Cheltenham Rehearsal For Bristol De Mai

Cheltenham host their trials day this afternoon and there’s no doubt that BoyleSports’ Leon Blanche will be busy telling us all what the revised markets are for certain races and Bristol De Mai is the one that will be looking to get his Gold Cup credentials back on track.

Today Is The day
Bristol De Mai came home alone in the Betfair Chase at Haydock and as a result got a fairly lofty mark and with the carrot of a possible £1m bonus on offer had to go to the King George over Christmas.

On that occasion the circumstances were very different and on ground not as deep and on a track not as testing..

Bristol De Mai trailed in in his own time and never landed a blow behind Might Bite.

The revival mission brings him to the Cotswold Chase and while the ground won’t be as deep as Haydock, it will be soft enough for him to be effective on a track that should play to his strengths more and against opposition that aren’t quite King George standard.

Bristol De Mai is unsurprisingly favourite for this assignment but the 7/4 on offer looked to be quite generous about a horse who is still quite talented and should be able to account for Tea For Two and Definitely Red.

First And Last Double For Geraghty And McManus
JP McManus holds a strong hand in the Triumph Hurdle at the moment so the decision during Cheltenham week will be a tough one for Barry Geraghty if they all get there in one piece but you’d have to feel that if Apple’s Shakira keeps going as she has been to date, it would be a bold move to get off her in the Triumph.

You won’t get rich backing her tomorrow as she’s 1/6 and not even worth putting in an accumulator..

..but Geraghty should also land the last on Litterale Ci for Harry Fry.

This filly improved nicely to win impressively at Ludlow last month and there looked to be potential for more to come. Harry Fry’s horses have really turned a corner of late too and that is a major plus for a filly that might not reach the dizzy heights of graded company but could be a bit better than her current rating of 122.

McCain To Strike At Doncaster
Donald McCain has already enjoyed 80 winners this season compared to a couple of years ago when he barely broke the half century and in the last fortnight alone he has sent out 10 of those winners.

In the feature listed chase at Doncaster today he’ll have a tough ask to lower the colours of favourite L’ami Serge..

..but in blinkers for the first time Federici looks taking a chance with at a massive price.

The 20/1 shot gets in at the bottom of the handicap and is actually out of the handicap by a couple of pounds but with a light weight, over three-miles and on the ground, Federici just looks like a horse capable of running a big race and his price is too big.

L’ami Serge is a worthy favourite but back over this type of trip and after running well at Aintree on his penultimate start in a race with more depth, Federici is worth chancing.

Recommended Bets:
Bristol De Mai (7/4) – 2.25 Cheltenham
Litterale Ci – (4/1) – 4.10 Cheltenham
Federici (20/1) – 3.15 (Doncaster)

*Prices correct at time of publication.