Laying these for entire bank in Cheltenham

Grand Crus - agree
Ghizao - agree
Menorah - not sure, great race and i think he has a chance


However i would not bet or lay anything for my entire bank

Figure of speech Sat Flight.  Probably half my bank. Not impressed by Menorah. I know he has decent form but not taken by him at all. Took a long time to get into gear when beating Cue Card. Would be amazed if he had the class to win. I know Hoobs had him very straight first time up this year. Doubt much improvement to come.

littlewilly ....how big is your bank .....hopefully bigger than your willy .......i think you would have to take the mullins horses into consideration in twh,plus big bucks ..grand crus would have a question mark over him in my mind alright ..but then again you have pipe on his side...with the master lurking in the background ...the  pipes both father and son have a fantastic record at cheltenham so would know a good horse when they see one ...both seem very happy with this fellow ...menorah ..cant seem to like this horse for some reason always a bad thought to have imo ...he has done nothing wrong and has answered every question thats been asked of him ...i'm leaning toword harricane fly myself...cant see any horse having his kick after the last ...maybe binocular would be his danger ...finally my fancy for the arkle is merdimet ..i think kings horse has the tactical nous to win from any position...

Agree with Grands Cru.
Ghizao is a good jumper in a weak Arkle, for a trainer who knows how to win the race. Disagree.
Menorah. Improving. Loves the place. Trainer again knows what`s required. Stongly disagree. You do have a good 6 running for you though.

I have my doubts Menorah can quick like he did vs. Cue Card, when the pace is as hot as it will be in the CH.

Lay at BSP for me.

^ * quicken

Master Minded and Grand Crus the 2 i've been chippin away laying - both are very short i think

hope your wrong in the arkle have ghizao have him backed at 11/2,your bank acc will be getting smaller than your peanut willy when he hacks in

menorah cant quicken fast enough?!!?..took a long time to get into gear versus cue card?...my god were you  hibernating all winter?look at the race again..he put 5 l between them in 100 yards!!

He looked to me to be in trouble at one stage in that race. He did take a long time to quicken when Johnson went for him. My opinion he does not have the class of the other leading contenders and am happy to lay it at the price.

Kavvie,

The pace of the CH will be suicidal.

I do not believe he can kick sufficently off such a pace to win.

I am a layer at the current price.

If I am wrong [which of course can easily happen] I do my dough.

Simples.

PS

Watch last year's SN again; and look at the ground Dunguib
made up on him, despite the poor tactics O'Connell was asked to ride to.

I don't beleive the SN pace last year was as strong as the CH pace will be this year.

[For starters, Overturn is guaranteed to pace-make for PC].

The game is however, all about opinions.

At the current price, I believe yours is wrong

you make a reasoned arguement.i think tho that the horse has improved a lot.course form counts for a lot.he like cheltenham.hobbs and johnson are very sweet on him.he will do me..

Hobbs & R Johnson have forgotten more about training & race-riding in their sleep last night;
then I will ever learn in a lifetime.

However, at the current price [the PIVOTAL factor to a bettor] I can't have him.

At his current price I am a Cue Card layer for numerous reasons [happy to post these] and I don't believe he beat him convincing enough [or indeed Nicholls' SC].

Dunguib was beaten 2 lengths in the SN and is nearly 3 times his price; despite proven course [bumper] pedigree; and some appalling tactics last year.

Hurrican Fly is the same price as Menorah, despite smashing the Rabobank field & winning 4 Gr 1 races
in Ireland vs. an Aintree hurdle winner in Solowhit.

There's before considering live outsiders such as Mille Chief & Oscar Whiskey; the longer campaign he
has had [vs. certain rivals such as Dunguib]; and Peddler's Cross, who also won a novice hurdle at the 2010 Festival and who has also progressed [won the FF at Newbury from Binocular]

So yep, I am a layer at his current price.

The game is maintained by opinions though - that's where the fun & games lie

Kauto Star max lay

dun my brains laying him in droyal

Riverside Theatre out of Ryanair.
Is it just me or is this years festival very low on quality!?

any weather updates?

ANYBODY GOING CHELT?

No staying at home this year, as much as i love it i have come to realise its an absolute rip off

MY 3 LAYS

BINOCULAR , REALLY NEVER IMPRESSED ME . THINK HURRICANE FLY/KYBER KING/ PEDDLERS CROSS ALL WELL CAPABLE OF WINNING 123

CUE CARD , THINK HE WON A WEAK BUMPER . SPIRIT SON ,RECESSION PROOF  MY FANCIES

KAUTO STAR LOOKED FINISHED THE DAY HE I WAS @ DOWN ROYAL . IMPERIAL COMMANDER HAS LONG RUN BEAT

menoah is not the one at the head of ch to be laying imo, has 100% ec at the course for starters and if ur gonna lay it , lay it i-r too because it will trade shorter without doubt in the run! ill be looking to lay the fly at evens i-r , will be on the bridle for a long way, just hoping it doesnt win

def wouldnt lay menorah, grand crus yes, gizao maybe
lays imo
tranquil sea
masterminded
kauto star and denman
cue card

Arctic front on the way!

Grand Crus a lay at his current price -  takes time for him to settle; will need soft ground; and despite a visually stunning performance LTO, I wasn't blown away by the sectional times he set [vs. standard].

PS Tranquil Sea is laid out for his race imo

http://www.accuweather.com/en-us/gb/gloucestershire/cheltenham/forecast2.aspx

I agree with norn on the GC.

Long Run doesn't seem to act at the track; KS - the greatest steeplechaser since Arkle - also now looks regressive...

Norn, how could you have failed to be impressed with Binocular 12 months ago?

In Norn's absence:-

Arguably the most difficult CH to solve since Istrabraq first went to post in this race [he had been as big as 14/1 the previous winter].

At the head of the market is reigning champion, Binocular. He is a horse that has flattered to deceive at Cheltenham - imperious last year in this race, he struggled with the white-hot pace set by Celestial Halo the prior year [was 3rd]; while was beaten on his 2008 visit by Captain Cee Bee.

Neither have won at the Festival since 2008.

Last year's runner-up Kyber Kim was already an 8 y.o. [& he's had a horrible year since winning the Aintree Hurdle last April]; The 3rd; the 4th & the 5th [Zaynar, Celestial & Starluck] have not won a hurdling race since; the 6th [Solowhit] has spent an Irish winter "looking up the arse of Hurricane Fly" [to quote Davy Russell] as he has chased that particular contender home 4 times in Grade 1s.

Ten of the last 15 winners were also aged either 6 or 7; and the form set by last year's star novice Menorah franks the claims of Dunguib, Mille Chief & Oscar Whiskey.

I wouldn't touch Binocular with stolen money at his current price; and will be a layer.

WOSPO/ THINK STEERINJOB SAYS MOST OF WHAT I WOULD HAVE REPLYN . I WAS AT KEMPTON AN WASNT IMPRESSED AN THINK HE WONT BE IN FIRST 3 PEDDLERS CROSS BEAT HIM EASY AN WILL DO AGAIN BUT THINK THIS HURRICANE FLY IS POSSIBLY THE BEST HURDLER SINCE ISTRABRAQ AN GOOD GROUND WONT BOTHER HIM. BUT THINK KYBER KIM IS BEST OUTSIDER  , BUT ITS ONLY MY OPINION NEXT TUESDAY WILL REVEAL WHO IS CORRECT

Supreme Novices

Statistics don't lie; they are often misquoted & summarily abused, but they don't lie. The "powers that be" - the ever-present "THEY" have already deemed Cue Card the anointed one for this race.

True, his comfortable dismissal of the Champion Bumper field last year was striking; and he boasts the best form of the race with his second to Menorah [more on him in the Champion Hurdle section]; but is he a true 9/4 [at the time of writing] shot?

I don't believe so; Cue Card, trained by Devon dairy farmer Colin Tizzard, doesn't meet some key trends - 7 out of the last 10 winners were Irish-trained; 10 of the last 11 winners won last time out [i.e. LTO] - Cue Card was beaten by Menorah; and 10 of the last 11 ran in the previous 45 days [he will be absent for 66 days when they go to post].

Ruby Walsh thinks he is impossible to beat, but I can't have him - and that's before considering a certain Irish bookie is refunding bets on all other runners if he wins [always a danger sign for SP backers].

Of the contenders - Spirit Son has halved in price since smashing the field in his Exeter prep race 3 weeks ago; and Nicky Henderson - bang in-form - is double-handed with Sprinter Sacre; Add to that the Gigginstown House horse First Lieutanent that Mouse Morris gives massive squeak to, and you have some live contenders, even before the Totesport Trophy winner Recession Proof is considered.

His form is more solid than Cousin Vinny & Dunguib [the respective 2009 & 2010 favs]; but this race is more than capable of a surprise; Binocular was "chinned" by Captain Cee Bee in 2008; and Willie Mullins won with 40/1 Ebaziyan the prior year. There are plenty of [more] unexposed types in the race.

So Young. Now 4/1 for the Neptune!
Answers on a postcard please.

Finians Rainbow.
I backed this at 20s in December. Still my only ap bet!
I wouldn`t back it at 4/1 now with anyones money.
If this was a half decent Arkle he would be double figures on what he`s (not) achieved.
And when was Hendersons last chase winner at the festival?

Knights pass
I backed this on debut. I was impressed. It looked very good.
But it subsequently appears to have run past a few trees!
No thanks.

Poquelin 3/1 You`re having a .
Lucky to finish 2nd when 11/4 fav last year.
Only problem is...........the rest of them are even worse!

Top notch stuff GS and spot on hope ur well ahead for the festival and best of luck 2moro..

Never been better! Cheers