The Road to Cheltenham
FOR the next four weeks I will be picking out an ante-post selection for the Cheltenham Festival that I feel will go off shorter on the day.
The first race I’m going to look at is the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle which this year kicks off Wednesday’s card.
This race has a rich history. Both Istrabraq and Hardy Eustace won it before going on to land multiple successes in the Champion Hurdle, while the last three winners – The New One, Simonsig and First Lieutenant – are all top class horses.
Willie Mullins’ Faugheen has been the ante-post gamble and is now a general 7/2 favourite. I actually think he will go off shorter on the day, like his stablemate Pont Alexandre did last year, but he still couldn’t win and 7/2 is a crazy price on form.
Red Sherlock is a solid second-favourite, although I wonder whether he will be quite good enough, especially if the ground dries out.
The one to back at this stage simply has to be THE TULLOW TANK at 8/1.
He was beaten in last Sunday’s Deloitte Novices’ Hurdle at Leopardstown, but the winner, Vautour, another Mullins potential superstar, looks pretty special and it was no disgrace finishing second to him.
Prior to that, Philip Fenton’s son of Oscar was a dual Grade One winner over hurdles and he now looks certain to step up to 2m 5f which is exactly what he needs.
The Tullow Tank is a chaser in the making, but his form is stronger than anything else in the line-up and I can see him going off at almost half his current price.
Pointers…
THE TULLOW TANK 8/1 Neptune Novices’ Hurdle (Cheltenham Festival)