Cheltenham Festival: Update

Thistlecrack remains fav for Gold Cup

Antepost backers got a useful look at how things are shaping up for this year’s Cheltenham Festival, now little over a month away, with the trials taking place at the Gloucestershire track over the weekend.

Perhaps the biggest show of Saturday was the defeat of Thistlecrack by Many Clouds in the Grade Two trial Cotswold Chase. What was a thrilling contest ended in heartbreak as race-winner Many Clouds broke down shortly after passing the post and never recovered. It was a gutsy performance, typical of the great horse, but was to be his 12^th and final race win.

Despite losing by the tightest of margins, a head being the official distance, and perhaps due to what happened to Many Clouds after the race, Thistlecrack – now 13 wins, two seconds and a third from 19 starts – remains favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Coral traders want to keep the Tizzard bill-topper close, and offer 6/4 on him living up to expectations.

Un De Sceaux shaping up nicely

All the talk on Saturday morning was about Un De Sceaux, and if he would show his class again and retain the rescheduled Grade One Clarence House Chase. The answer was yes, and quite impressively too as Mullins and Walsh joined forces to great effect again, getting the nine-year-old home a five-length winner over Uxizandre.

That victory added to his win in the Tingle Creek at Sandown in December, seeing off Sire De Grugy on that occasion, and he is certainly making a name for himself in the run-up to this year’s festival. Expected to go in the Queen Mother Chase on the Wednesday, he’s 12/1 to make that effort a winning one, fourth in a market dominated by odds-on favourite Douvan.