Arkle Chase 2023: Cheltenham Festival Ante-Post Tips & Preview

The Grade 1 Sporting Life Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices' Chase is the two-mile championship race for the novice chasers and is the second race on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival. 

Having been won by some of the best chasers Ireland and Britain has to offer over the years, the Alan King-trained Edwardstone added his name to the roll of honour last season and the ante-post market for this year’s renewal is headed by Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon, who has been favourite since his winning chase debut. 

Arkle Chase 2023 Runners & Preview

Jonbon too short 

Jonbon (11/8) has won eight of his nine starts under rules, with his only defeat coming in the Supreme Novices Hurdle last season when beaten 22 lengths into 2nd by his stablemate Constitution Hill. Otherwise, he has been pretty flawless in his victories, including in both starts over fences, at least to the eye anyway, where he has won with a lot to spare. 

A brother to the classy Douvan, this seven-year-old concluded a really good hurdles campaign last season with victory in a Grade 1 at Aintree and has looked impressive in both his chase starts this term. He jumped exceptionally well en route to scoring on his chase debut at Warwick before winning the Henry VIII Novices' Chase at Sandown by eight lengths - his first Grade 1 over fences. 

He is open to further improvement and could be tough to beat here. That said, his odds are too slim, especially upon reflection of his first win over fences, which has subsequently been let down by the second or third, who have both been beaten since, while his latest Grade 1 victory was against a substandard field. I am not convinced that the runner-up Boothill is even a top-level performer either. 

Does his performances against below-the-class of Grade 1 level legitimately justify his short-price attachment for this race at the Festival? I am inclined to disagree. He could easily bolt up but I am not sure I want to be taking such a skinny price for a horse whose form over fences has been let down since. 

I do love the way he attacks his fences and has showed a lot of speed, which is what you need in an Arkle winner, but this will be a much stiffer task and he will do well to beat Willie Mullins' intended runners. 

He just about did enough to beat El Fabiolo in the Top Novices' Hurdle at Aintree, where he showed a good attitude to win by a neck but the runner-up made a mistake at the last hurdle when upsides and probably would have won if he had winged that hurdle instead of losing momentum. 

El Fabiolo has little to find with Jonbon

Willie Mullins has won this four times since 2015 but what is really surprising is the Closutton maestro hasn’t won this since 2019. However, that could all change this time around as he could supplement El Fabiolo (6/1) - an exciting youngster, who nearly took the scalp of Jonbon at Aintree. He did well under the circumstances to finish a neck 2nd in that race too. 

As mentioned previously, a mistake at the final hurdle compromised his winning chance but he rallied to force the favourite to pull out all of the stops and he is sure to have learnt a lot from that experience. Not only that, but he was hampered at the third last hurdle as well, whereas the winner had a dream passage. I think if it wasn’t for these two incidents, he would have beaten the favourite. 

He comfortably coped with the demands of jumping from a Maiden Hurdle on heavy ground at Tramore to Grade 1 on good ground that day as well. He travelled powerfully throughout, which was noticeable, and even though he was beaten, there was a lot to take from his brave effort in defeat given he was ultimately thrown into the deep end. 

He was put away for the rest of the season but made his chase debut in a beginners chase at Fairyhouse back in December. His jumping was far from perfect but the fact he was still able to brush aside last season’s County Hurdle 3rd and solid yardstick Colonel Mustard by 19 lengths and win on the bridle was very impressive, especially as the latter had made the frame in a pair of Grade 1 events beforehand, so the form is good.

Based on that Aintree display though, El Fabiolo has nothing to find with Jonbon and is sure to improve a lot from his chase debut and be more solidified in the jumping department. His inexperience at Cheltenham is the only slight caveat but a strongly-run 2-mile championship race will be right up his street and he could turn out to be a very special horse. 

Appreciate It a big player despite his age 

The runaway 2021 Supreme winner, Appreciate It (4/1), is unbeaten in two starts over fences and could be a huge player here, though he will be nine when he turns up at Cheltenham and you have to go back to 1988 to find the last nine-year-old winner of an Arkle. That is a massive statistic he would need to overcome to be successful at the Festival for a second time. 

Always recognised as a “chaser in the making” given his size, scope and potential, whatever he did over hurdles was always going to be a bonus and since finishing 2nd to Ferny Hollow in the 2020 Champion Bumper, he won all four of his hurdle starts next season. He thrashed his rivals by 24 lengths in the Supreme two years ago, which was not only a great performance to view but also on the clock as well. 

A small problem kept him on the sidelines for most of last season which meant he was only seen once - the Champion Hurdle. He ran well for a long way to finish 7th of 10 in the Champion Hurdle behind Honeysuckle, where he only weakened on the Flat and probably would have finished in the frame if he had run beforehand but that wasn’t to be. 

Nevertheless, he is making up for lost time this season though, as his engine has been in evident in both his victories. Firstly, at Punchestown, where he jumped well in the main and although Top Bandit briefly threatened, he lengthened away to score by seven lengths. His task next time at Naas was made much easier when that same rival departed early and he came home in isolation to win by 21 lengths. 

The fences at Cheltenham will certainly be his bag, given his size to get from a to b but will he be able to buck the trend of defying his age? It has been 35 years since a horse his age has won the Arkle but if anyone can pull this off, it is Willie Mullins. At a general 4/1, it is hard to see him out of the first-three at the very least if he runs to his best. 

Positive tactics might again backfire for Dysart Dynamo at Cheltenham 

Dysart Dynamo (5/1) is very talented. He won his two bumpers and his first two hurdle events in a procession but having been sent off joint-favourite with Constitution Hill for last season’s Supreme Novices' Hurdle, he fell heavily at the third last hurdle when looking as though he was emptying pretty quickly. 

He raced far too keenly and whilst he was just about in contention before he fell, I can’t see how he would have finished 2nd let alone beat the impressive winner. He then disappointed at Punchestown next time when last of five runners, where again, he was too keen and had nothing left in the locker at the backend of the race. 

Not seen again until his reappearance, the six-year-old made a lovely introduction to his chase career at Leopardstown, where he didn’t over-complicate things and jumped well en route to beating Irascible by 28 lengths. He did things very easily but nothing was able to give him a test and the times he has been pestered upfront, he has seemingly been a spent force. 

I can see why he will be popular for the Arkle but if he is going to adopt his front-running role, I just cannot see how he will have enough in reverse to hold off the likes of Jonbon and stablemates Appreciate It and El Fabiolo when he faces the uphill climb to the line, especially if he takes a stronghold which he often has done in his races. 

He is an exceptional jumper and has a lot of class but at the odds, I just think his two stable companions have more substance in their form and make more appeal at the odds. I think bookmakers have overplayed his credentials as he should be higher in the betting here.

Tom George could unleash a superstar in the UK 

It might be the case that lI Est Francais (20/1) doesn’t even go to Cheltenham and will be saved for a spring campaign in France but surely at such a big price with NRNB taken into consideration, he has to warrant a second look here. 

The exciting Karaktar gelding has become one of France’s best hurdlers and powered to success in the Grade One Prix Renaud du Vivier over an extended two miles and three furlongs in heavy ground at Auteuil last month, proving too strong for his rivals by eight lengths, which took his unbeaten record to four wins this season. 

He is likely to be aimed at the French Champion Hurdle but he has always been recognised as a chaser in the making by his excellent trainer and the fact he has been entered here, as well as the Turners, suggests this option isn’t out of the realm of possibility. 

He is actually the highest-rated four-year-old anywhere, yet connections have him entered over fences at Cheltenham and not over hurdles. Would it be possible to see him line-up over fences here before reverting back to hurdles for the big race in France? Possibly. 

All of his last three wins have been over further than two miles but he has pace, gears, he jumps hurdles like fences and the sky's the limit for what he could achieve for his formerly UK based handler. At double-figure odds, he might be worth taking a chance on with the NRNB in mind. For me, he would be the most fascinating runner here if declared. 

Saint Roi is surprisingly trading at huge odds

While JP McManus has the favourite for the Arkle in the shape of Jonbon, he could also run recent Grade 1 winner Saint Roi (16/1), who returned to something near his best when taking the Racing Post Novice Chase at Leopardstown when last spotted with favourite Fil Dor well-held in third place. 

He never managed to scale the heights once expected of him over hurdles when initially he was thought to be a genuine Champion Hurdle candidate but did manage to finish an eye-catching 4th in last season’s Champion Hurdle behind Honeysuckle and that was a good effort considering how keenly he raced in the early stages. 

He was below-par on his next two starts, so his attention was then turned to chasing, in which he finished 2nd in a beginners chase on his chase debut at Navan. He was behind Fil Dor that day but comprehensively reversed that form at Leopardstown next time and he might be able to kick on from that now and fulfil his potential.

At the end of the day, he was in front of Appreciate It last season in the Champion Hurdle and is only one of two entries with a Grade 1 win over fences (at the time of writing this piece). If he can learn to settle better and be a bit closer to the pace than he was in the Champion Hurdle, I can see this eight-year-old rewarding each-way supporters. He is wildly overpriced in the books. 

Arkle Chase Ante-Post Tips 

Jonbon is bound to be popular and is a warm favourite for the opening chase at the Cheltenham Festival but his odds appear to be way too short and my gut instinct tells me something else is better value and might be too good for him on the day. Willie Mullins hasn’t won this since 2019 but he has an excellent chance this time and it might even be with one at huge odds, who has been underestimated. 

I was very close to putting up Appreciate It but the age statistic has slightly put me off plus he will need to be a lot quicker at his fences than he has in his two wins to win this renewal of the Arkle. It’ll be interesting to see if Paul Townend opts to ride him over El Fabiolo etc. His choice will be made closer to the race. He is a high-class horse and could blow this field apart but I am going to oppose him at the odds. 

His stablemate SAINT ROI (best price 16/1) isn’t the biggest of horses but he jumps efficiently and quick and fast, which is what you need for an Arkle horse. He ran very well when 4th in the Champion Hurdle last season, doing all of his best work in the closing stages, despite racing keenly and not jumping all that great either. He seems to respect fences better though and looked good when landing his Grade 1 over fences last time at Leopardstown. 

That wasn’t a deep field but he quickened up nicely in the closing stages and his form at the Cheltenham Festival will count for plenty too. It is worth recollecting his performance in the County Hurdle back in 2020, where he beat some good horses comfortably by four lengths plus and might finally be fulfilling his true potential now over the bigger obstacles. Willie Mullins has other entries, who are much shorter than him in the betting, but he has proven himself to be a Grade 1 horse over fences.

Mark Walsh is most likely to ride him again at Cheltenham as well, which is great too, as he knows the horse well. I just can’t understand why he is available at such large odds, as this is the only race he is entered in at Cheltenham, so it is either this target or none.

We might see him next at the Dublin Racing Festival and, if he is successful at that meeting, in which he is 5/1 for the Irish Arkle, he won’t be available at 16/1 for this. At double-figure odds, he looks a reasonable each-way bet at the odds at this stage. 

I will also nominate stablemate EL FABIOLO (best price 6/1) as a WIN bet only for the Arkle. I think he is of great value against Jonbon, especially when you take into account that he almost beat the latter at Aintree and would have done so without being hampered and also making a mistake at the last hurdle. To get within a neck of the winner who had a dream passage was a true testament to how much raw ability this horse contains.

Nicky Henderson’s charge has improved over fences since but El Fabiolo was also impressive on his only previous start over fences and is sure to improve from that experience. He lacks the experience of the undulations at Cheltenham’s course but his best days are ahead of him and he could reverse the Aintree form and beat the favourite if he takes to the venue. 

No doubt about it, he will definitely be closer to Jonbon in the betting if taking up the Irish Arkle option, in which he is 2/1 for that race. Dysart Dynamo is 6/4 favourite for that race next month but if El Fabiolo or Saint Roi line up in that contest, I will be disappointed if one or both of them cannot enhance their credentials for the big one in March with big performances, with one of them hopefully winning next month as well.