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| Punter's Diary by Malcolm Heyhoe |
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| Updated: 31st December 2007 - GG.com |
New Year, New Riches
Jump racing ushers in the New Year at the most appropriate place possible when Cheltenham racecourse hosts the first valuable meeting of 2008. Already the clock is counting down towards the Festival in March, and the month of January remains an important one in sifting the good from the bad among the Festival contenders.
One race stands out on Cheltenham’s New Year card and this is the Turf TV New Year Chase Handicap that tends to fall to a progressive type each year. This time around Officier de Reserve and Surfboard fit the bill from opposite ends of the handicap and both entertain strong claims. Preference is for the former.
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Later on the Cheltenham card in the Steel Plate And Sections Hurdle Afsoun attempts to put his hurdling career back on track after a dismal effort over 2m at the track last time but he faces a potent challenge from a new wave of young stayers headed by Wichita Lineman and Gaspara. Maybe
the former can show that he’s more of the finished article now that his trainer Jonjo O’Neill
has won race for the first time in a month.
Sandown on January 5 is the setting for the Anglo Irish Bank Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle that was won in gritty fashion twelve months ago by Silverburn from the Paul Nicholls stable. One year on the champion trainer may well have the answer to this graded event for up-and-coming young stayers with either Breedsbreeze or The Tother One looking likely candidates. Whatever Nicholls sends for this valuable prize is worth a second look while any Irish raiders should be handled with care.
The following week’s action features a fine card at Warwick with
the valuable totesport.com Classic Handicap Chase, a race that traditionally sorts out the real stayers from the rest after a punishing 3m 5f of the West Midlands track. Once again any starters from the Paul Nicholls camp need putting to the top of the short-list and the yard may run Trust Fund while watch out too for the deeply progressive Arnold Layne, who
has climbed the staying ladder under trainer Caroline Bailey’s
subtle guidance. He may be the one to fell the big boys.
Over at Thurles on January 6 In Compliance is likely
to take another step towards his rehabilitation as a serious chasing
prospect by turning out for the Kinloch Brae Chase over
2m 4f. If he runs, he wins judged on his comeback effort at Leopardstown
over Christmas.
The best race of January takes place at Ascot on the 19th when the Victor Chandler Chase brings
together some of the season’s best two-milers though this year
the race is no longer a limited handicap and that change of status
should at least ensure a small, but select field for the Ascot showpiece.
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Twist Magic should take all the beating after establishing
his credentials as the season’s top two-miler after an easy success
from reigning Champion Chaser Voy Por Ustedes in the Tingle Creek at Sandown in December. His trainer Paul Nicholls has a fine record in the race, boasting a couple of victories in recent seasons and he seems sure to make it three courtesy of Twist Magic, who may have most to fear from Irish raider Mansony, a right-handed specialist who claimed the scalp of Nickname in Ireland over Christmas.
Over at Haydock on the same day Osana will bid to
put substance to the shape of his Champion Hurdle claims by tackling
Haydock’s Champion
Hurdle Trial. His trainer
David Pipe hails from a family that has long liked a tilt at this prize
while later on the card John Spearing’s Grand National contender Simon can boost his already bright prospects of landing the big one in April by taking the Peter Marsh Chase at
Haydock. This tough and still improving stayer should be well suited by the demands of this race and a look through Simon’s
chasing record also suggests that he is at his best on a flat and left-handed
track.
January’s jumps action turns full circle on the 26th when Cheltenham
stages a full-scale trial fixture for the Festival in March. The feature
is the Letheby and Christopher Chase, a one-time influential trial for the Gold Cup that has lost some of its clout in recent seasons and looks even more redundant as a Gold Cup trial given the domination of that race this year by 2007 Gold Cup hero Kauto Star and new kid on the block, Denman.
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The classy Cheltenham card also features the Byrne Bros Cleeve Hurdle where staying champion Inglis Drever looks
sure to increase his grip on the stayers’ crown faced with an
unconventional challenge from the ailing My Way de Solzen, who
has looked a shadow of the horse that landed last season’s Arkle
in two poor starts this term.
Over at Doncaster the Sky Bet Handicap Chase can go to the tough and deeply talented Cloudy Lane, the ideal sort for this 3m handicap chase while over in Ireland on the following day, January 27, Sizing Europe can enhance his Champion Hurdle claims by taking the AIG Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown. On the same card Wins Now and Pedrobob look to be the two big hitters in the Arkle Novices’ Chase at the south Dublin track, with preference for the former.
Malcolm Heyhoe writes weekly horse racing articles for GG.COM-Horse racing betting, information, news, results and free daily tips
Archive December 2007
