The Road to Cheltenham
JP MCMANUS has landed some pretty hefty coups at Cheltenham over the years and you can bet your bottom dollar that he will be lining a few up for the handicaps again this season.
My Tent Or Yours is his big hope on the first day, but I’m actually more interested in Pendra in the closing Rewards4Racing Novices’ Handicap Chase.
Charlie Longsdon’s six-year-old was sent off the 6/1 favourite for last year’s Coral Cup after some decent runs over hurdles. He was disappointing that day, but things didn’t pan out for him and he looked good on his first two starts over fences this term.
The son of Old Vic then went to Ascot before Christmas and clearly didn’t give his running when finishing a distant seventh. He was beaten too far out to be true and connections have decided to bring him to the Festival fresh. There has to be a worry that the hustle and bustle of a big Cheltenham handicap will catch him out again like 12 months ago.
However, the purpose of this column is to find a horse that will start shorter than its current price and there is no way Pendra will go off anywhere near the 12/1 he is currently available at with Star Sports.
The weights are always compressed in this handicap and you need a horse that is well ahead of its mark. I’m sure Pendra is better than a 137-rated chaser and I can see him going off around the 6/1 mark again. Let’s hope he does the business this time, though.
Pointers…
PENDRA 12/1 Rewards4Racing Novices’ Handicap Chase (Cheltenham Festival)