Cheltenham Reflections And A Couple For Saturday

Festival Reflections

The Olympics of National Hunt racing are over, but thankfully we only have a year to wait before the fun starts all over again. After a great day for punters on Tuesday, a day which could have been even better but for the final flight fall of Annie Power, the bookies refilled their satchels on the next three days with only four more favourites obliging in the remaining twenty races.
One of the main narratives of the week was the fact that this would be the last time the festival would be treated to the sight of a certain AP McCoy in full flight driving a horse to victory. He only managed to get one winner, Uxizandre in the Ryanair, and was denied a fairytale swansong in the last race of the week, named after him, when Ned Buntline could only finish fourth behind the relentless Next Sensation. The McCoy roadshow will roll onto Aintree now, as the long goodbye continues. You can be sure Jonjo and JP will have a few tricks up their sleeves for him at the remaining major meetings of the season. (Shutthefrontdoor in the National perhaps?)
Another highlight for me was the victories in the feature races on Thursday and Friday for two less well known trainers, Warren Greatrex and Cole Harden in the World Hurdle, and The Bradstocks and Coneygree in the Gold Cup. I think it is brilliant to see the small men making their mark taking on the might of  the likes of Micheal O'Leary and Rich Ricci's millions. While the achievement of Willie Mullins in winning eight races should not be overlooked or underestimated, it has to be remembered that he has an army of horses to choose from and had near fifty runners in total. The wins at the festival for the likes of the Bradstocks are what Cheltenham is all about for me, It proves that while many smaller operations may not have the resources or ammunition of the Mullins' or Nicholls' yards, on the rare occasions they do get a good horse they are just as adept as training it and producing it at the peak of its powers on the big day.Racing would be boring if the big yards and owners swept all before them, and if the sport is to continue to thrive into the future it needs to keep producing fairytales like it did on Thursday and Friday.

Back To Reality

Cheltenham may be over, and many will be nursing sore heads and looking for a few quid down the back of their sofas, but the show must go on, and tomorrows main attractions come from the altogether less glamorous venues Kempton and Uttoxeter. Tony Martin, victorious during the week with Rivage D'or, sends Mydor to Kempton in search of victory in the Silver Plate at 2.20. This horse narrowly missed the cut for the Pertemps, and there had been a lot of support for him in ante post markets (he was as short as 12/1). This suggests Mydor is in peak condition, and the support for him already this evening, 6/1 into 4/1 with Powers, would lead one to believe a big run will be forthcoming. Shane Shorthall takes off a valuable 5lb and this Irish raider looks well worth an interest at the current price of 4/1. I can see him going off a lot shorter.
Saffron Wells could be the danger, and is worth having a saver on at 20/1. His last run was very disappointing, but if he can confirm the promise of his previous run over course and distance he could well give the favourite something to think about.

Selections: Mydor 4/1, Saffron Wells (e/w 20/1)