The four-day Cheltenham Festival dominates the March programme, but there’s additionally a busy programme of racing throughout the month including the ever-common Imperial Cup day at Sandown and the thrills and spills of the Midlands Grand National day at Uttoxeter. Flat fans, meanwhile, will would like 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 fourth over 2 and a 0.5 miles. It’s one thing of a surprise to search out such a valuable race staged thus close to the Cheltenham Pageant, and many trainers face the dilemma of deciding whether 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 persevered 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 could well reappear during this race and would be an attention-grabbing contender.
On the same day Doncaster’s Grimthorpe Chase, a staying handicap over three and 1 / 4 miles, has been transferred to Lingfield and could otherwise be the chosen target of A Glass In Thyne, who won the Skybet Chase that had additionally been switched from Doncaster to Southwell in January. Perhaps 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 within the hope of unearthing another Pipe hotpot for one in all the season’s most keenly-contested handicap hurdles.
Pipe has won the race 5 times overall and has landed the prize 3 times in recent seasons. His mass of entries should be studied with the utmost care and might well embody progressive sorts like Buena Vista, Acambo and Desert Air.
The punishing combination of a fiercely-run race and a stamina-sapping end up the demanding Sandown hill has usually meant that lightly-weighted horses have held a plus over their higher-weighted rivals, whereas 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 Ocean ought to be accorded the best respect. Jessica Harrington’s Studmaster, an straightforward winner of his last two races would possibly absorb this contest or look ahead to the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
On the same day at Sandown create a note conjointly of the EBF Novices’ Hurdle Final, a race that often produces a star of the future. Lots of classy young hurdlers will have this contest in their sights including the Lambourn-trained couple 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 an exceedingly vice-like grip, winning five of the last seven renewals and trying at the somewhat weakened field for this year’s renewal it’s arduous to not envisage the hurdling crown being whisked away once more across the Irish Sea.
Reigning title-holders boast a very good record in the Champion, but recent twin winner Hardy Eustace will must 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 many suppose his time could have passed.
Masses of horses that have been placed in the race previously have put that beneficial expertise to good use by returning once more the next 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 chances of winning this race a second time around.
The house-based mostly challenge looks poor and has been hit exhausting by a spate of cruel injuries additionally because the loss of form of emerging contenders like Faasel and Penzance. Maybe the most effective of the British can be Arcalis, whose chances will be abundant increased by quick ground at Cheltenham, and a come to create for his stable.
Wednesday sees the two-mile heavyweights clash within the stirring championship that is the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Predicting this year’s winner revolves around whether or not punters suppose dual winner and reigning champion Moscow Flyer is simply a jaded member of the recent guard ready to be swept away by young pretenders like the classy Kauto Star and therefore the improving Fota Island.
Disappointing on his two starts therefore way this season, the mighty Moscow Flyer is twelve years of age and you have got to go back almost thirty years (1977) to seek out the last winner from that age group.
Kauto Star, by contrast, has youth on his aspect and hails from the Paul Nicholls stable that has the best recent record in this race with winners in 2004 and 1999, and four placed horses since 2000. Kauto Star could be a worthy favorite to add to that auspicious tally.
Thursday’s championship race is the World Hurdle, formerly known as the Stayers’ Hurdle and rather like the Queen Mother Champion Chase, it options a past champion in Baracouda trying to feature a 3rd title at the age of eleven in what must rank a one of the most open renewals in living memory.
But for the foot-and-mouth abandonment of 2001, Baracouda would already have 3 Stayers’ titles to his name however his task this year is created even more durable by his advancing years and also the presence of a robust domestic and Irish challenge from Mighty Man, No Refuge, Asian Maze and Golden Cross.
Friday March 17 is Cheltenham Gold Cup day and once the sensible dominance of the chasing blue riband by three times victor Best Mate, this year’s renewal is one among the poorest and additionally most open in years and probably to provide a surprise lead to 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 trying to Monkerhostin, runner-up to the imperious Kicking King within the 2005 King George VI Chase, as a possible winner. Seven of the last ten Gold Cup winners ran in the King George, making it a key trial for future Gold Cup heroes.
Cheltenham week closes with the Midlands Grand National day on March 18 and Ossmoses, a course winner last year, can be a number one fancy for the four-mile one-and-a-0.5 furlong prize given his preference for running over long-distances in the mud. On the same card backers ought to be careful for Sue Smith’s robust 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 assembling work at Doncaster) and the draw is certain to have a massive say in the end result of this one-mile handicap, and the primary 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 while James Fanshawe can be looking for easy ground if he’s to run Cesare, another young and improving horse.
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