Our podcast panel were asked to put forward a horse who’s sailing under the Cheltenham Festival radar at present.
Four were offered up, ranging from a Grade One winner to a horse who might be a handicap plot...
Ben Linfoot – Broadway Boy (Brown Advisory)
“I think Broadway Boy is sailing under the radar. Nigel Twiston-Davies’ staying novice chaser has racked up some good form at Cheltenham this season and I was particularly impressed with him last time in open handicap company when he won the premier handicap on the December Gold Cup card despite making a few mistakes and looking like he might drop away a little bit going into the closing stages.
“He really knuckled down and showed grit and determination to see off Threeunderthrufive from a mark of 146. The BHA and Timeform both now have him rated 150 and Stay Away Fay, the leading British novice in this division you could say, is rated exactly the same. Broadway Boy is 16/1 for the Brown Advisory and Stay Away Fay 6/1. I do think Broadway Boy is sailing under the radar, particularly with his course form, and I think he’s a strong stayer with a big chance in this race.”
David Johnson – Jonbon (Ryanair Chase)
“The one that interests me, and there is a bit of a switcheroo required here, is Jonbon, not for the Champion Chase but the Ryanair. You can get 14/1 and the key to this is whether he does clash with El Fabiolo in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot on Saturday week.
“The interesting thing for me were the quotes from Nicky Henderson when he said in the spring, he kept looking like a two-and-a-half miler but this season he looks like a two miler. I think the reason for that is in the spring he was running against El Fabiolo whereas this season he’s been running against a two-and-a-half miler (Edwardstone).
“I think there’s a very good chance El Fabiolo is going to kick him into touch in the Clarence House again and if he does that there’s a good chance Jonbon’s connections will take a look again and think do we really want to take El Fabiolo on again in a Champion Chase when that Ryanair is looking so open?
“We don’t know what we’re going to get from Allaho, Stage Star blotted his copybook on New Year’s Day and the bookmakers that are going non-runner/no bet for Cheltenham are 3/1 Jonbon for the Ryanair, they’re basically saying he’s a 5/2 or 11/4 chance to run in that race. I think the chances of him switching to the Ryanair are much shorter than that.”
Ed Chamberlin – Shanagh Bob (Albert Bartlett)
“Remember this time last year, on this very podcast, Stay Away Fay was becoming a fancy for the Albert Bartlett? I think there’s a horse very similar to him this year’s race, a grinder, called Shanagh Bob.
“We saw him win in December and I just feel he’s a horse going the right way for the Albert Bartlett, he doesn’t do anything flash and Nico de Boinville was absolutely cream-crackered at the end of that race because he had to work so hard, but his mount just keeps on finding.
“He’s sailing under the radar at about 16 or 20/1, I think the race is his target and he fits the bill for me.”
Billy Nash - Sa Majeste
“Mine’s flying so far under the radar that I looked at the ante-post markets for all the Cheltenham Festival handicaps and my fellow, Sa Majeste, isn’t even quoted.
“He won in France before Willie Mullins got him and has had two runs for his new team. He ran at the Punchestown Festival in just an ordinary novice hurdle, not a graded race, and was well backed but ended up well beaten having made the running.
“He pulled too hard and ran his race too early that day but they brought him back at Limerick over Christmas and he beat Noble Yeats over two-and-a-half miles. It was on very bad ground, and I was interested to see how he’d settle in a slowly-run race and he settled much, much better and finished off his race really well.
“I thought he won with a bit up his sleeve, he’s a fine big horse and there were rumours he was going to go chasing but I think he’s just a typical Mullins/JP horse. He’s impossible to get a proper handicap mark on but has had four runs, won two of them, so he’s going to have to be given one.
“He’s had the pre-requisite four runs so qualifies for those festival handicaps and I’d be surprised if we see him again before then. I suppose you could run him in the Liffey Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival but I’d imagine if he is what I think he is then he might go straight to Cheltenham where he’d be totally unexposed.
“I’d be fascinated to see what sort of mark he gets and he’s one on my radar for those big handicaps later on in the season.”
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