The Supreme Novice Hurdle Day 1 Cheltenham

Vautour

1:30 Sky Bet Supreme Novices´ Hurdle Grade 1

There is no surprise that the first race of the festival is a very competitive one Irving was very impressive last time out, and you would think the drying ground would suit him better than the soft he has been racing on. He has an explosive turn of foot too boot, and certainly has a big chance. However main opponent Vautour is very impressive himself, he is a very good jumper, which is what he will need here. The others are prone to make mistakes. Ruby has said though, he might of made a mistake in a couple of races and this is one of them, although he likes Vautours chances (who could now) he reported that Wicklow Brave has been working ‘faster’ than Vautour. Wicklow Brave would however need to step up to win this race, but he cannot be dismissed, he has done all that has been asked, and has done it well. Vaniteux is a nice E/W price for the Henderson team, Geragthy is very sweet on him and reports are he has been very impressive at home. The Supreme wasn’t their original plan, but he reportedly impressed so much he Henderson said he was shocked he “left those behind”. I am not sure who “those” are but for me that makes him interesting. Plus the fact that he is top of my system. He is certainly not one to ignore. Betfair Hurdle winner Splash Of Ginge i personally thought took advantage of a very low weight in very testing conditions, this is going to be much harder, he was well beaten by Irving 2 races before that, and there is nothing to suggest he will reverse that form. Sgt Reckless beat the well thought of West Wizard very easily a few races to go, but West Wizard hasn’t been see since which suggest all was not well that day. He has also been beaten twice by Amore Alto, and Amore Alto was beaten soundly by Irving last time out.  So that doesn’t inspire me. Whoever wins, this is probably one of the most fascinating races today.

Results Based On System                               TNT Picks

1^st Vaniteux 10/1 – 80                                     1^st Irving 3/1

2^nd Garde De La Victoire 28/1 – 70                2^nd Vaniteux 10/1

2^nd Josses Hill 16/1 – 70                                  3^rd Wicklow Brave 7/1

3^rd The Liquidator 20/1 – 60                           4^th Vautour 3/1

4^th Irving 11/4 – 40

4^th Vautour 3/1 – 40