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| Punter's Diary by Malcolm Heyhoe |
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| Updated: 27th November 2007 - GG.com |
December's Feast Of Riches
By a quirk of the calendar December’s jumps action begins with
a slightly later renewal of the Hennessy Cognac
Gold Cup at Newbury on
December 1. There won’t be a more thrilling or informative handicap
chase staged all season than the traditional Newbury cracker which promises
to be better than ever this time around.
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With Gold Cup hope Denman set to shoulder top weight of 11st 12lb, the race pits this pretender to the chasing crown against a raft of up-and-coming young chasers such as Snowy Morning, Mossbank, Abragante and New Alco. That forbidding quartet will all receive weight from Denman and none more so than the former who enjoys an 18lb pull for his 10-lenghts defeat in the Royal & SunAlliance Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Such a dramatic turnaround in the weights combined with the guile of his trainer Willie Mullins in producing a horse for the big occasion swings the vote in favour of Snowy Morning.
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On the same card at Newbury reigning staying champion Inglis Drever will put his credentials on the line in the Long Distance Hurdle while any fringe candidates for Champion Hurdle honours will be looking to announce their candidacy in the Gerry Fielden Hurdle. Over at Newcastle on the 1st, Katchit, Blythe Knight and Jazz Messenger trade blows in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and the outcome of that race should add some much-needed clarity to the Champion Hurdle picture.
December 8 sees the best 2m chasers in the business stepping into the ring at Sandown for the Tingle Creek Trophy. Shocks are a rarity in this Grade One event and punters should stick to those horses at the head of the market. Voy Por Ustedes,
last year’s runner-up and subsequent Queen Mother Champion Chase
hero, is the one that Twist Magic, Monet’s Garden and Well Chief, to
name but three, have to beat and that won’t be easy given the form
of the Alan King stable right now.
Elsewhere on the Sandown card there is the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase, a
race in which Paul Nicholls has supplied three of the last nine winners.
Watch out for his representative as well any horse that took part in
the Independent Newspaper Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham last month. Finally, Sandown’s
card also features a bookmaking benefit in the shape of the William Hill Handicap Hurdle that often favours horses carrying a low weight and preferably trained by Gary Moore or Philip Hobbs.
The cream of the jumps action switchers to Cheltenham on December 15
for a top-class day’s racing that features the Boylesports International Hurdle (formerly
known as the Bula Hurdle) and this graded contest might well go the way
of Sublimity, the reigning Champion Hurdler. The Irish
landed the race a couple of seasons ago and any horses that they send
over for this valuable prize should be given careful consideration.
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The Boylesports.com Gold Cup Chase is a cracking handicap
and the trick here is to look for horses carrying less than 11 stone
that boast winning form at the course. Rising stars such as Another Promise and Don’t Push It could
figure prominently in 2007 while Irish-trained runners also boast a good
record too and should be given a second look. Over at Lingfield on the
same day watch out for any Francois Doumen-trained runners in the Summit Junior Hurdle at
the Surrey course. Any Gallic raider must be respected.
The countdown to Christmas begins at Ascot on December22 with a high
quality programme that features the Long Walk Hurdle,
the BGC Handicap Chase and
the prestigious and valuable Ladbroke Handicap Hurdle. The latter race
is only in its infancy at Ascot but already top trainers Nicky Henderson
and David Pipe have plundered the spoils and punters should pay particular
attention to whatever they decided to run in this year’s renewal.
In the Long Walk Hurdle the leading stayers will trade blows and any
Irish or French trained runners should be noted. Hardy Eustace will
be a strong fancy for the Irish.
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On Boxing Day, December 26, the King George VI Chase grabs
the spotlight and this year’s renewal promises to be a corker once
again. After his impressive Betfair Chase success Kauto Star will
be very hard to beat and back-to-back victories look on the cards. Kempton’s
sharp track suits him better than chief rival Exotic Dancer while
Alan King’s My Way de Solzen was a massive disappointment
in the Betfair Chase and looks like a non-stayer over jumps.
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On the rest of the Kempton card there is the Christmas Hurdle and
that may well be another pay-day for the speedy Katchit while
some of the best staying novice chasers will lock horns in the Feltham Novices’ Chase. Over
at Wetherby on the same day, the Rowland Meyrick Chase is now
a handicap and less of a race for being so.
On December 27 Dom D’Orgeval and Simon look
likely types for the Coral Welsh National while Franchoek may
prove hard to beat in the Finale Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle.
Over at Kempton Voy Por Ustedes bids
for a second success in the Desert Orchid Chase and
the year rounds off with the Challow Hurdle, a
graded novices’ event at Newbury on December 29 and a race that
might prove tailor-made for the exciting Razor Royale, an
impressive winner at Cheltenham on his hurdles bow the other day.
Malcolm Heyhoe writes weekly horse racing articles for GG.COM-Horse racing betting, information, news, results and free daily tips
Archive November 2007
