New Years Day Handicap Chase 2022 Tips: Ante-Post Preview

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New Years Day Chase 2022 Tips: Ante-Post Preview

We welcome 2022 with an excellent-looking New Year’s Day card at Cheltenham which gets
under way on Saturday, where the Grade Two Relkeel Hurdle is the main event, while the
supporting acts come in the form of the newly named Paddy Power Novices’ Chase
(formerly known as the Dipper) and the Paddy Power New Year's Day Handicap Chase
which contribute to the delicious seven-race fixture.

The betting for the Paddy Power New Year's Day Handicap Chase - staged over two-miles
and four-furlongs - is headed by the Nicky Henderson-trained FUSIL RAFFLES (best price
11-2). This talented six-year-old returned a rather fortunate winner of the Charlie Hall Chase
on his penultimate outing when left clear due to Shan Blue’s departure but showed his
trademark fine attitude to see off the remainder and get the job done. I put him up as one my
ante-post picks for the Racing Post Gold Cup here last time and by post-time, he was well-
supported into 5/1 favourite. He was travelling smoothly until his chances almost went up in
smoke mid-race when making a serious mistake at the tenth, taking off far too early and
ultimately ending up on top of the fence.

This sort of mistake would tend to put a horse out of reach for win purposes so his
performance deserves a great deal of praise considering he somehow got himself back in
contention to hold every chance turning into the home-straight, briefly looking like he would
go close, before finishing a respectable fourth place. It would be fair to say that he didn’t
jump with the same panache as he normally can but, essentially, the assessor has dropped
him a handy pound, suggesting he slightly underachieved. The only issue is his price from
an each-way punting perspective as he is not a stunning bet by any means but on the flip
side, he must be there or thereabouts in such an open affair, especially if improving in the
jumping department and, if doing so, I can envisage him reversing last-time-out form with
Zanza and Coole Cody, as he should prove to be more effective than the latter pair
mentioned under these conditions.

I am a firm believer in course form at Cheltenham and others to consider are course-
specialist Coole Cody, who returned a game winner of the Racing Post Gold Cup last-time-
out and is clearly in the form of his life for Evan Williams so cannot be ruled out. The
runner-up from that event, Zanza, trained by Philip Hobbs, could emerge as a key player if
handling the expected softer ground. Venetia Williams’ promising six-year-old - Funambule
Sivola, who was last seen running well to finish second to Grade 1 winner First Flow in the
Peterborough Chase, is another to consider with more to come despite lacking course-and-
distance experience. Alnadam, trained by Dan Skelton, caught the eye when seventh in the
Ultima at the Cheltenham Festival and will be fresher than most having bypassed the Racing
Post Gold Cup but he was completely outclassed and beaten out of sight on his
reappearance and looks short enough for a race of this nature.

RIDERSONTHESTORM (best price 12-1) has a pretty good record on underfoot
conditions and last year’s Grade 1-winning chaser at Ascot ran a blinder on stable debut for
Richard Hobson at Aintree last month, which represented a return to form. He was below
form on his final couple of starts for former boss - Nigel Twiston-Davies but looked back to
something near his best under a monster weight on his seasonal reappearance last time,
only finding Clan Legend too strong, who won the race a year earlier having shaped like the
best horse and winner throughout. He attempted to give the winner over a stone so it was an
excellent display in defeat, while his effort in last year’s Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham
Festival saw him travel strongly, looking as though he was going to play a leading role in the
outcome until falling at the third last.

He was rated 162 at that point so his current mark in the mid 140’s is well within reach,
especially based on his early portfolio of work and this appears to have been the plan since
his Aintree excursions as it’s his only entry across to date and trainer Richard Hobson
seems keen on this assignment. He’s a very high-class horse on his day and being the only
Grade 1 winner in the field, who beat both Cyrname and Janika convincingly at Ascot, none
of the others can boast comparable form and he’ll handle the ground better than most
whether it’s good, good to soft or soft/heavy as he’s ground-versatile and stays a bit further.
There’s a lot to like about his chances and he is very well handicapped on a mark of 147 so
providing he jumps proficiently, a very big run could be forthcoming.

Vienna Court returned an impressive winner for my daily column at Cheltenham three
weeks ago and, a repeat display would give her outstanding claims but I don’t think she
would be ideally suited to the forecast rain and this looks a much stiffer task so she is
passed over for the time being unless the ground is quicker than expected. Another one to
come onto my radar is Nicky Henderson’s other possible representative - Janika, who has
plenty of course-form to his name and goes well when the mud is flying. It is possible that
the course will become soft on Saturday if the forecast rain arrives throughout this week.
This eight-year-old looked as though he would come significantly for his reappearance sixth
at Chepstow and should be approaching peak-fitness. He seemingly likes the Cotswolds
venue, as his four runs here have all been good without success, which include his runner-
up efforts in a pair of Grade Three events, one of those being at the Cheltenham Festival.

It was at this meeting twelve months ago that he was sent off favourite for the Relkeel
Hurdle, finishing a close-up fourth before returning to the Cheltenham Festival earlier this
year and catching the eye to be fifth in the Coral Cup. He was rated as high as 166 in this
sphere in 2019 having landed the Grade Two Haldon Gold Cup and was second in last
year’s Grade 1 Ascot Chase. This will require major improvement from his seasonal debut
but he is a very sound jumper, who likes it here and has become well-handicapped. It is
possible that this has been a long-term plan by Nicky Henderson and, on all evidence, he
looks a shade overpriced at double-figure digits as it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see him
go very well back here. He has an alternative entry elsewhere but if connections declare him
here, he’ll probably be my third choice.