STAGE SET NICELY
WE have reached the halfway stage at the Cheltenham Festival and the action switches to the New Course for the final two days.
Several in the Ryanair Chase have questions to answer, including my fancy STAGE STAR (2.50) after his disappointing run at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day.
However, I’m happy to give him another chance.
His overall record at Cheltenham reads well and this is backed up by his lengths-gained-jumping values.
When he won the Paddy Power Gold Cup at the course in November for Paul Nicholls (below), he gained a +9.32-length advantage (LGJ) through his jumping, even after slithering almost to a halt after the final fence.
When he ran on New Year’s
Day, he had lost
-9.58 LGJ up until the point Harry Cobden pulled him up.
Stage Star finished well adrift of Banbridge, who he meets again, at Aintree at the end of last season, but he ran flat on that occasion.
Nicholls is adept at getting a runner back to form for Cheltenham, and let’s not forget his horse lost -9.86 mph through ‘that’ mistake at the last in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and only conceded 2.20 lengths to the runner-up.
He must have had a fair bit left in the tank.
(1.30)
is a leading fancy for many in the Turners Novices’ Chase and I also quite like THEATRE MAN (4.10), who finished second to him at Cheltenham last time out, in the Plate.
Theatre Man has been unlucky to bump into some improving rivals since his switch to fences but it’s his sectional data last time that impressed me most.
He didn’t quite get home on soft ground at Newbury in December over three miles, but a stiff two and a half miles looked perfect for him on Trials Day.
Ginny’s Destiny got a fine front-running ride and nicked a few lengths when Theatre Man made a mistake at the top of the hill.
From that point, Theatre Man was on the back foot but he stayed strongly, completing the final furlong 0.66 seconds quicker than Ginny’s Destiny.
Overall, his jumping is slick, too, as he gained an 11.8-length advantage through his jumping. Not quite as much as Ginny’s Destiny (+16.56 LGJ) but he’s a bit of a monster jumper.