1:15 Cheltenham
GA LAW 9/1 generally – 1 POINT E/W (4 places, 1/5 odds)
GA LAW, a horse who netted us £309k on the Scoop 6 last November, a memory and an achievement which will live with me forever. When winning the Paddy Power Gold Cup back in 2022 it was on the old course and I think this new course will suit him better as it is more of a stamina test, with a longer run up the hill. He has not won since but has run some nice races. He was still in contention when falling at the last in the Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster last year. He then went to Cheltenham for the Ryanair Chase and finished a respectable 5th of 9 to Envoi Allen. He is not quite a Grade 1 horse and neither do I think he truly stays 3 miles. We saw that at Newbury in the Coral Gold Cup. He ran a cracker but just got tired late on. This step down in trip will suit him and I think the fact he swerves the Sky Bet Chase which is run at Doncaster tomorrow, for this race, tells us all we need to know. Gavin Sheehan takes the ride and he is a jockey he is riding out of his skin this season. I would like to see them make use of GA LAW as although he doesn’t quite stay 3 miles, he is not far off. He has the stamina for this race and when they hit the bottom of the hill, no doubt he will get up better than most. I am quietly confident of a big run at a decent price. E/W.
1:50 Cheltenham
STAY AWAY FAY 11/4 Paddy Power and Betfair – 1.5 POINTS WIN
My NAP of the day is STAY AWAY FAY who is going to take some stopping in my opinion. Paul Nicholls looks after his novices, always has and always will, so when he takes a novice out of a novice company into open company, you have to take note as simple as that. It is out of the ordinary for Paul Nicholls so immediately I am thinking STAY AWAY FAY must be doing cartwheels at home.
STAY AWAY FAY could not have been anymore impressive on his two chase starts this season. He jumps so well and looks a complete natural over fences. He won at Exeter on his first start of the season and then went to Sandown and won a Grade 2. Both Exeter and Sandown are right handed courses and he is a much better horse going left handed so those performances can be marked up.
He is a horse who stays forever and this New Course, which has a bigger climb up the hill than the Old Course, is going to be right up his street. When others have had enough he will keep finding. He was the winner of the Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle last season at the Cheltenham Festival, and that is run on the New Course so we already know how well he handles the course.
If he wins this race, which I am very confident he can, I am sure they will go straight down the Gold Cup route as they will be left with no other option.
I don’t think this is the strongest Cotswold Chase with plenty of negatives for the field, whether that be the ground for Royal Pagaille, the form of Ahoy Senor this season, The Real Whacker is surely not in the league of some of these and Datsalrightgino is out of handicap company.
STAY AWAY FAY will take all the beating and we have another Gold Cup horse thrown in the mix. WIN.
3:15 Doncaster
CAP DU NORD 8/1 generally – 1 POINT E/W (6 places, 1/5 odds)
CAP DU NORD has run in this race 3 times, coming home 3rd in 2021 off a mark of 139, 3rd in 2022 off a mark of 129 and 2nd last year off a mark of 125. This year he lines up off a tiny mark of 121 and no doubt Christian Williams has lined him up for this race all season.
He has run 5 times this season and his first 4 runs were nothing but a training exercise to bring his handicap mark down. Last time out he ran a decent race and you could just see they were putting the final touches together ready for this race. Jack Tudor takes the ride and he gets on so well with the horse. For me this is classic Christian Williams lining a horse up for a race and I guess we will find out tomorrow just how well the plan comes together. He gets in the race with a tiny 10st 2lb on back and with a clear round, if he is not involved in the finish, I would be very surprised as he clearly loves the race and the course. E/W.
Good Luck