The major meetings at Kempton and Leopardstown over Christmas often provide pointers for the Cheltenham Festival in March. This year there were important trials for the Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase. The two fixtures also had implications for ante post betting on the novice events over hurdles and fences at the most important jumps meeting of the season.
Delta Work won the Grade 1 conditions chase in Ireland and has been a mover in Gold Cup betting. The Gordon Elliott trained runner finished strongly to win the Savills Chase at Leopardstown. The horse showed significant improvement from a disappointing run at Down Royal in November and enters the Gold Cup picture. He was Ireland's leading novice chaser last season. Delta Work beat Road To Respect by a head and is now +1000 with Bovada to win the Gold Cup. Presenting Percy also did enough in the race to suggest the Gold Cup is winnable.
Clan Des Obeaux won the King George for the second year in succession. On paper, the 21-length victory over Cyrname is the performance of the season in a chase to date. However, that horse and Lostintranslation underperformed and Clan des Obeaux is more suited to Kempton than Cheltenham. The Gold Cup is run on an undulating left-handed track and Kempton is flat and right-handed.
Lostintranslation will relish the track at the Festival. He never looked happy in the King George and jumping kept him in the race until the last mile. He will be given a wind operation before the Gold Cup and we should see a different horse at Cheltenham in March. Cyrname was never going as well as Clan des Obeaux in the King George. He is another horse that prefers a flat track going right handed than undulations running in the other direction. Presenting Percy and Lostintranslation are two against the field in the Gold Cup.
Epatante is now the favourite for the Champion Hurdle at a best-priced +300 with Bovada. The horse will receive a mares' allowance of seven pounds and that could be enough to beat the boys. It's debatable whether there should be any allowances in a championship race because the playing field is not level. Epatante will suit the strong pace in the Champion Hurdle and she has now won the Christmas Hurdle, which is the most important trial for Cheltenham.
The horse to take out of the race at a bigger price for the Champion Hurdle is Silver Streak. Kempton is not suitable for his running style and he is being campaigned for that race at the Festival. Last year's Champion cut up and Silver Streak made the payout places almost by default. There are much worse +3300 shots for the Champion Hurdle and Silver Streak can make the frame again.
The fly in the ointment could be the novice, Envoi Allen, if connections take the Champion Hurdle option. If that horse graduates to the senior level, the novice hurdles look more open. Abacadabras would be a leading form pick for the Festival opener, the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. The horse won the Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown. Envoi Allen and Abacadabras are both trained by Gordon Elliott and he might not want to run them in the same race. Envoi Allen looks good enough to be competitive in the Champion Hurdle while Abacadabras can take care of the other novices.
The Arkle Chase picture looks a bit clearer after racing in Ireland over Christmas. The two-mile championship race for novices' is still the target for Fakir D-Oudairies. He was beaten by Notebook in a major trial at Leopardstown. Notebook is an outstanding jumper and has the attributes to win an Arkle Chase. Fakir D'Oudairies can reverse the form and is the ante post selection for the second race of the Festival at +600 with Bovada.
The experiment to run Altior over longer distances may be put on hold and the horse could return to the two mile division. He has won the last two Champion Chases' and has the form in the book. Altior can still be backed at +350 with Bovada to win the Champion Chase and that could be the bet of the century. A Cheltenham Festival ante post treble on Epatante (Champion Hurdle), Altior (Champion Chase) and Lostintranslation (Gold Cup) pays +16100 with Bovada.