The four-day Cheltenham Competition dominates the March programme, but there’s also a busy programme of racing throughout the month together with the ever-well-liked Imperial Cup day at Sandown and the thrills and spills of the Midlands Grand National day at Uttoxeter. Flat fans, meanwhile, can need no reminding {that the} new turf season kicks off with the William Hill Lincoln at Redcar on March 25.
March begins with the newly-established Vodafone Gold Cup at Newbury on the 4th over 2 and a [*fr1] miles. It’s one thing of a surprise to find such a valuable race staged therefore close to the Cheltenham Competition, and many trainers face the dilemma of deciding whether or not to run here or in either the Ryanair Chase or Racing Post Plate over similar distances at the Cheltenham Festival.
Twelve months ago a solid handicapper in the form of Supreme Prince continued to land the valuable prize whereas in its inaugural year, the classy Isio was a well-backed winner. Absent since that season, Nicky Henderson’s gelding may well reappear in this race and would be an fascinating contender.
On the same day Doncaster’s Grimthorpe Chase, a staying handicap over 3 and 1 / 4 miles, has been transferred to Lingfield and might otherwise be the chosen target of A Glass In Thyne, who won the Skybet Chase that had also been switched from Doncaster to Southwell in January. Maybe the changing fixture pattern can repeat itself once more for Ben Pollock’s improving young chaser.
Champion trainer Martin Pipe has endured a stop-start season but masses of punters can still be scouring the list of runners for the Imperial Cup at Sandown on March 11 in the hope of unearthing another Pipe hotpot for one of the season’s most keenly-contested handicap hurdles.
Pipe has won the race 5 times overall and has landed the prize three times in recent seasons. His mass of entries should be studied with the utmost care and could well include progressive kinds like Buena Vista, Acambo and Desert Air.
The punishing combination of a fiercely-run race and a stamina-sapping finish up the demanding Sandown hill has typically meant that lightly-weighted horses have held a bonus over their higher-weighted rivals, while waiting tactics have conjointly proved successful for many of the recent winners. Creating all in a race as competitive as this isn’t easy.
The Irish won this race with shock outsider Regency Rake, trained by Arthur Moore in 1999, and any runners from across the Irish Sea ought to be accorded the best respect. Jessica Harrington’s Studmaster, an simple winner of his last 2 races would possibly take in this contest or sit up for the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
On the identical day at Sandown create a note additionally of the EBF Novices’ Hurdle Final, a race that always produces a star of the future. Lots of classy young hurdlers will have this contest in their sights as well as the Lambourn-trained pair Mr Pointment, and Wogan while the NickGifford team intends to field Dusky Lord.
In recent times the Irish have held the Champion Hurdle on March 14, the gap day of the Cheltenham Pageant, in a vice-like grip, winning five of the last seven renewals and trying at the somewhat weakened field for this year’s renewal it’s exhausting not to envisage the hurdling crown being whisked away once more across the Irish Sea.
Reigning title-holders boast a superb record within the Champion, but recent twin winner Hardy Eustace will need to banish a bout of the blues on his latest and disappointing effort within the AIG Europe Champion Hurdle at Leopradstown. At the age of 9 several assume his time may have passed.
Plenty of horses that have been placed in the race previously have place that useful experience to sensible use by returning once more the following year to run well. Eire’s formidable trio of Brave Inca, Macs Joy and Al Eile, who finished third, fifth and seventh respectively in last year’s race can all be fancying their possibilities of winning this race a second time around.
The house-based challenge looks poor and has been hit arduous by a spate of cruel injuries likewise because the loss of form of emerging contenders like Faasel and Penzance. Perhaps the simplest of the British will be Arcalis, whose probabilities will be much increased by fast ground at Cheltenham, and a come to create for his stable.
Wednesday sees the 2-mile heavyweights clash in the stirring championship that is the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Predicting this year’s winner revolves around whether punters think twin winner and reigning champion Moscow Flyer is just a jaded member of the previous guard prepared to be caught in a frenzy by young pretenders such as the classy Kauto Star and also the improving Fota Island.
Disappointing on his 2 starts thus way this season, the mighty Moscow Flyer is twelve years of age and you have to go back virtually thirty years (1977) to search out the last winner from that age group.
Kauto Star, by distinction, has youth on his side and hails from the Paul Nicholls stable that has the most effective recent record during this race with winners in 2004 and 1999, and four placed horses since 2000. Kauto Star is a worthy favourite to add to that auspicious tally.
Thursday’s championship race is that the World Hurdle, formerly called the Stayers’ Hurdle and rather like the Queen Mother Champion Chase, it features a past champion in Baracouda attempting to add a 3rd title at the age of 11 in what must rank a 1 of the most open renewals in living memory.
Except for the foot-and-mouth abandonment of 2001, Baracouda would have already got 3 Stayers’ titles to his name but his task this year is created even harder by his advancing years and therefore the presence of a robust domestic and Irish challenge from Mighty Man, No Refuge, Asian Maze and Golden Cross.
Friday March seventeen is Cheltenham Gold Cup day and after the sensible dominance of the chasing blue riband by 3 times victor Best Mate, this year’s renewal is one amongst the poorest and additionally most open in years and doubtless to supply a surprise end in this greatly-anticipated championship event.
The loss through injury of Kicking King, last year’s easy winner, has left the race wide-open however several backers will be wanting to Monkerhostin, runner-up to the imperious Kicking King within the 2005 King George VI Chase, as a attainable winner. Seven of the last ten Gold Cup winners ran in the King George, creating it a key trial for future Gold Cup heroes.
Cheltenham week closes with the Midlands Grand National day on March eighteen and Ossmoses, a course winner last year, can be a leading fancy for the four-mile one-and-a-[*fr1] furlong prize given his preference for running over long-distances within the mud. On the identical card backers should watch out for Sue Smith’s powerful mare Viciana within the EBF Mares’ Novices’ Chase Final.
March closes with the William Hill Lincoln run for the first time at Redcar (due to building work at Doncaster) and the draw is certain to own a big say in the result of this one-mile handicap, and the first big prize of the new turf Flat season.
Twelve months ago Newmarket trainer Sir Michael Stoute won this contest for the first time with Stream of Gold and bids to try and do the same once more with the progressive King’s Majesty whereas James Fanshawe can be trying for straightforward ground if he’s to run Cesare, another young and improving horse.
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