NO ILES FEELING FOR BONNY BAIE
Mare can strike at Naas
WITH no racing in England today, Naas in Ireland takes centre stage on ITV.
The Listed Opera Hat Mares’ Chase (2.10) sees Baie Des Iles bid to get her career back on track after a below-par run in the Welsh National last time.
She is the highest rated in the field and punters believe she can bounce back. But the novice Pravalaguna bolted up at Limerick last time and is on the upgrade, so should not be underestimated.
With the Cheltenham Festival just five weeks away, the ante-post markets are cranking up a gear as punters seek the best value on offer.
The news that punters were waiting for finally arrived last Sunday when connections confirmed that ace mare Apple’s Jade would take her chance in the Unibet Champion Hurdle after a facile success in the Irish equivalent.
As a consequence she was quickly moved in to 2-1 from 7-2 for the hurdling crown. Despite winning his trial the same day at Sandown, Unibet pushed reigning champion Buveur D’Air out to 15-8 from 6-4.
Bellshill was trimmed into 14-1 (from 20-1) for the Cheltenham Gold Cup after coming out best in a brilliant tussle to the line with Road To Respect in the Unibet Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown on Sunday.
Those odds look good value for this consistent sort, who was third in Might Bite’s RSA and has won three of his five races since.
Sir Erec is already starting to look like many punters’ banker and Joseph O’Brien’s four-year-old is now clear 5-2 favourite (from 6-1) for the Triumph after romping home in the Grade One Juvenile.
In an intriguing twist, JP McManus purchased the recent Cheltenham winner Fakir D’Oudairies this week resulting in his price for the Supreme Novices’ tumbling into 6-1 from 16-1 as the champion owner seeks to cover all angles.
Speaking of which, 5-1 Supreme jolly Angels Breath, who was due to run at Huntingdon on Thursday, remains solid at the top of the market for the opening race of the Festival after an exhilarating schooling session on Wednesday which left Nicky Henderson bursting with confidence.
In his exclusive Unibet blog, he said: “You’ll struggle to see a horse go as fast over a hurdle. He was like an arrow.”
Klassical Dream also bounced on to the Supreme scene after a gutsy victory at Leopardstown last weekend and he is 8-1 from 12-1 to give Willie Mullins a record sixth win in the 2m contest.