BOYLE Sports Irish Grand National hero Haiti Couleurs has been trimmed to 8/1 in the Cheltenham Gold Cup odds following his decisive success in the Denman Chase at Newbury . Rebecca Curtis’ pride and joy made all the running to score by seven lengths in a prep race previously won by blue riband victors Kauto Star , Denman himself, Coneygree and Native River .
The nine-year-old prevailed at last year’s Festival in the National Hunt Chase and claimed victory in the Welsh Grand National over Christmas. Curtis commented: “He’ll enjoy the Gold Cup trip, and he loves going up and down hills and undulating tracks.” Winning rider Sean Bowen added: “He loves Cheltenham , which is a big asset to any Gold Cup horse, and he will stay all day and jump - and he just does things like a good horse.
“Whether he’s good enough after the back of the last, we don’t know, but he’ll definitely be there pitching turning in.” BOYLE Sports are now offering a ‘non-runner no bet’ concession on the five championship races at Cheltenham : the Champion Hurdle , the Champion Chase , the Stayers’ Hurdle , the Ryanair Chase and the Gold Cup !
Arkle Chase
Henderson ace all the rage for Arkle
Lulamba cemented his position as firm favourite for the Arkle Chase after extending his unbeaten record over fences when staying on strongly to see off his elders in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury . Nicky Henderson took the same route to Cheltenham with Sprinter Sacre and Altior , and this precocious five-year-old is 5/4 to emulate that pair with another triumph next month. Henderson beamed: “Despite the ground, I think he has really enjoyed himself, and I liked the way he quickened up from the second last, the gears work.
“You can see what we were trying to do; he didn’t need the race, but he needed the experience, and it is against those older horses, who can go a proper good gallop, when you learn they teach you a bit, and you have to jump that little stride quicker. “His jumping has a little bit of finessing to come, but that will be there, I hope, come the second Tuesday in March.”
Mares Chase
Saratoga looking to uphold family honour
Saturday’s opening contest at Naas has an established history of producing the Fred Winter winner , with the victor of the 2019, 2020 and 2022 renewals going on to score at Cheltenham. However, it was runner-up Saratoga who went into many notebooks this term, and he is 5/1 for what is now titled the Hallgarten and Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle on day one of the Festival .
Saratoga is definitely bred for the job, being a half-brother to seven winners, including Irish Derby and St Leger star Capri , plus Brazil , who upset Gaelic Warrior in the 2022 Fred Winter . Brazil also carried the colours of JP McManus and was trained by Padraig Roche , so the omens certainly look good. McManus to maintain Mares’ Chase monopoly?
McManus will be eyeing another Mares’ Chase success at Cheltenham with Dinoblue , who is 6/4 to repeat last year’s win in that race after warming up with an easy strike at Naas . Frank Berry , racing manager to the owner, said: “She’s a great bit of stuff, she turns up every day. You could set your clock by her. It was a nice prep, a nice bit of work, and you couldn’t be happier.” The green and gold hoops of McManus were also carried to victory in the Mares’ Chase by Elimay , Impervious and Limerick Lace to give him four straight wins.
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