Cheltenham November Meeting: Five horses going under the radar

On The Slopes – Mucking Brilliant Paddy Power Handicap Chase, 1.50 Friday

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Profile: On The Slopes made stealthy headway through the novice chase ranks last season, starting off with a mark of 128 and signing off with back-to-back Kempton wins which resulted in his rating shooting up to 143.

Quietly fancied for the Betley Flying Spur Handicap Chase at last month’s Showcase, Chris Gordon’s six-year-old (best-turned-out) travelled with menace alongside eventual winner Rouge Vif as they hunted up long-time leader Northern Beau.

Still moving sweetly three-out, On The Slopes came under pressure turning in and while taking up second soon after the second-last, he was passed by three rivals on the run-in to ultimately finish fifth.

There is a sense that his finishing position doesn’t quite do the performance justice and a subsequent 1lb ease in the ratings may prove lenient.

Chris Gordon, trainer: “He had a good blow that day, he got tired between the second last and the last. He’s come on for it I think. He coped with it (step into open company) very well. He was a little bit sloppy early on maybe but soon got into a rhythm and ran really well, he just needed it.

“We wouldn’t have beaten the winner in a horsebox to be fair but if we’d had a little run under our belt then we might well have been second.

“I don’t mind being an underdog in a race like this, not at all!"

Little Bruce – Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase, 3.00 Friday

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Profile: A son of Yeats who was gelded before ever appearing on a racecourse, Little Bruce has been a really good servant to the Phil Kirby team, winning seven times including the Yorkshire Grand National.

That big win over three and three-quarter miles earlier in the year came from an official mark of 132 and has seen his chase mark rise again to 136.

Unfortunately for Kirby and connections, that’s not enough to keep him in the handicap proper (-9) as he lines up against cross-country stars Tiger Roll and Easysland at Cheltenham on Friday.

Phil Kirby, trainer: “The horses are running really well so that’s an obvious plus. It looks a bit of an impossible task on the face of it around there but he’s has a couple of practice goes around the course and he loves it.

“He’ll stay the trip and he deserves to go and have a go, we’ll see where we are with him. He’s the sort of horse that might just really like it. We could probably have done without the top two in there keeping the rest of us out of the weights but there’s nothing we can do.”

Pinson Du Rheu – Paddy Power Gold Cup, 2.15 Saturday

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Profile: Paul Nicholls’ warm favourite Saint Sonnet isn’t the only intriguing Auteuil winner heading into the Paddy Power Gold Cup, with Alex Dunn taking the wraps off new recruit Pinson Du Rheu.

The experienced nine-year-old has won four times over fences in his native France, three of which came at the country’s principal jumps track. He fell at the last in a big handicap there when last seen in May, the winner of that race going on to compete in the Grade 1 Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris last month (finished 10th).

Pinson Du Rheu has been allotted an introductory BHA mark of 141 and will be partnered by Micheal Nolan on his first start for his relatively excited new trainer.

Alexandra Dunn, trainer: “He’s been a bit of an Auteil specialist and was running a very good race there last time out (May 17) before coming down.

“He’s a really nice horse for the yard and could be a bit of a flag-bearer for us. He’s entered here and then he could go to Aintree for the Grand Sefton.

“He’s going well at home and he’s clearly got ability. To win any handicap off that sort of mark (141) you’re almost into top-class races. We’re not naïve – Saturday is going to be a decent race with some gorgeous horses in there, but we’re fit and ready to go.

“We’ve got nothing to lose and everybody loves an underdog. We had a 66/1 winner and a 33/1 winner on the same day the other day so I think big-priced horses are my lucky thing! The horses are flying and we’ll give it a good whirl.

“He’s running for a new owner (Stephen Bean) who is very excited to be having runners at Cheltenham and we also have recent Lingfield winner Jersey Grey running in the juvenile hurdle on Sunday - he’d be one of the toughest horses in my yard. He knows his job and I think he’ll like the track.”

Le Patriote – From The Horse’s Mouth Podcast Novices’ Chase, 1.40 Saturday

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Profile: Another French import who performed well at Auteuil in his youth, Le Patriote has seemingly been held in high regard since joining Dr Richard Newland and was pitched into the 2018 Lanzarote Hurdle on his first UK start.

He was a fair seventh there to William Henry before going on to win a nice pot at Ascot the following month, while he built on that when winning three of his four starts in 2018-19, including the Swinton Hurdle under a big weight. Last season was spent mixing between novice chases (one run in that sphere) and major hurdle races (14th of 17 in the Champion Hurdle in March).

Now a second-season novice over fences, he made his first appearance of the campaign a winning one when beating odds-on Pic D’Orhy in a three-runner affair at Market Rasen and is set for a return to Grade 2 level having been fourth behind Mister Fisher and Al Dancer on his chasing debut in the Lightning Novices’ Chase at Doncaster in January.

Dr Richard Newland, trainer: "I wouldn’t run horses at Cheltenham if I thought they might be out of their depth, there’s just no point going to Cheltenham at all with a moderate horse.

“You need a decent horse and I think he is one so we’re looking forward to Saturday. Obviously it’s a big step up but you’ve got to be pleased with his first novice chase win at Market Rasen (beat Pic D’Orhy, October 17).

“It’ll be good to get some more course experience into him to be honest. I don’t know how high he could go as a chaser this year, we’ll know a lot more after the race. He’s entitled to run in this Grade 2 and we’ll see how he gets on, it may be that he might eventually be one for the Grand Annual or something like that.

“We’ll be sticking to two miles or two and a half miles with him for the time being."

Martello Sky - Karndean Designflooring Mares’ Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race, 3.55 Saturday

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Profile: Grey filly Martello Sky has run in three bumpers to date and won two of them, both victories being recorded on soft ground over two miles at Fakenham.

Her sole defeat to date came when beaten just three-quarters of a length behind Olly Murphy’s Allavina at Market Rasen in March.

Lucy Wadham, trainer: “She hasn’t done much wrong at all. I think she’ll cope fine – funnily enough I personally think Fakenham is actually quite a good trial ground for going to Cheltenham.

“They’re both left-handed, undulating tracks and Cheltenham is actually quite a sharp course.

“On the whole the horses have been running really well. We do hold her in high regard, I think she’s in the top five on ratings so she’s got a chance of getting some black type and that’s what we’re looking for."

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