The performance of Marcus Tregoning’s Cavaleiro in finishing third on his seasonal reappearance to the decent pair of Main Sequence and Shantaram in the Group 3 Betfred Lingfield Derby Trial may well have been enough to book him a place in the
starting line-up for the Investec Derby at Epsom on June 2, writes Elliot Slater.

Looking as though he would improve for the outing, the son of his handler’s Derby winner Sir Percy was friendless in the market for the mile-and-a-half contest, being sent off a relatively unconsidered 20/1 shot in the Betfair Horse Betting.

Tracking the leaders until outpaced when the field quickened coming down the hill with just over three furlongs to run, it looked very much as though Cavaleiro would finish nearer last than first, but under a determined ride from Richard Mullen he stayed-on again from the furlong marker and whilst the first two had flown, he came through to finish a six-length third and reportedly pleased connections on his first experience of all-weather racing.
The three-year-old took his time to come to hand last season so Tregoning will have been pleased to see his charge show plenty of zip on his first run for eight months having been at a significant fitness disadvantage in relation to the first two who both had a run under their respective belts already this term.

The winner of a mile maiden at Chepstow last summer before stepping up in class to beat the well regarded Harvard ‘N Yale in a conditions race at Newbury on his final outing in September, Cavaleiro may well now be given the green light to head to Epsom and take his chance in the world famous classic for which he is generally on offer at around 50/1 with most firms in the Epsom Derby Betting.

Ever since his tremendous comeback at Newbury in February when pushing stable companion Long Run all the way in the Grade 2 Betfair Denman Chase having been off the track for 15 months, the prospect of running Burton Port in the John Smith’s Grand National has really appealed to his sporting owner Trevor Hemmings, writes Elliot Slater.

The Grand National is the one race that means more than any other to Hemmings, who has already tasted glory in the Liverpool marathon twice before in landing the ‘world’s greatest steeplechase’ with Hedgehunter in 2005 and last year with the brave Ballabriggs. Burton Port would be a classier horse than either of his two previous winners and Hemmings, (together with the gelding’s in-form trainer Nicky Henderson), will now be giving very serious thought to allowing his charge to take his chance after running a fine race at Cheltenham last week in finishing fourth to Synchronised in the Gold Cup and those following the Grand National odds need to remember this.

Burton Port shaped well under Barry Geraghty throughout the Cheltenham contest and looked as though he might well be involved at the business end of the contest when moving upsides at the third from home, but he couldn’t sustain his effort going to the last and was eventually beaten eight-lengths by the Jonjo O’Neill-trained winner. Nonetheless, this was a fine effort from a horse having just his second outing since November 2010 and one that should have put him spot on to produce a bold bid to land the Grand National on April 14 and the horse betting reflects this.

Whilst Henderson has won nearly every race in the book, the Aintree spectacular is the one event to elude him, and in the classy eight-year-old son of Bob Back he would appear to have his best chance since the days of The Tsarevich to get his name on the scoresheet. Bookmakers generally rate Burton Port a 14/1 shot to triumph in the Liverpool marathon.

Last year’s Ladbrokes Irish Grand National winner Organisedconfusion has come in for support in his native land in recent days with some firms in the Emerald Isle now going as short as 20/1 about the Arthur Moore-trained stayer landing the most prestigious marathon contest of all, the John Smith’s Grand National at Aintree on April 14, writes Elliot Slater.

A horse who has never before left the country of his birth, the seven-year-old has been trained since last year’s big win at Fairyhouse with the Liverpool feature event in mind, and although it has yet to be officially confirmed, most observers are expecting Nina Carberry to keep the ride on the horse she steered to victory last April when the pair proved five-lengths too good for Western Charmer and those following the Aintree betting should bear this in mind.

Carberry has also been on board the gelded son of Laveron on his two most recent runs, getting no further than the first fence when falling in the Leopardstown Handicap Chase in January, then putting up a much better show when a staying-on fifth to The Sneezer over a highly inadequate two-and-a-quarter miles at Gowran Park on March 10.

Moore’s stayer remains on offer at 33/1 with many British firms and the likelihood of fairly quick ground might well have put some backers off as they studied his overall profile which reveals he has been campaigned almost exclusively on soft or heavy ground and anyone looking at the Grand National tips will need to take this into account.

The only exception however was at Fairyhouse where he encountered good ground for the one and only time in his career, and the resulting success under those conditions should give a great deal of hope to those who perceive Martin’s charge as one of the most unexposed in the field being amongst the youngest competitors in the line-up and representing one of the shrewdest operators anywhere in the British Isles.

Roudoudou Ville has joined the growinglist of horses set to miss the Cheltenham Festival through injury.

Victor Dartnall’s seven-year oldwas favourite for the Byrne Group Plate before his withdrawal which now leavesSalut Flo at the top of the market in a competitive field.

Roudoudou was fancied to run wellat the Festival after finishing third at the same track in the Spinal ResearchThe Atlantic 4 Gold Cup back in December behind Quantitativeeasing andMedermit. However, the unfortunate injury could leave him out of action for upto 12 months. Even fans of the Cheltenham Gold Cup will have been disappointed bythe news.

David Pipe’s Salut Flo did finishbehind Roudoudou Ville at Prestbruy Park on his last run, that was though, hisfirst outing in over 20 months after a long-term injury forced him off thetrack. The French-import won on his debut in the UK at Doncaster back in March2010. Those looking for Betfair horse tips will be wondering if he can recoverfrom this latest problem.

Salut Flo could be joined in theByrne Group Plate my stablemate Great Endeavour. The eight-year old won thesame race in 2010 and has form at Cheltenham this season after winning thePaddy Power Gold Cup back in November. He then ran a respectable fourth in theHennessy Gold Cup at Newbury when Carruthers completed an emotion victory forThe Oaksey Partnership which owns the horse.

Alan King has come in to formrecently at just the right stage of the campaign leading up to the Festival. Hewill saddle Bless The Wings in the Grade Three contest over 2m5f. The Irishborn gelding does has course form this season after winning the TimeformNovices’ Chase Handicap last month in a 16-runner field.

Colin Tizzard will be hoping that some of his recent magic rubs off on stable star Cue Card ahead of a tilt at the Racing Post Arkle Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday March 13th.

The Dorset handler recently had a day to remember, saddling no less than five winners up and down the country and a couple of forecasts to boot. The well being of the stable can only augur well for the chances of Cue Card, who in all probability will line up without being given a prep run, something people looking for tips for 2012 Cheltenham should remember this.

That should not unduly affect his performance on the day though judged by the way he has hit the ground running in the past-he defied a two-month absence when coasting home in the 2010 Champion Bumper at the Festival, and had been off for six months no less when making a winning debut over fences at Chepstow last October.

Now, although Sprinter Sacre is quite rightly the one to beat in this year’s Arkle Chase, it should be pointed out that Cue Card was only just over a length behind that rival when they met in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle behind Al Ferof 12 months ago. People looking at the Betfair Cheltenham 2012 betting will be wondering if he can give him another close race.

Tizzard’s charge was going just as well as eventual winner Grands Cru when coming to grief at the 11th fence at Prestbury Park in November, and after being caught on the line by Bobs Worth at Newbury next time, duly made amends by making all to beat For Non Stop on a return visit to the Berkshire track on New Years’ Eve.

That form has since been franked by the runner-up who went on to capture the Betfair Novices’ Chase at the same venue on Feb 17th, so with the Tizzard horses jumping out of their skins, this year’s Arkle Chase promises to be a spectacular affair as Cue Card attempts to stop Sprinter Sacre’s date with destiny-who’s to say he won’t do it-roll on day one of the best Festival in the world.

Dermot Welds has ruled out the possibility of running his mare Unaccompanied in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham 2012 next month.

The five-year old was last seen when finishing a disappointing fourth in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown in a race won once again by the impressive Hurricane Fly.

Before her 39 length defeat to the favourite in the Champion Hurdle betting, the season had gone well for the Moyglare Stud-owned horse, she won a Listed Race at Navan in November and then returned to pick up a Grade One success in the Istabraq Festival Hurdle at Leopardstown a month later, finishing ahead of Thousand Stars and Oscars Well.

Unaccompanied proved her talent when finished second in the Triumph Hurdle at the Festival in 2011 in her first run outside of Ireland. Ridden by Paul Townend, the mare was only beaten by the talented hurdler Zarkandar.

The plan for the rest of the year for Unaccompanied is a return to flat action. The five-year old showed her durability last season when winning the Alleged Stakes at the Curragh over 1m2f in a race that included Aiden O’Brien’s Breeders’ Cup winner St Nicholas Abbey. It is very likely that Welds-runner will return to the Listed Race once again in April.

With the exclusion of Unaccompanied from the Champion Hurdle, the biggest challenge for the reigning champion Hurricane Fly is likely to come from Grandouet and Binocular. Nicky Henderson’s French-bred five-year old finished third in the Triumph Hurdle last season and won on his latest start at Cheltenham back in December. Binocular, on the other hand, looked in good form when he won the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton over the Festive period.

Nicky Henderson has decided to take the bull by the horns and not let the current wintry weather dictate to him when and where he should run his Cheltenham Festival contenders and has begun by declaring the exciting Captain Conan for the Grade 1 Deloitte Novices hurdle at Leopardstown on February 12, writes Elliot Slater.

Henderson is determined to give his charge the chance to gain more experience before heading for the Cheltenham racing in March where he holds engagements in both the Supreme Novices Hurdle and the Neptune Investment Management Novices Hurdle, and the Irish event appears to fit the bill. Ideally the senior trainer would have preferred to keep Captain Conan closer to home, but with doubts about racing taking place in Britain at present he wants to ensure that the ex-French gelding has another chance to run over hurdles having only raced once this term when springing something of a surprise in winning the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown last month by just a short-head from the wayward Colour Squadron. Anyone with Cheltenham Free Bets will have been impressed.

Connections could hardly have wished for more on his British bow, but in beating just five opponents his Sandown win will be very different from the rough ‘n tumble of a huge field of runners in either of the Cheltenham contests. With a number of smart local horses likely to be taking on Henderson’s relatively inexperienced contender the Leopardstown contest is sure to tell us a great deal more about the son of Kingsala who joined his current yard in late-November having won a decent conditions hurdle at Auteuil in the summer.

A top price 20/1 chance for the ‘Neptune’, Captain Conan has well and truly divided opinion amongst the ranks of betting firms pricing up the Supreme Novices Hurdle, some offering no more than 14/1 about him winning the opening race of the four-day fixture, whilst others offer a generous looking 33/1.

Following his fine recent effort when coming home a creditable third to Midnight Chase in the Grade 2 Argento Chase at Cheltenham in late-January, Knockara Beau’s trainer George Charlton initially suggested a crack at Long Run at Kauto Star in the Gold Cup itself, but now after some thought it looks increasingly likely that the talented northern chaser will instead tackle the three-mile handicap chase on the opening day of the meeting, the JLT Speciality Chase, writes Elliot Slater.

Knockara Beau has been a standard bearer for Charlton’s Northumberland yard for a number of seasons and rarely runs a bad race, winning eight of his 29 career starts to date and placing in good company on a further nine occasions. Although raised some 7lbs for his most recent effort to a mark of 147 Charlton feels that the handicap chase at the showcase fixture is the more realistic option for a horse who would have to find 30lbs of improvement to mix it at the business end of the Cheltenham Gold Cup with the two outstanding contenders for the blue riband event and those looking ahead to Cheltenham 2012 should remember this.

Although he hasn’t managed to get his head in front since scoring at Carlisle in February of last year, the gelded son of Leading Counsel has run a series of fine races, including finishing fourth to Buena Vista in the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle Final at last season’s Cheltenham Festival, then fifth to the mighty Big Buck’s at Aintree the following month in the Grade 1 Liverpool Hurdle. Fans of Betfair Cheltenham Festival need to bear this in mind.

Switching back to fences this term, Knockara Beau finished strongly into second place behind Shakalakaboomboom in the Grade 3 Majordomo Hospitality Chase at Cheltenham in December before finishing out of the frame after an uncharacteristic bad early error knocked the stuffing out of him at Wetherby on Boxing Day in the Rowland Meyrick Chase. Against Midnight Chase however Charlton’s pride and joy ran on well into third spot and is now generally a 16/1 shot to win on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival meeting.

The former Mark Johnston-trained Flat racer Sadler’s Risk made a sparkling debut over hurdles for the Philip Hobbs yard at Kempton recently and has leaped to the head of the ante-post market for the ultra-competitive Grade 1 JCB Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival on March 16, writes Elliot Slater.

Rated up to 100 on the level, the four-year-old had reportedly schooled well ahead of his debut in the two-mile William Hill – Home of Betting Juvenile Hurdle and was duly sent off the well backed even money favourite despite the presence of the Jim Best-trained Doncaster winner Dubawi Dancer. Apart from a couple of novicey leaps in the first half of the contest punters who took the short price about the son of Sadler’s Wells making a winning debut never had any cause for concern as Richard Johnson’s mount travelled powerfully throughout the race before asserting before the home turn and gradually pulling further and further clear, eventually crossing the line some 17-lengths in hand of the runner-up, Otto The Great. Those looking at the latest Cheltenham odds will have been very impressed.

Hobbs admitted to being relieved by his winner’s performance as he has always considered the horse to be a very exciting prospect. Johnson suggested that Sadler’s Risk should have at least one more run before Cheltenham as he lacks experience and appeared to take very little out of himself in winning the Sunbury contest in such effortless fashion, and Hobbs hinted he may run again at Cheltenham on January 28 after which a decision on whether or not a third outing before tackling the Triumph Hurdle is required. Anyone following the Betfair Cheltenham antepost betting should bear this in mind.

Having not even been quoted in many ante-post lists prior to the Kempton race Sadler’s Risk is now 8/1 joint favourite with Baby Mix for the juvenile hurdling crown, although a couple of firms offer a best price of 10/1.

Prominent racehorse owner John Hales has enjoyed many big race winners over the years and in Al Ferof he has another horse of considerable ability. Despite having had just two outings over fences Hales has revealed that he and trainer Paul Nicholls are considering pitching his horse in against the best in the business and bidding for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March, writes Elliot Slater.

Hales is probably best associated with another outstanding grey in One Man, dual winner of the King George VI Chase as well as triumphing in the Hennessy Gold Cup and in the 1998 Queen Mother Champion Chase, so he knows what it takes to win the coveted two-mile championship event. People following the Queen Mother Champion Chase betting should remember this. Speaking recently to reporters who enquired as to the wellbeing of Al Ferof (a leading candidate for the Irish Independent Arkle Chase at the festival), Hales revealed that connections are delighted with him and are now mulling over the possibility of bypassing the novices’ event and going straight to the ‘Queen Mother’ instead.

That revelation rather set the cat amongst the pigeons as bookmakers scurried to introduce last year’s Supreme Novices Hurdle winner into the betting for the main event, firms going a myriad of prices ranging from as short as 8/1 to as big as 14/1 at present about Al Ferof stepping up from his recent Grade 1 success at Sandown where he kept on bravely in the closing stages to hold the renewed effort of For Non Stop to land the Grade 1 Henry VIII Novices Chase, having won in facile fashion on his first venture over fences when hacking up at Cheltenham in November.

A top priced 7/1 shot to win the Arkle, a decision is unlikely to be announced until after Al Ferof has competed in the ultra-competitive Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot on January 21.

Meanwhile, the World Hurdle betting looks as close as ever and punters will have a tough time in picking a winner.