Kadarann worth the weight

14 April 2012

Some pundits will bill it as a mere dress rehearsal for a certain meeting in March, yet tomorrow's racing at Cheltenham is far more than that. With almost £400,000 in prize money on offer this is a card which stands alone as one of the pivotal Saturdays in the jumping calendar.

Some big reputations will be made and marred in five fiercely contested races live on Channel 4, and Kadarann looks a sporting bet to get things off to a flyer in the Victor Chandler Chase.

Martin Pipe has held the key to this £110,000 contest ever since the weights were published, as his star two-miler Well Chief boasts an official rating so high that improving chasers like Great Travel and Oneway have been left well out of the handicap and forced to explore other avenues.

Their absence leaves Well Chief as short as 2-1 to add this to his thrilling defeat of Kicking King in last year's Arkle Chase, but not all the signs are positive.

First off, Well Chief was hiked to a rating of 176 for his fine third behind Moscow Flyer and Azertyuiop in Sandown's Tingle Creek Chase.

Azertyuiop's gallant defeat off 168 in this race last year proved that such exalted marks are seldom defied lightly, while the fact that Well Chief took a heavy tumble in the Castleford Chase at Wetherby recently is an added concern.

Connections of the luckless Non So have bitten the bullet and decided to run, but 6-1 is hardly a steal for a horse who is 17lb wrong at the weights having hit the deck when moving sweetly twice this season.

The each-way thieves hoovered up the value about Thisthatandtother early this week, but the longer prices available about his stablemate Kadarann appeal for several reasons.

Firstly, Kadarann is fairly treated from just 2lb out of the handicap. Secondly, he's gained seven of his nine chase wins on good ground and will be very much at home under tomorrow's drying conditions.

Last but not least, Kadarann is a bold jumper who has been lightly raced this season. He shaped as if ready to peak when chasing home Wetherby specialist Mister McGoldrick in the Castleford and at 10-1 or thereabouts he looks a tempting each-way option.

Only time will tell whether tomorrow's Pillar Property Chase lives up to its reputation as a springboard to Gold Cup glory.

The fact that none of the field trade at under 20-1 for the big one suggests that Best Mate's connections won't be losing much sleep, and most of the runners have questions to answer. Grey Abbey has thrived on flat tracks but has to give weight all round for his Wetherby defeat of Sir Rembrandt, who has looked painfully short of pace this season while running well below the form he showed to bustle up Best Mate last March.

Ollie Magern's precocious novice talent will be tested by several other front-runners, while Irish raider Cloudy Bays finished well held on his last visit to Britain. Which leaves us with Ballycassidy, Therealbandit and Royal Auclair. Ballycassidy is reliable and progressive, while Royal Auclair is revitalised after a breathing operation and is bound for the Grand National.

However, in a very trappy contest it's worth backing Therealbandit to bounce back. Martin Pipe's gelding failed to shine going right-handed in the King George at Kempton, but he relishes this demanding track and will go very close if back to the form he showed to forge clear of Royal Auclair in a valuable handicap here six weeks ago.

Those who base their betting on the bush telegraph won't take long to find their selection in the Byrne Bros Cleeve Hurdle.

Howard Johnson and Graham Lee have been waxing lyrical about Royal Rosa this week with quotes like "my big gun" and "complete natural" being tossed around with abandon.

Good luck to them as Graham Wylie's 340,000gns purchase makes his belated reappearance, but Crystal D'Ainay is the one to be on as he bids to land this for the second year running.

Alan King's gelding got the better of the subsequent Champion Hurdle hero Hardy Eustace when this race was run over two and a half miles last year, while two gallant seconds behind the mighty Baracouda this season mark him down as an even stronger proposition over three miles.

Selections for tomorrow's feature races at Cheltenham: 2.05, Kadarann; 2.35, Crystal d'Ainay; 3.10, Therealbandit.

MORE ABOUT

Abbeys

Kadarann worth the weight

Read More