Ben Linfoot unpicks the William Hill Game Spirit Chase and William Hill Denman Chase following Super Saturday at Newbury.
Arkle rivals need to unsettle Lulamba early
For such a conservative trainer, one who favours a racecourse gallop or a penalty kick over most other pre-Cheltenham competition, Nicky Henderson’s continued use of the William Hill Game Spirit for his top novice chasers continues to pay dividends.
And judging by Lulamba’s Arkle odds – now the shortest-priced antepost favourite at the Cheltenham Festival at 5/4 – he is fully expected to follow in the hoofprints of Sprinter Sacre and Altior, who both won the Arkle for Henderson after taking in the Newbury race as novices.
Henderson came here again because he thought he needed to.
At Exeter on Lulamba’s chasing debut half the fences were missing, so he didn’t learn an awful lot there, while his only subsequent run came in a four-runner Grade 1 Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown where he won easily.
Running against seasoned pros in a Game Spirit will likely sharpen up the five-year-old, though, and in driving rain he’ll have learnt plenty as he had to navigate his fences at speed with Master Chewy taking no prisoners on the front end in a first-time visor.
Lulamba’s rivals were in no mood to give him room or respect, either, with Harry Skelton boxing him in on Calico, while the pair came together in mid-air three from home. That was the point Lulamba hit top gear, and he jumped the last two well to seal an impressive six-and-a-half length win.
He’s going to get further as he gets older, but he clearly stays the two miles really well and that finishing kick could be the deal breaker when he lines up on day one of the Cheltenham Festival in just over a month’s time.
His Arkle rivals need to take him out of his comfort zone before then.
Early on he was a bit scruffy at Newbury, it took him time to settle into a rhythm and when he hit a fence on a long stride he went high, corkscrewing over one of the fences down the back.
Such inefficiency could be costly early on in an Arkle on the Cheltenham Old Course and it will be interesting to see if he is ruffled by a speed horse attacking their fences at the Festival.
If you think this is nitpicking at his Arkle chances, you’re probably right. But at 5/4 he’s there to be nitpicked, for all that he looks to have an engine like some of those aforementioned illustrious stablemates.
Haiti could get outpaced in the Gold Cup
Earlier on at Newbury Haiti Couleurs put forward his Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup claims with his own clearcut success in the William Hill Denman Chase under Sean Bowen.
This looked a vital win for the nine-year-old, as there’s one thing doing it in big-field staying handicaps but he needed to prove himself in a graded race over shorter in a smaller field following his Betfair Chase flop.
That he did, albeit the form looks suspect with two of his rivals rated in the 140s and the other, L’Homme Presse, running well below his best after a very patchy jumping performance under Charlie Deutsch.
Still, Haiti Couleurs could only beat what was put in front of him, and while he hardly looked quick or efficient over his fences on the first circuit he warmed to his task in that regard and looked strong over the final four obstacles in the home straight.
It’s a box ticked for him, but whether he has enhanced his Gold Cup claims I’m not sure. Indeed, I'd be with those bookies who left him unchanged at 10/1 rather than the ones who cut him two or three points into 8/1 and as short as 7s.
On the one hand he will be well suited by the stamina test in the Gold Cup and he won’t mind a bigger field or taking a lead if that’s how things pan out.
But on the other, we still don’t know if he’s got the class. And the big concern is that he won’t get away with racing lazily in a Gold Cup. Could he be done for speed at a vital point in the contest? Maybe he needs softer ground just to help level the playing field on that score.
Ruby Walsh suggested cheekpieces might be a good idea in his ITV analysis. The sheepskin could certainly help judging by how he jumped and travelled in front on the first circuit in the Denman.
All in all, a stamina-sapping Gold Cup and he comes into the conversation. Anything less than that and he might just have something to prove.
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