performance from the ever popular Balthazar King in the Cross Country Chase. The Philip Hobbs horse won the corresponding Festival race in 2012 and is the favourite to repeat that in 2014, following his latest success at Prestbury Park. It was a fine front running performance under a good ride and punters wanting to back him to win the Cross Country Chase at the Festival can now get a best price of just 7/1.

Royal Irish Hussar
© Racehorse Photos

The action continued at Cheltenham on Saturday with Royal Irish Hussar staking his Festival claims with another impressive display in the first on the card. The juvenile won his second race of the season in the JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial in good style for Nicky Henderson and he looks like being one to follow this winter. It was a good display as he won by almost four lengths from Guitar Pete with his Triumph Hurdle price tumbling from 16/1 to 8/1, as a result of his latest success.

The Greatwood Hurdle was the feature race on Sunday afternoon and we saw a slightly surprise winner in the form of Dell’ Arca. The French recruit was having his first run for David Pipe in Britain but looked very impressive as he held off the more experienced Sametegal in the grade 3 affair. He was clearly unexposed down the bottom of the weights following his arrival from France, but he will surely improve for the run and was installed in the Champion Hurdle betting at 33/1 following his Greatwood success.

The Liquidator
© Caroline Norris

There were plenty more Festival clues on offer on day three of the Open Meeting with The Liquidator certainly falling into that category. It was another success for David Pipe, who had a four timer on the card, with The Liquidator winning the Supreme Novices Hurdle Trial as he liked after a fine display. He comfortably dispatched the well fancied Sea Lord in the race and as a consequence The Liquidator was slashed from 20/1 to 14/1 in the betting for the Festival opener in March.

Dodging Bullets
© Racehorse Photos

Elsewhere on Sunday, there was a fine display in the Arkle Novices’ Chase Trial from Dodging Bullets who stayed on gamely to claim the win. The Paul Nicholls horse was a strong hurdler but looks to be just as well suited to the bigger obstacles following this fine seasonal debut success at the Open Meeting. He jumped and stayed on well up the hill to hold off Raya Star by five lengths and was immediately slashed in the Arkle Chase betting for the Festival, with 14/1 now the best price available.