Friday Racing Tips from Architect

A really deepest edition of the Triumph Hurdle to start the final day of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival and while I am currently happy with our ante-post position for this for us, having put up both VAUBAN (best price 15-8) and Knight Salute at 14/1 on January 17th, I want to back Willie Mullins’ charge again despite his odds looking rather different. His odds undoubtedly devalued since last time, but he was so impressive when winning the Spring Juvenile on just his second start over hurdles and would have beaten Pied Piper on debut without making a mistake at the last hurdle, in which he got slightly short of room before staying on strongly in the latter stages. I liked how he showed a good turn of foot in a race that was turned into a stamina test at the Dublin Racing Festival last time, which is high-class form and backed up by the clock. He’s held in very high regard by Mullins and Ricci and, with improvement on the cards, he’s strongly fancied to turn the tables on Pied Piper and land the opener.

State Man might well be a graded horse running in a handicap but so are a few others and I really like the look of COLONEL MUSTARD (best price 7-1), who will be suited to the strong pace and arrives here off an attractive mark following placed efforts in graded company at Ascot/Leopardstown. The seven-year-old has been very consistent over hurdles so far, who was placed twice behind Echoes In Rain in Grade 1 and Grade 2 events last term before making a winning return to action at Galway. He’s since filled the frame behind Jonbon and Sir Gerhard in high-quality events and the form of each contest has worked out strongly. He’s a smooth traveller, who jumps well and, with Conor Orr taking off 3Ib, he looks to have the class to make a serious impact in the County Hurdle. I think he’s a very solid each-way bet with six places on offer. 

Nicky Henderson has a good record in these handicaps at the Cheltenham Festival and there was a lot to like about the way FIRST STREET (best price 18-1) went through his race to finish an excellent third in the Betfair Hurdle last month, who would have finished closer with a clear passage too. He might have even won otherwise as he was only beaten around two and a half lengths at the line and the form has a nice look to it too, given the winner Glory And Fortune ran well in the Champion Hurdle earlier this week. The assessor has taken a really lenient view of that display, putting him just a pound, and knowing that he ticks a lot of boxes for this, he could be very competitive with six places generally available. 

Willie Mullins, as expected, has a strong hand in this year’s County Hurdle, and it’s possible TAX FOR MAX (best price 22-1) will be competitive off a lenient mark of 135 with a low weight to carry too. He has finished runner-up in three of his four starts over hurdles and, while he proved to be too keen behind stablemate Farout at Galway back in July, he was comfortably in front of that rival off level-weights on hurdles debut at Fairyhouse last year. This large-field scenario should allow him to settle a lot better and his experience of this course will count for plenty, having finished a respectable sixth on just his second start for Willie Mullins on this card twelve months ago in the Triumph Hurdle. He’s not been seen for over 230 days but has evidently been saved and targeted at this highly-competitive handicap to protect his well-treated mark. He is likely to be switched off out the back of the field, before coming with a late run, granted luck in-running, which could easily see him go very well with six places generally available too. 

HILLCREST (best price 5-2) has looked a horse with sheer power and plenty of attributes to go well in a race of this calibre. While I respect that this will be his toughest task to date, Henry Daly’s charge will be tough to pass. His future is very much over fences but he’s unbeaten when completing in this sphere and looked good when galloping on very strongly on his first crack at three miles in the Grade 2 Prestige Novices' Hurdle at Haydock on heavy ground.

Ginto is a worthy opponent but the differential between the pair, is the fact that he’s unproven over this distance and is up against a horse who’s proven in that regard and has winning course form in his inventory too. He has developed a habit of hardly respecting some of his hurdles, but he’s a big strong unit, who’s never looked like falling and therefore he can land the Albert Bartlett by grinding these into submission for the late Trevor Hemmings.  

From an each-way perspective, in the Albert Bartlett, I think Willie Mullins’ THE NICE GUY (best price 12-1) is appealing with five places generally available. He’s three-from-three, who won his first two bumpers before making the transition to this sphere a winning one, where looked a relentless stayer last-time-out, beating stablemate Ramillies. That was over 2m3f and the manner in which he hit the line so strongly without being asked for maximum effort suggested that he’d be even more effective going up in trip and he gets that here. The seven-year-old jumps very well, will be suited to the Cheltenham hill and, in my opinion, is great each-way value against the big pair in the betting under Sean O’Keeffe. 

In the feature race of the day, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, I am going to give one last chance to our beloved friend ASTERION FORLONGE (best price 25-1) in the hope that Bryan Cooper can potentially lift him home to to a much-deserved victory having kept the faith with him for the best sort of twelve months. He’s the only horse this season who would have beaten dual Ryanair winner Allaho had he not fallen in the John Durkan and still had every chance in the King George when falling at the final fence. His jumping has certainly cost him various times but he jumped brilliantly at this meeting last year and I feel as though this race will suit him perfectly. 

He could only finish fourth in the Irish Gold Cup but he made a serious mistake at the second last, which set him on the back-foot before keeping on strongly in the latter stages to suggest this extra yardage is well worth exploring. The eight-year-old has the ability to win this with a clear round, hence why connections have opted for this rather than the Ryanair and, while he’s been expensive to follow this season, I have to give him one last chance and therefore gets the each-way vote to run the race of his life with four places widely on offer in the Gold Cup. Please note, I have also tipped Al Boum Photo at 10/1 and Galvin at 9/2 each-way for this in my ante-post series, which are also available on the app and website. 

The Paul Nicholls-trained BOB AND CO (best price 13-2) has been trained specifically for this event and merits consideration in his bid to put aside last years misery in this event. Sent off just 9/2 in last year’s renewal, he was travelling strongly until unseating his rider at the fourth last fence and most likely would have finished in the frame at the very least. We will never know if he’d have won but, despite being beaten twice since, trainer Paul Nicholls has brought him along steadily this campaign and we know Paul Nicholls’ runners always run creditably in this race too. He won last year’s Punchestown Champion Hunter Chase winner when defeating Billaway in a thrilling finish in Ireland and David Maxwell, who’s had a brilliant and productive season, is in the saddle. His mount makes plenty of each-way appeal with five places widely available. 

As a second option in the Hunters’ Chase, I like DUBAI QUEST (best price 10-1), who has an outstanding point-to-point record and is already two-from-two under rules. He has  looked like a very good horse in this sphere, in which he beat a past Cheltenham Festival in the shape of Le Breuil very comfortably last month. His performance can be upgraded too as he was giving the runner-up nine-pounds, while each of his victories have been on good ground and soft to heavy ground so he’s clearly able to adapt to any sort of surface. With more to come, and with most bookmakers offering five places, he’s got excellent each-way claims under Gina Andrews. 

As mentioned in my write-up when I tipped FREEDOM OF DREAM (best price 20-1) at the Dublin Racing Festival, connections were using that race as a stepping stone towards one of the handicaps at the Cheltenham Festival and here he is in the Martin Pipe with an excellent each-way chance with six places on offer. He placed in both his bumper starts in 2019, including when chasing home Appreciate It and returned from nearly two years on the sidelines to win on hurdles debut before running a blinder to finish second in a Grade Two behind Eric Bloodaxe. He has a really nice profile for this and I am surprised he’s trading at double-figure odds for this event on the back of a promising fourth in a Grade 1. He is a very sound jumper, who’s opening mark of 135 looks lenient and I think he’s got a very good each-way chance being 8Ib better off with Hollow Games in the finale with Liam Harrison, an interesting jockey booking, taking the ride. 

DECIMATION (best price 22-1) caught the eye on handicap/seasonal debut where he travelled strongly and looked the likely winner until fitness took it’s toll in the latter stages. That was his first start in nearly a year so his trainer was clearly using that race as a prep-run for todays assignment. His form is very strong, who was second on his first three hurdles, including when a neck second to Queens Brook on hurdles debut and that rival ran well in the Mares’ event at this meeting earlier in the week. His neck second to Ashdale Bob is another quality bit of form as the winner ran a monster race in the Coral Cup to finish third this week off a mark of 152, while his third behind Fastorslow is good form too, as the runner-up filled the same spot in the Coral Cup too. On a line through both of those horses, Henry De Bromhead’s charge is undeniably thrown in here off 135 and is an appealing each-way candidate at the very least with six places widely available with most firms in the Martin Pipe.