Ultima Handicap Chase

Fancied Tout Permis for my life, Elliot pulled it out, gutted

My worry with up for review deptford is he may well be best at Gowran but at 20/1 I will take a chance.

Big River for me . Well handicapped and might not be exposed yet . He has a nice racing weight and 33/1 looks great value .

liking Mr Whitaker on soft and loves cheltenham,Calipto impressive last time but suspicion hes better right handed and flat track.

If they thought Minella Rocco was anywhere near his best he would surely be going for the Gold Cup again in what looks an open year where conditions may suit even more than when second. The fact he isn't going for it would suggest to me they do think he has regressed by a fair margin and as such I'll be avoiding him.

I won't be backing the favourite either purely because there is no form in the book to justify favouritism. He is very lightly raced and it's hard to know how good he is but unless you are on the hotline to Nicholls it's just guesswork.

Mister Whitaker won here last year but is now 14lb higher. He started off the season well but I am inclined to think his run in November was a fair representation of how good he is. He will have to improve for the step up in trip to take a hand here.

Up for Review has potential but his two previous runs at Cheltenham would put me off him.

Coo Star Sivola looks like he may get similar conditions to last year. He hasn't shown much form this year but unless they thought he was a grade horse then it probably wouldn't be in their best interests to run well. Won easier than the final margin suggested and could make a bold bid to retain his crown from just 3lb higher.

Calipto is the horse I would take a chance on. He's always shaped like a step up in trip would suit and he has duly improved for it the last twice. He's ran very promisingly here at two festivals over trips that were much shorter than his optimum. He goes on any ground  and looks very solid. I'm not entirely sure how much wiggle room he has left in his handicap mark but I do believe it was will be his ideal course/distance to give his best showing and he's a decent price.

agree with uncle. singlefarmpayment definitely worth a look.

agree with the sentiments about minella rocco but they might just think he's a couple of years older than when he ran well in the gold cup, therefore this sort of level is easier for him and it's a good prep run for the grand national. anyway I've backed him and the more testing ground is a bonus.