County Hurdle Preview - Cheltenham Festival
Published on: 16/03/2018
County Hurdle Preview - Cheltenham Festival
March 16, 2018 13:30pm - Cheltenham
Distance: 2m 179y
Grade: 3
Runners: 26
Winner: £56,950
Going: Heavy (soft in places)
The second race of the day features 27 runners and a field that can be barely be split with all prices in double figures or more. Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins have dominated the Festival so far and the Mullins-trained Bleu et Rouge should start favourite at around 10/1. He was second behind Supreme Novices Hurdle challenger Kalashnikov in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury and that performance has brought him into the spotlight here. He has the power and stamina to tackle the soft ground and should be in the mix approaching the winning post here.
This will be a congested field so positioning will be key and we could see some big-priced horses creeping into the places. Another Mullins horse, Sandsend, has only featured in two races since arriving from France but has progressed well and won a Grade 3 at Naas last time out beating Forge Meadow in the process. He looks like an interesting each-way prospect at 14/1.
County Hurdle Winners - past four years:
2014: Lac Fontana (5) - Daryl Jacob (Paul Nicholls)
2015: Wicklow Brave (6) - Paul Townend (Willie Mullins)
2016: Superb Story (5) - Harry Skelton (Dan Skelton)
2017: Arctic Fire (8) - Paul Townend (Willie Mullins)
Latest Betting odds:
Bleu Et Rouge 10/1
Duca De Thaix 10/1
Flying Tiger 12/1
Meri Devie 14/1
Sandsend 14/1
Whiskey Sour 16/1
Ben Dundee 16/1
Smaoineamh Alainn 16/1
Spiritofthegames 20/1
Chesterfield 20/1
Lagostovegas 20/1
A Hare Breath 22/1
Moon Racer 22/1
Ivanovich Gorbatov 22/1
25/1 bar
You can back Bleu Et Rouge to win at 10/1 and Sandsend (E/W) at 14/1.
By Neil Morris
Published on: 16/03/2018
Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (16/03/2018 09:50:07) but are subject to change.
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