Cheltenham tips: Free preview and best bets for International Meeting, December 11
Matt Brocklebank tipped Sandown winner Benson at 10/1 last week - check out his two big-priced fancies for Cheltenham on Friday.
Cheltenham recommended bets
1pt win Steely Addition in 2.25 Cheltenham at 28/1
1pt win Come On Teddy in 3.35 Cheltenham at 10/1
For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record
The rescheduled Peterborough Chase effectively steals big-race status on day one of the International meeting at Cheltenham on Friday.
It’s not unusual for the Grade Two event to be staged away from its traditional home at Huntingdon, but it’s clearly a very different race here, on a far more undulating course, and one which arguably places much more emphasis on stamina than speed.
That won’t be particularly beneficial to every runner in the field but it’s not hard to see it really suiting the Venetia Williams-trained Fanion D’Estruval, who was staying on really well close home after being briefly outpaced by Magic Saint coming to the last fence on the Old Course here last month.
Conceding 3lb to the winner on that occasion, the five-year-old Fanion D’Estruval looks open to significant improvement back in Graded company and will appreciate every drop of rain having won a couple of times on very soft ground for Guillaume Macaire in France.
However, he's probably about the right price in a really tight betting market.
The money for outsider Bun Doran on Thursday afternoon is understandable and he’d probably be the bet in the race at the prices, but conceding 6lb to the aforementioned much younger horse, who has already achieved almost as much in a short space of time in the UK, won’t be an easy task.
So no bet in the fake feature, but I can’t resist the big prices about STEELY ADDITION (28/1 General), who has been given another chance by the assessor ahead of the Unibet Handicap Chase.
The betting is dominated by Tom Mullins’ thriving mare Court Maid and it’s not hard to see why given how well treated she appears under a 5lb penalty for bolting up at Fairyhouse.
She did make several costly mistakes on her only previous trip to Cheltenham in the 2019 Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, though, and it could be that the switch back to a left-handed, undulating circuit isn’t going to play to the novice’s strengths.
In theory, it'll really suit two-time Chepstow winner Steely Addition, providing he’s on his best behaviour, and while there’s obviously a significant doubt about his overall zest for the game following another no-show on his seasonal return, he looks worth chancing at the odds.
After going through the hurdling ranks in his first season for Philip Hobbs (rose from 116 to 137), he went novice chasing two years ago and acquitted himself pretty well in some fair staying events, including victory in a novices’ handicap from a mark of 137.
He suddenly found himself rated 150 on the back of that win and wasn’t easy to place thereafter, but only faced the judge twice last term and it just looks a shade early to be writing the eight-year-old off as having gone sour.
Granted, it would have been nice to see a bit more encouragement in his reappearance effort on October 10 this time around, but it’s not like the Hobbs team was really firing then anyway, and he was evidently taken out of his rhythm very early on in a warm edition of the Native River Handicap run on good ground and won by the classy Secret Investor.
Steely Addition - freshened up again after a 62-day break - should be much more at home on softer ground at Cheltenham and, having slipped 10lb to a mark of 140 after just three starts, it’s clear he’s handicapped to get competitive again.
Hobbs reaches for cheekpieces too in a bid to spark a revival, the same headgear worn by stablemate Rock The Kasbah when beaten a short-head by Cogry in this event – following a lacklustre comeback run – last December.
The trainer almost won it in 2018 too when Rolling Dylan (also cheekpieced, also second start of the campaign) was beaten a head and a neck into third, so there’s just about enough to merit a dart.
Bet of the day comes in the Citipost Handicap Hurdle where COME ON TEDDY (10/1 BetVictor, 888Sport) makes a huge amount of appeal.
The race is largely made up of well-known hurdlers who have been around for a few seasons but Tom George’s horse stands out a mile as being potentially ahead of the handicapper.
He took a little while to fill his frame and get to grips with life over hurdles after shaping well at a big price on his sole bumper start when second at Exeter (Southfield Stone was third that day) in February 2018.
But on several occasions, in novice and maiden company, he ran like a horse with a bright future and Come On Teddy delivered on all that early promise when finally sent handicapping earlier this year.
His task at Market Rasen was admittedly made easier by main market rival Smackwater Jack falling at the first flight but he scored in good style, after which the third home promptly won a Uttoxeter handicap by 17 lengths.
Raised 6lb, no doubt connections were keen to crack on with him before the shutdown and his belated reappearance came at Uttoxeter last month when travelling sweetly and ending up a well-held fourth.
There’s a good chance he needed the run there to bring him on and, having quite generously been eased a pound to 127, I’d be surprised if he can’t resume his upward trajectory with Sam Twiston-Davies coming in for what looks a great spare ride (Ciaran Gethings stays loyal to stablemate Boyhood).
Posted at 1600 GMT on 10/12/20
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