4.10 Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase Tips
Wednesday 11 March | Age: 5yo+ | Prize: £65,000
The Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase in a National Hunt Chase, open to horses who are aged five years and older and run over a distance of about of three miles and six furlongs.
ONE of my favourite races of the festival is the Cross Country Chase where the competitors are asked to race over a course containing banks, hedges, fences and all manner of other obstacles for nearly 4 miles.
The peerless TIGER ROLL will win this again provided he is fit and healthy.
He has won the last two renewals of the race on his way to glory at Aintree and I wouldn't bet against him doing the same again this year.
Of the alternatives I think Might Bite would be good value if the Cross Country course is to his liking but horses usually need several runs in this sort or race before they get the hang of it so he is a risky proposition despite his back class.
There is talk about the French horse Easysland but he would need to be some machine to beat Tiger Roll on his day and his price is way too short for me.
I am siding with Tiger Roll and this might be a day for some multiple bets with Envoi Allen and Altior also holding plenty of appeal.
Recommended bet
- Tiger Roll 5pt win Evs (Bet365)
TIGER ROLL is something pretty unique and can rack up a hat-trick of victories in the Cross-Country Chase.
He is unlikely to have it all his own way this year as Easysland, a recent McManus purchase, is another exceptional exponent of these events, as demonstrated by his course and distance triumph in December.
Might Bite adds further interest and showed a bit more enthusiasm behind Native River at Newbury.
Recommended bet
- Tiger Roll 5pt win Evs (Bet365)
My idea of the banker of the festival is TIGER ROLL.
The dual Grand National winning horse looks to have a cracking chance of winning this race for the third time in a row. With all the horses running off level weights, it would take a monster performance for any other horse to come within 10 lengths of Tiger, as he’s miles clear on ratings.
The hype horse for this race is Easysland who won the X-Country race at Cheltenham in December. He was then bought by JP McManus, but is still trained in France.
He’s since won a X-Country race in France, but it wasn’t a performance which strikes fear into Tiger Rolls followers, as he didn’t win by a big margin.
Easysland is 19lb inferior, and to beat Tiger Rolls off level weights would be a shock.
For the ones who like a forecast bet, I’d probably say this is the best chance of winning a forecast.
- Tiger Roll
- Easysland
As for the rest of the field, it’s all up in the air and I doubt any of them will even get close.
Might Bite is an interesting runner, but he never seemed to stay the Gold Cup trip, so staying 3m 6f, whilst jumping crazy obstacles seems very unlikely.
The same probably applies to Yanworth who doesn’t seem to stay a metre over 3m, and was beaten by Neverushacon on the Punchestown Banks track.
Urgent De Gregaine has finished in the places over the last two years, and has place chances yet again, at the age of 12.
Recommended bet
- Tiger Roll 10-11 (Bet365)
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