Racing tips: Weveallbeencaught won’t be caught up the Cheltenham hill

This tip has expired. Please check our free horse racing tips section of the website to find the most up to date.

Firstly, Happy New Year to everyone. Hope you all ended the year in the + with your betting. Though the last couple of weeks has been tough, it's been a decent year for the thread, especially the last six months. Hopefully, you can find some winners to kickstart the new year off in the right way!

Lady Adare was a non-runner at Newbury, probably due to the ground. I thought she would be fine tackling that surface, but clearly, connections felt different. I still think she is a horse to follow and I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for where she goes next.

Grivetana was very poor, she clearly didn't enjoy the conditions and didn't give her true showing.

Tramore 2:15

Early prices are saying that STATTLER is around a 10/11 shot, it's not for all punters backing a horse at that kind of price, but I think he is the most likely winner.

This race doesn't look particularly great, and I was hoping that his price would be a little bit better than what it is due to Minella Indo taking his place in the lineup, but it hasn't happened. Either way, I don't think Minella Indo is a top-level performer anymore. He did win the Gold Cup a couple of years ago, but I feel like that race might have put a dent into his career as it does to many. I also think this step back in trip isn't ideal, he has always been a strong stayer, so the 2m 6f distance doesn't look ideal. I'd say the trip isn't ideal for Stattler either, but he might have a little more pace about him, he has finished 3rd in a Grade 1 over hurdles at this trip.

The fact that Willie Mullins sends this horse here suggests it's going to be one of his main Gold Cup hopes. He has used this race as a prep run for Al Boum Photo on many occasions and considering he is a dual Gold Cup winner, who can argue with Willie? I think it's a nice opener for his season and he should be winning this race.

Fairyhouse 2:35

At the time of writing the odds haven't been compiled, but I'd like to think that Scarlet And Dove will be installed as favourite. I hope that will happen, as I'm hoping DOLCITA will be a better price.

Dolcita did beat Scarlet And Dove when they met a month and a half ago, but the latter horse didn't jump well and I can imagine the bookies and punters will remain faithful to her and believe she heavily needed the run. That could be true, but for me, her jumping was terrible that day and I couldn't touch her with a barge pole on the back of that performance, she's a very classy performer on her day but I think Dolcita might be able to improve past her and the others in this field and win her second race in a row.

It'll be interesting to see how Danny rides her today as Paul Townend rode her with plenty of patience at Clonmel and it seemed to work a treat. I think those tactics worked for that specific race, and I don't think she has to be ridden like that every time. Ballyshannon Rose ran from the front in that Clonmel race, so I'd hope that if no one pesters her for the lead that Danny will sit close in behind so that she can't get away from them. But if no one does go for the lead I'd be more than happy for Danny to grab the race by the scruff of the neck as he is a superb jockey from the front, and is one of the best at getting the fractions spot on.

On ratings, she has a fair bit to find and I think people have taken the approach that the main horses underperformed the last time they met than saying Dolcita improved. I can see why they believe that as Ballyshannon Rose was a close second, but I think she got that close because she was prominent and Dolcita was held up, and if I'm honest I think Dolcita won with a fair bit in hand.

Musselburgh 2:45

I had a runner in the race which AL ZARAQAAN won and I was very impressed with the way he won that race. I thought he was a progressive horse, but might have been found out when carrying a big weight on soft ground, but he put me in my place as he won with a fair bit in hand.

Due to that easy success, he has been hit with a 9lb hike in the weights, which makes his task of winning this race much tougher, but I can't help but be impressed by him. He's clearly a horse who is still progressing and must be a dream horse to own as he knows where the winners' enclosure is. He has won 4 times on the AW and 4 times over hurdles. This race is much tougher than what he won recently, but I like the idea that Archie Watson is returning to this track again. He doesn't have many jumps runners, but he has a very good strike rate with those which he does have, and whenever he sends them to Scotland or Northern England they have to be very respected.

Exeter 12:20

309 days off the track and making your chase debut doesn't sound like a good mixture but I think that MARCO ISLAND is too well-handicapped off a mark of 117 to ignore.

This horse has the ability, there's no denying it, and if he takes to chasing like I think he will, he could be a fair few pounds ahead of the handicapper. He was a decent bumper horse, winning nicely on debut and that ability transitioned to his hurdles run where he finished 2nd on hurdles debut and then won on his second time of asking. The form of his hurdles runs now look quite good. The horse which beat him, Git Maker, is a horse I like over fences (runs today as well, but is odds-on) and is definitely a 130-rated chaser. He beat Mothill when giving him a stone of weight, and that horse has won twice since, including a good Class 2 handicap at Chepstow. His bumper form isn't too shabby either. He beat Cruz Control who won his hurdles debut recently, recording an RPR of 121 in the process, plus there were some other winners behind.

There are some decent horses who have won over fences already, so they will have the experience over Marco Island, but I feel like this race is gagging for an unexposed horse to wipe the floor with them, and I think that is my selection.

Cheltenham 12:10

There could be a few decent horses coming out of this race but I think today's conditions could suit the strong staying WEVEALLBEENCAUGHT.

Nigel Twiston-Davies' 3m PTP winner made a nice impression on his hurdles debut at this track back in November when finishing behind a nice Paul Nicholls horse. He was outpaced that day on good ground, which isn't a surprise but he stuck to his task very well and made some eye-catching ground when staying up the hill. I think he is a 3m + horse, especially over fences in the future, but on testing ground on a stiff track like Cheltenham and hopefully running behind a decent gallop will allow him to show his class over this trip.

Cheltenham 1:55

I put up COCONUT SPLASH a couple of months ago when he ran in a Grade 3 at Wetherby. I was sweet on his chances that day, as were connections as he was well backed into 9/4F. In hindsight, he ran a very nice race to finish third on seasonal reappearance as the winner that day was extremely well-handicapped.

I'm fairly certain that this horse was intended to run in a similar race a couple of weeks ago at this track but that was when meetings were being cancelled left, right and centre. I fancied him for that intended race as I thought he is still well-handicapped off his current handicap mark, and it will only be a matter of time before he does get off the mark over fences and win a nice pot. He has some smart form last year when he was a novice chaser, including finishing 2nd to Chantry House but for one reason or another, he couldn't get it right and get his head over the line in first place.

Evan Williams is a crafty trainer, who loves a bit of a gamble, and he does well in big handicaps like this, as we've seen with his great horse, Coole Cody who has won plenty round here, as well as running many great runs in defeat, so it's not a great surprise to see this horse going down a similar path.

Horse Racing Tips

🔗 Share Your Horse Racing Tips on Social Media