Cheltenham Festival tips: Mark Howard Portfolio Part Three
Racing betting tips: Chetenham Festival ante-post
0.5pts e.w. Eklat De Rire in Cheltenham Gold Cup at 100/1 (Betfair, Paddy Power, Unibet 1/5 1,2,3)
With the reigning holder Minella Indo producing a dismal display at Kempton over Christmas and stablemate and Gold Cup runner-up A Plus Tard suffering a shock defeat a couple of days later on home soil, steeplechasing’s Blue Riband looks up for grabs.
With form figures at the Cheltenham Festival of 121, there is a strong possibility that we will see the 2021 Gold Cup winner return to his best in March but there are a few question marks now surrounding Henry De Bromhead’s nine-year-old.
Beaten by Frodon on his seasonal reappearance at Down Royal, Minella Indo was fitted with cheekpieces for the first time in the King George and, despite the fact he raced too close to a frenetic early gallop, Rachael Blackmore’s mount was in a trouble with half a circuit to travel.
A Plus Tard looked better than ever when destroying Royale Pagaille and co in the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November. A 22-length winner, the Cheveley Park Stud-owned gelding was expected to follow up in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown and everything appeared to be going to plan turning for home.
The eight-year-old, though, was reeled in close home by the rapidly improving Galvin under a brilliant Davy Russell ride. Henry De Bromhead has indicated that the 173-rated chaser will head straight to the Festival without a prep. There is no doubt he is a highly talented individual who is still relatively lightly raced over fences, but he remains vulnerable to an out and out stayer.
Galvin has been the one to emerge from the pack this winter, progressing from an official rating of 154 to 167.
Viewed as a Grand National candidate in the autumn, Gordon Elliott’s charge is another horse who boasts excellent course form figures (6211) having captured the Grade 2 National Hunt Chase last Spring. Still only eight, he is good fresh, handles any ground and stays well. There remains the lingering doubt that he possesses the quality to win a Cheltenham Gold Cup, though.
Al Boum Photo made his customary trip to Tramore on New Year’s Day and, for the fourth consecutive season, emerged victorious. Already a dual Gold Cup winner, he has ground to make up with the De Bromhead pair on their meeting last season but Willie Mullins’ 10-year-old looked much sharper on his reappearance this time around as he saw off stablemate Burrows Saint by four lengths. While it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him emulate Best Mate and claim the prize for the third time, the history books imply he has it all to do with Cool Dawn the last winner from his age group in 1998.
One cannot help feeling it is time for a new kid on the block to make his presence felt.
The unexposed Protektorat has been well supported since the start of the year and will line up in March with an unbeaten record over three miles plus. Dan Skelton’s seven-year-old hasn’t looked back since undergoing a second wind operation last term.
A Grade One-winning novice at Aintree in April, he was a fast-finishing three parts of a length runner-up in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham in November off 154 – Long Run was third in the same event off 158 in 2010 before capturing the Gold Cup the following spring.
Upped in distance in the Grade 2 Many Clouds Chase at Aintree in December, he raced keenly throughout but it didn’t prevent the ex-French gelding from recording a 25-length success from the now retired former Gold Cup winner Native River.
The three miles one contest was run in atrocious conditions with only three of the eight runners completing. While his performance was all the more meritorious having over raced under Bridget Andrews, one cannot help feel the race fell apart with the aforementioned Native River and dual-Grand National winner Tiger Roll looking a shadow of their former selves.
Nevertheless, he is a dangerous opponent and should not be underestimated. Half a dozen seven-year-olds have won the Gold Cup this century.
The one I like at huge odds is EKLAT DE RIRE, who will hopefully join A Plus Tard and Minella Indo on the boat in March.
A winning Irish pointer for Liz Doyle, the eight-year-old has only raced eight times during his short career, winning three out of his five races over fences.
With a rating of 154, the Saddex gelding has plenty to find with his two stable companions, but we still don’t know how good he is. Like Protektorat, he was bred in France by Guy Cherel and, having won his point, joined De Bromhead before winning one of his two races over hurdles.
Switched to fences last season, he won handsomely on his chasing debut at Punchestown (3m 1f) beating School Boy Hours (Paddy Power Chase winner) and Run Wild Fred (Troytown Chase winner and now rated 158) before following up in a Grade 3 event at Naas this time last year.
Making all, he jumped well before staying on strongly to win by nearly two lengths. Despite his lack of chasing experience, Eklat De Rire took his chance in the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at Cheltenham and was still going well when parting company with his rider at the twelfth. It is impossible to predict where he would have finished.
Resuming his career this autumn, he wasn’t hard pressed to beat the 157 rated Conflated (won since) by four and a half lengths in a Listed Chase at Wexford – Minella Indo won the same event twelve months earlier. As a result, he was sent off 3/1 favourite for the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury but his performance, in the words of his trainer, was “too bad to be true” with Rachael Blackmore pulling him up before the seventeenth fence. It is worth noting that Mr Incredible from the same barn never looked happy in the Grade 2 Novices’ Chase earlier on the same day and a number of the string haven’t run to their best this term.
His run at Newbury doesn’t entitle him to go anywhere near the Festival, let alone the Gold Cup, but it should be remembered that Djakadam was a disappointing eighth in the Hennessy Gold Cup off a mark of 142 in 2014. A few months later he won the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park before chasing home Coneygree in the Gold Cup.
Given a break since, it is heartening to see Eklat De Rire entered in the Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival in early February.
In the meantime, it is possible he, too, will be considered for the Thyestes Chase later this month (January 27.) While his record in the UK (UR and PU) is a concern and his best performances have been achieved on testing ground, he is one of the few entries (30) in the Gold Cup with an unexposed profile.
His British based owner will be keen for him to run and he is a strong stayer with form in small and large fields – his wins have been gained in field sizes of 10, 12, 7, 8 and 4, plus he was runner-up in a 16-runner maiden hurdle at Punchestown.
Available at 100/1 (or 40/1, NRNB) both of those odds will shorten considerably if getting his career back on track next time and I'm happy for a small stakes play at the all-in price.
Published at 0900 GMT on 17/01/22
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