Tag: greatwood hurdle

Greatwood Hurdle Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Greatwood Hurdle is the big betting race at Cheltenham on Sunday, for which the bookmakers have made Nicky Henderson’s Vaniteux the clear favourite.

Their odds are based on his excellent third behind Vautour in the Grade 1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the festival meeting in March. Many pundits consider Vautour a live prospect for the Champion Hurdle this season so it is easy to understand their reasoning.

It looked a good quality renewal of the Supreme with Josses Hill, a stable companion of Vaniteux, finishing in second and Irving and Gilgamboa among those well beaten. Henderson rates Vaniteux very highly but it may be worth remembering that he has only raced four times for Henderson and must carry top weight of 11st 12lb.

With the going certain to be testing, I would rather side with something at the other end of the handicap and Clondaw Warrior catches the eye. He is trained by Willie Mullins and won the November Handicap on the flat on his most recent start. That victory was off a mark 34lbs higher than his official rating when joining the Mullins stable.

He is yet to race over hurdles for his new stable but if he shows anything like the same improvement as he has displayed on the flat, he looks very leniently treated. Mullins has also declared Daneking but most bookmakers are offering non-runner/no bet on the race. He makes plenty of each-way appeal here at 8-1.

Jonjo O’Neill’s Goodwood Mirage tended to walk through his hurdles last season but showed more respect for them under a good ride from McCoy at Wetherby on his seasonal debut. He was useful on the flat but just seems too close to the top weight after a hefty 9lbs rise. Garde Le Victoire is also prone to clout a couple of flights and did so again when beaten by Hawk High at Aintree last time.

David Pipe relies on Imperial Cup winner Baltimore Rock but he is now 15lbs higher in the weights than when winning at Sandown. Pearl Swan was a promising novice for Paul Nicholls a couple of seasons ago but surely cannot overcome an absence of almost two years. His stable companion Katgary ran poorly at Aintree and will need to improve to figure here.

Vaniteux should run well but I am siding with Clondaw Warrior to make the weight tell in the closing stages and take the prize back to Ireland.

Clondaw Warrior @8-1 Bet365

Each-way ¼ odds, 1,2,3,4

Greatwood Hurdle Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The second big prize of the Open meeting at Cheltenham this weekend is the Greatwood Hurdle on Sunday. The favourite is a horse that was a rare failure for the Nicky Henderson stable last season who failed to go on after finishing runner-up behind Olofi in this race.

Cash and Go revives painful memories as I had backed him at Ascot for the Ladbroke Hurdle on the strength of his performance in the Greatwood. Barry Geraghty is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished jump jockeys around but I think even he would admit that he got it all wrong on that occasion. He took a pull early on and practically left his horse blinded towards the rear of the 21-runner field. I’m sure that he was guessing at his hurdles and it was no surprise when Geraghty slid out of the side door after a mistake at the fourth.

The fact that he is favourite this year owes nothing to his subsequent efforts so I can only presume that he has been showing a lot more at home. Pine Creek won the William Hill Hurdle at Ascot last time out and certainly cruised into the race in good style. He did not win quite so easily as seemed likely and I’m not convinced that it was the greatest race. Neither of the front two makes any appeal at odds of around 6-1.

I have much more time for Sametegal at nearly twice the price, trained by Paul Nicholls. On the face of it he has a tough task under 11st 7lb having beaten Bayan by only a neck here last month. However, he had previous winner Handazan stone cold with half a mile to go and would have been more impressive with a stronger pace. He was a respectable third in the Triumph Hurdle and should run well.

My second selection is Kashmir Peak. He was beaten a mile in the Triumph but that was as a result of an early mistake and he is better judged on two meetings with Sametegal last season. He beat that rival by a length at Doncaster and was set to do so again at Musselburgh before unseating his rider four out. His four races on the flat have resulted in three placed efforts including a fine head second to Thomas Hobson at Newbury last month. If he transfers that improvement to hurdles he must have a good each-way chance.

I am also adding a second long-shot to my Paddy Power Gold Cup selection in the form of Astracad. Nigel Twiston-Davies has stated that he will run as long as the ground doesn’t turn soft and he also looks generously priced at 33-1.

Paddy Power Gold Cup Astracad (each-way) 33-1 888Sport

Greatwood Hurdle Kashmir Peak 12-1 Ladbrokes, BetVictor

Greatwood Hurdle Sametegal 10-1 Coral, Bet365