Trainer Rebecca Curtis has experienced plenty of challenging seasons since her successes in the early 2010s, when her owners included the legendary Irishman J.P. McManus and her numerous winners included four at the Cheltenham Festival. She eventually added a fifth Festival winner in 2020 when the 50-1 shot Lisnagar Oscar landed the Stayers’ Hurdle.
As if to prove the old saying ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’, Curtis has showed signs of reviving the glory days with an impressive 18 per cent winning strike rate from her runners this season. Furthermore, I think that she has a massive chance of landing a sixth Festival winner next month with her horse HAITI COULEURS.
This eight-year-old gelding is an improving chaser but tomorrow he will run over the smaller obstacles at Newbury in the William Hill Top Price Guarantee Handicap Hurdle (1.50 p.m.). That’s simply because Curtis wants to run her stable star in the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase on day one of the Festival.
Because that Cheltenham contest is now a handicap, the astute handler does not want to spoil her charge’s attractive official mark of 135 by running him over chases in case he wins and his rating takes a hike from the handicapper. Haiti Couleurs has an identical official mark of 135 over hurdles and, although chasing is clearly where his future lies, he can win today’s hurdle race despite carrying joint top weight of 12st.
I would like to see him given a positive ride from the front by Sean Bowen. Back Haiti Couleurs 1 point each way at 11-2 with bet365, paying four places.
While you are at it, stake 2 points win at 8-1 with bet365 on the same horse winning the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase on 11 March.
‘He’d be the best chaser we have had in a while,’ was how Curtis described Haiti Couleurs in a stable tour for the Racing Post Weekender this week, suggesting he could be a graded horse in time. The form of his Cheltenham win last month looks rock solid with fourth placed Moon D’Orange, who was beaten 18 lengths, coming out and winning a competitive handicap chase at the same course last month.
Europe’s richest handicap hurdle takes place at Newbury tomorrow in the form of the William Hill Hurdle (3.35 p.m.) which is offering a prize of more than £87,000 to the winner.
I previewed this race last week putting up two outsiders each way, Aucunrisque and Our Champ, at 40-1 and 50-1 respectively. The two horses are declared to run but both probably need decent ground to have a winning chance. That seemed likely until the weather forecast took a dip because rain is now forecast for today and tomorrow at Newbury and that may well scupper their chances.
In a wide-open handicap, trainer Chris Gordon’s third runner, King William Rufus, could also outrun his long odds, while Evan Williams’ Minella Missile is well handicapped off a mark of 138 but he could find this trip too short. On balance, I won’t have another bet in the race.
There are two big Grade 2 chases at Newbury tomorrow: the William Hill Bet10 Get10 On Racing Denman Chase (2.25 p.m.) and the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Game Spirit Chase (3 p.m.).
In the former race, Bravemansgame should win on the official ratings but he has been out of form this season and so for me this is a race to watch and learn from. In the latter race, with the rain coming, I was tempted to put up Evan Willliams’s improving chaser Libberty Hunter but I will leave that race alone too, betting wise.
Instead, I am going to turn my attention to the Cheltenham Festival and put up two horses that caught my eye at the Dublin Racing Festival last weekend.
The first horse was GALILEO DAME who, on only her second run over hurdles, ran a superb race to be second to Gavin Cromwell’s highly rated gelding Hello Neighbour. The Grade 1 juvenile hurdle was a slowly run affair and that made Galileo Dame’s second place, after being held up, all the more commendable as the filly was only beaten three quarters of a length.
Both the winner and the second are likely to line up in the Grade 1 JCB Triumph Hurdle on 14 March, the last day of the Festival. Unusually for a race of this nature, two British-trained horses, Lulamba and East India Dock, head the market but, although both are hugely talented, they are very short in the betting for a race of this nature.
The Irish-trained contenders should not be underestimated and, although Hello Neighbour probably has the better chance, he is no bigger than 6-1. Instead back Galileo Dame each way as she has plenty of scope for improvement and, hopefully, her handler Joseph O’Brien will have her spot on for the day. As a precaution, take the 16-1 Non Runner No Bet offered by the likes of bet365, SkyBet and Paddy Power rather than the 20-1 offered by Betfair without the NRNB concession.
The other runner-up that caught my eye at Leopardstown last weekend was Willie Mullins’ STORM HEART. Despite being off the track for nine months, he ran a cracker to be second to the well-backed favourite McLaurey in an 18-runner handicap hurdle.
Storm Heart was fifth in the JCB Triumph Hurdle in March last year and his best days are surely in front of him, especially with cut in the ground. According to Mullins, he will go down the handicap hurdle route at Cheltenham. That could be the County Hurdle over two miles on 14 March or the Coral Cup over two miles and five furlongs on 12 March so that means backing him NRNB for both with a recommended stake of 2 points win. Take the 10-1 NRNB for the County Hurdle with bet365 and 12-1 NRNB for the Coral Cup with the same bookmaker.
Next week the weights for the Randox Grand National will be published and I will take a look at the race in next weekend’s column.
Pending:
1 point each way Haiti Couleurs at 11-2 for the William Hill Top Price Guarantee Handicap Hurdle, paying 1/5 odds, 4 places.
1 point each way Aucunrisque at 40-1 for the William Hill Hurdle, paying 1/4 odds, 4 places.
1 point each way Our Champ at 50-1 for the William Hill Hurdle, paying 1/4 odds, 4 places.
1 point each way July Flower at 11-1 for the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle, paying 1/5 odds, 3 places.
1 point each way Liam Swagger at 33-1 for the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle, paying 1/5 odds, 5 places.
2 points win Haiti Couleurs at 8-1 for the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase.
1 point each way Djelo at 16-1 for Ryanair Chase, paying 1/5 odds, 3 places.
1 point each way Ahoy Senor at 50-1 NRNB for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, paying 1/5 odds, 3 places.
2 points win Storm Heart at 12-1 NRNB for the Coral Cup.
1 point each way Galileo Dame at 16-1 NRNB for the Triumph Hurdle, paying 1/5 odds, 3 places.
2 points win Storm Heart at 10-1 NRNB for the County Hurdle.
1 point each way Kandoo Kid at 33-1 for the Grand National, paying 1/4 odds, 4 places.
Last weekend: – 1.7 points
1 point each way Dartmoor Pirate at 9-1 for the Heroes Handicap Hurdle, paying 1/5 odds, 4 places. Unplaced. – 2 points.
1 point each way Saint Segal at 11-2 for the Scottish Champion Chase, paying 1/5 odds, 4 places. 2nd. + 0.1 point.
1 point each way Balhambar at 6-1 for the Scottish County Handicap Hurdle, paying 1/5 odds, 4 places. Unplaced. – 2 points.
1 point each way Good and Clever at 16-1 for the Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle, paying 1/5 odds, 3 places. 3rd. +2.2 points
2024-5 jump season running total: – 19.86 points.
2024 flat season: + 41.4 points on all tips.
2023-4 jump season: + 42.01 points on all tips.
2023 flat season: – 48.22 points on all tips.
2022-3 jump season: + 54.3 points on all tips.
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