Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sports World |
| Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy tips Posted: 28 Feb 2012 07:13 AM PST This promises to be one of the highlights of the whole week and is just the first chase of the four day Festival. A whole host of former top-class hurdlers line-up over the larger obstacles this year and nearly all of them pass the major statistic that has sorted out 11 of the last 12 winners. That stat is the fact that you really need to be rated 142+ over hurdles to have a chance in the Arkle. This year for the leading protagonists at least that should not be a problem as Peddlers Cross, Menorah, Al Ferof, Cue Card and current favourite Sprinter Sacre all qualify. What may worry backers of the impressive last time out winner Sprinter Sacre is the fact that despite the lack of big priced winners in the Arkle, there have only been two favourites in the last 20 years that have proved successful. The fancied horses have therefore held sway but not those right at the pinnacle of the market. Those looking for a horse betting how to should remember this. Of the leading contenders plenty of them come from yards with very solid records in the race, Sprinter Sacre (Henderson) has won three Arkles, Al Ferof (Nicholls) has scored twice and Menorah (Hobbs) won the event last year and has had placed horses in the two previous years. People placing Cheltenham 2012 bets need to remember this. If you are an aficionado of the way that horses run then it may well pay to steer clear of those out and out front runners in the race – only once since 19080 has the winner been able to make all the running in the Arkle. Attempt to do and you are probably a sitting duck for this classy field. As for races which have produced the Arkle winner it may be a good idea to keep these particular contests in mind when you are studying the form for the Arkle, the November Novices' Chase, Irish Arkle, Henry VIII Chase Chase or Kingmaker Chase, all of these have proved a good guide for the novices' two-mile Championship.  |
| Posted: 28 Feb 2012 06:22 AM PST A tricky handicap hurdle, but then that's no surprise as it is sponsored by a bookmaking firm and tends to be one of the most hotly contested handicap hurdles at the entire Festival. However, like the handicap chase on the first day it can once again pay to keep last-time-out winners on your side. That statistic alone would have found you the last four winners and six of the last seven winners of the Coral Cup and there are a few other trends and patterns that can be really helpful in deconstructing this fiendish handicap. First of all the age group statistics can really help with those aged 5-6-7 the group to concentrate on, horses above that threshold have really struggled in this event over the past 11 years returning a record that reads 1-93. Those placing Cheltenham 2012 bets should remember this. The Irish have to be respected and when Carlito Brigante won very easily last season he was recording a seventh win for the raiders, which is terrific given that they have supplied less than one-fifth of the total runners since 1993. The home challenge has held their own in this race though but unlike the Irish raiders who seem to be able to come into the race off one race, no GB-trained horse has won this race having had just the one run and they also have a very poor record when they are absent for seven weeks or more. So in a nutshell the Irish horse can come into the race off a break and being lightly raced but we wouldn't want to see that preparation repeated by a British challenger. People following the Cheltenham betting should remember this. One of the stranger and more quirky facts about the Coral Cup is that horses that were second last time out have a terrible record in the race and they are 0-72 in the contest. This being a tough handicap it usually pays to have had a reasonable amount of hurdling experience although ideally that should have come in handicap company and not as a novice hurdler, these handicaps at the Festival will be run at a much quicker pace than most novice hurdles and experience of that genre is important.  |
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