The headline tip, Yes Day, was given an awful ride in my opinion. I do try not to slate jockeys, poor rides happen all the time, but the way he had Yes Day in last position miles off the pace was ludicrous.
When you're that far off the pace with a lap to go, one mistake or some slow jumps, and you're instantly on the back foot, and that is what happened with Yes Day. He should have been in contention with a few to jump as he was a comfortable winner against Planned Paradise last time out, yet that horse was in contention swinging for home.
Despite that, East India Express was given a good ride by Freddie Gordon, who took his time with his horse this time around and picked up the pieces late in the race and powered up the hill, landing us some profit with an 11/4 winning selection.
Sainte Lucie EVS – Cheltenham 1.35
At first, I wanted to try and take on Sainte Lucie as she is short in the market and has been beaten quite comfortably on her last two starts, but when you look through the opposition, this looks a weak race.
Sainte Lucie was an impressive winner on her first start for Willie Mullins, but has been put in her place the last two times. However, those runs were in a Grade 1 at the Dublin Racing Festival, where she was the favourite, and then ran a decent race at big odds of 50/1 in the Triumph, so this is a much easier race than what she has been up against the last two times.
This is a handicap, and she has to shoulder 12st and race on the quickest ground she has faced so far, but unless one of the handicap debutantes has been quietly campaigned and is ridiculously well handicapped, I struggle to see her beat. Her debut at Punchestown was very impressive, and she beat some decent horses that day, and horses have come out and franked that form. The good ground should not be an issue for her as the Sire has produced many good ground jump horses, like Greanateen.
Metkayina 4/1 – Cheltenham 3.55
This race has some decent prospects for the future, and it's not a surprise to see Willie Mullins' horse at the top of the market as she is totally unexposed and could be much better than the opposition. However, I thought Metkayina was worth a dabble as the second favourite and will like this step up in trip.
Noel Williams' mare has always shown ability from her bumper runs and hurdle runs this season. She was fourth in a Grade 2 bumper last year at Aintree behind Diva Luna, staying on at the end of the race, and she managed to beat that horse over hurdles, with the strong finish being the main thing to focus on. Last time out, she ran a perfectly respectable race, finishing fifth in the Mares Novice race at the Cheltenham Festival, finishing ahead of Jubilee Alpha, and the same comments can be applied in that she was staying on at the finish over 2m.
She might be outclassed by the Irish horses, but on the form that we know, she is the form horse, and I firmly believe the trip is going to bring out the improvement needed to land a race of this nature.
GambleAware