Three Fancies on Cheltenham’s Star-Studded Saturday Card
Cheltenham will stage a spectacular nine-race card on Saturday. The action begins at 11.40 am and ends four-and-a-half hours later. The Paddy Power Cotswold Chase is the most valuable race of the day. On paper, this will be a cracking contest.
The field includes last year’s Grand National champion, Noble Yeats, and this season’s Betfair Chase winner, Protektorat. Outstanding novice, Ahoy Senor, is in the mix, and the popular veteran, Frodon – winner of the 2020 King George VI Chase winner – can never be dismissed.
Protektorat is fancied to land his second Grade-1 chase of the season at the expense of Grand National winner, Noble Yeats. ©GettyImages
Noble Yeats won December’s Many Clouds Chase at Aintree with authority. It was a career-best effort. Afterward, connections declared their eight-year-old is a bona fide Gold Cup contender. Protektorat won the same contest in 2021 and came third in the Gold Cup in his next start.
The highest-rated horse in the contest – with Gold Cup form in the book and a sublime performance in November’s Betfair Chase – Protektorat is our selection. Naturally, it is tough to pass Noble Yeats by, but, as the adage goes, “the eyes believe themselves and the ears believe others.”
Younger Legs May Outrun Paisley Park
An interesting runner in the 3.00 pm, the three-mile Cleeve Hurdle, is Dashel Drasher. He is interesting because he finished a three-length runner-up to Noble Yeats in the Many Clouds Chase on his penultimate start. The ten-year-old reverts to hurdles today and the best horse racing betting sites say he is just 7/2 to win this recognized Stayers Hurdle trial.
12 months ago, this contest went to the enigmatic Paisley Park despite the former Festival winner forfeiting circa 20 lengths at the start of the contest. Amusingly, mid-race former jockey turned ITV pundit Ruby Walsh was asked how a rider should handle such a woeful start. His reply: “You just give up and just go back into the parade ring. He’s running a race he can’t possibly win.”
🥴 How it started 😉 How it ended
Paisley Park was a hugely dramatic winner of the Welsh Marches Stallions At Chapel Stud Cleeve Hurdle at @CheltenhamRaces. @ELavelleracing @AidanColeman @ChapelStud pic.twitter.com/CXdCq1Hwqt
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) January 29, 2022
Paisley Park is chasing a fourth Cleeve Hurdle victory. He underlined his well-being by taking the Long Walk Hurdle for a third time on Boxing Day where, once again, in-running he looked an unlikely winner.
But a changing of the guard in the three-mile division is overdue. Four years younger than Paisley Park, Gelino Bello is a pretender to the stayers crown with huge-potential. This Paul Nicholls-trained French-bred was chasing a five-timer when falling in the Grade-1 Kauto Star Novices’ Chase.
Gelino Bello is now back racing over the smaller obstacles and, as the winner of a Grade-1 novice three-mile hurdle at the end of last season, this very lightly-raced horse has the potential to outrun Ladbrokes 4/1 odds.
Energumene Still the Strong Clarence House Fancy
Last weekend’s Ascot card was abandoned due to frost. But thankfully, the Clarence House Chase has been rescheduled and takes place at Cheltenham this afternoon. The two-mile contest was also re-opened to initial entries. It means a larger field of six horses will now go to post.
The change of venue should not adversely affect either of the market principles – as both are Festival winners. And the additional runners can do little more than create a genuine pace. All four have a mountain to climb on form – three are priced at 50/1 or greater – so the confident selection for this Grade-1 contest remains Energumene.
