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I'm not going to lie, I can't stand this race but this is the Foxhunter's which is now known as the St. James's Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters' Chase for Amateur riders.
I can see why this race remains in the festival as it gives the Amateur riders a chance to showcase their talent and the PTP trainers get a chance of getting a win at Cheltenham, but it doesn't get me excited at all.
Cheltenham 4:10 – Vaucelet 5/2 (1pt)
Since this race isn't one I'm too interested in I won't be mentioning many.
Billaway should be the one to start us off after he broke many hearts and landed many punters some money when winning this race last year. David Christie had the runner-up that day and it would've been mega to see him win it, but Billaway is the horse who has been running in this race for many years and stays the trip out tremendously well. He is now an 11yo, and I think his time is up at the chance of winning this race again, even though we've had a couple of horses do the back-to-back in this. His jumping is fairly terrible, but he does have an engine. 8/1 is a fair price, but I'd say he is one for the placepot.
With all of the horses in this running off-level weights, Chris's Dream surely has a huge chance in this. He was 2nd in a Grade 1 back in 2020 off a mark of 164, and he is still rated in the mid-150s now. He is now an 11yo, but was classy on his day and has won a couple of PTP races. 9/1 is a tempting price.
I really do like the chances of Vaucelet in this race. David Christie went close in this race last year with Winged Leader, but I think he's come back this year with a better horse. His prep looks good, racking up three wins in a row and with this race being the long-term project, he will be primed for it and be in the peak condition of his life as the trainer will want revenge on last year's defeat.
The Storyteller is another ex-classy horse. Previous Grade 1 winner and a previous Festival winner, so has to be in with a chance. Jamie Codd rides, which is generally a good indicator that he will have a good chance as he probably had the pick of a few of these.
