TimeformBlog

There were plenty of Festival clues at Cheltenham over the weekend, with new favourites for two races and shake-ups in the betting for several more. Timeform look back over the action there as well as some of the weekend's other performances of note...


The best winning performance on a weekend of high-class racing at Cheltenham came courtesy of Menorah, who improved markedly on what he showed when winning last season's Supreme Novices' Hurdle to defy top-weight in Sunday's Greatwood Handicap Hurdle. That form is still about half a stone short of what Binocular achieved when winning the Champion Hurdle in March, but Menorah brings an upwardly mobile profile into his second season of racing. He now has to be considered among the leading contenders for the race, as reflected by the fact he's now the 10.0 third favourite behind Binocular and Hurricane Fly.

Saturday's big race at Cheltenham was the Paddy Power Gold Cup, won by Nigel Twiston-Davies' Little Josh, who produced a performance bordering on very smart to make all by two and three quarter lengths from Irish raider Dancing Tornado. Hot favourite Long Run failed to justify favouritism, but ran creditably all the same to finish third, and he emerges as the best horse in the race at the weights. He reportedly now heads to Kempton at Christmas for the King George, but on what he's done to date he's playing for a place at best if a peak Kauto Star shows up.

The card at Cheltenham on Saturday opened with the Grade 2 Triumph Hurdle Trial which was won by Paul Nicholls' French import Sam Winner. In beating Grandouet by fifteen lengths Sam Winner ran to a level of form that isn't far off what is normally produced by a Triumph Hurdle winner, and he is rightly now the ante-post favourite for the race at 7.2.

Nicholls also produced a new favourite for the Arkle on Sunday, Ghizao now a 13.0 shot in the market for that race on the back of his ten-length win in the Grade 2 November Novices' Chase. Though there are plenty of potentially smart novice chasers yet to be seen, Ghizao's slick jumping should stand him in good stead for tougher engagements to come.

Perhaps the training performance of the weekend came from Nick Williams who produced Gauvain to upset Champion Chase contenders Tataniano and Forpadydeplasterer on his return from a nineteen-month absence after leaving Charlie Mann. Gauvain ran to a very smart level of form, and certainly enters the argument for the Champion Chase, now a 14.0 shot for the race having been matched to small money at a high of 270.0. Forpadydeplasterer came second for the tenth time in twelve starts, and is now available at 20.0 for the Champion Chase, while Tataniano can be excused a below-par reappearance, though he has drifted a few points, now a 15.0 shot from a low of 7.0.

The best performer on show in Ireland over the weekend was Solwhit, who made it six Grade 1 wins over hurdles in the two-mile Punchestown Hurdle. Solwhit failed to give his running in last season's Champion Hurdle, but reportedly had an interrupted preparation, and certainly shouldn't be left out of calculations this time round. He can be backed at 17.5 for the race at present.

There was also some interesting Flat action over the weekend, notably at Saint-Cloud on Saturday where Aidan O'Brien's two-year-old colt Recital showed himself to be a good middle-distance prospect for 2011 with a five-length win in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. In Japan the following morning, dual Oaks winner Snow Fairy netted a huge pot for her connections in impressively winning the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup at Kyoto.

(read more at betting.betfair.com)