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| Sprinting to the Finish - Arkle favourite Sprinter Sacre |
Named after possibly the greatest racehorse to ever jump a fence, the Arkle is a 2 mile speed test for novice chasers and is usually run at a blistering pace.
Winners of the race have a fantastic record of following up a year later in the Queen Mother Champion Chase – as reigning champ Sizing Europe did last year after winning the Arkle in 2010 – so the importance of this race can not be undersold.
With such an exciting crop of novice chasers this season, the 2012 Arkle has always looked like being one to savour, but with the recent exploits of the aforementioned Sprinter Sacre it has rapidly become one of the most hotly anticipated races at the festival.
Sprinter Sacre was good over hurdles, losing just twice - one of said defeats was at the festival when third in last year’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle behind Al Ferof – but he’s been even better over fences.
He built on an easy debut over larger obstacles at Doncaster by comprehensively accounting for Peddlers Cross at Kempton over the festive period, although excuses can seemingly be made for Peddlers Cross that day it was a performance by Sprinter Sacre that catapulted him to the forefront of the betting for the Arkle and he has been there ever since.
His recent win at Newbury under a motionless Barry Geraghty only strengthened his position as hot favourite for this race and he looks to be a very special horse indeed.
With some firms offering no bigger than evens against him for the Arkle you’d be forgiven for thinking that this was a one horse race, that is far from the case though and there are a number of talented horses that have almost been forgotten in the sea of hype around the favourite.
If you are a fan of any of the other horse going for this year’s Arkle are there any chinks in Sprinter Sacre’s armour that you could possibly seize on to make more of a case for your horse? Well, he seemed to struggle with the Cheltenham hill a little in last year’s Supreme having gotten to the front and you could also suggest that the way he failed to settle at Newbury last time out may find him out at the business end of affairs in a more hotly contested race.
However anybody who saw the ease with which this horse won at Newbury a week and a half ago would probably tell you that you were clutching at the tiniest of straws with those potential flaws as Sprinter Sacre certainly looks the real deal.
With Paddy Power offering your money back up to £100 if Sprinter Sacre wins though for those of us not betting thousands it would definitely pay to look for some value in the race and a horse to potentially cause an upset.
Peddlers Cross was Arkle favourite until that loss at Kempton and fans of this horse will no doubt point out the fantastic record that the highest rated hurdler in an Arkle field have in the race.
Peddlers Cross found only the incomparable Hurricane Fly too good in last year’s Champion Hurdle having previously been unbeaten over the smaller obstacles, including when winning the Neptune at the festival in 2010.
Given that the Neptune is run over 2m5f, it is clear Peddlers Cross stays, and stays round Cheltenham more importantly. Common consensus seems to be that you need to get further than 2 miles to last the pace in the franticly run Arkle so this would put last year’s Champion Hurdle runner up in with a great chance.
Obviously you have to overlook his loss last time out and the fact that he didn’t beat much in his 2 wins over fences prior to Kempton but Cheltenham form and festival form specifically can never be underestimated and Peddlers Cross looks a good bet to me as a result.
Much of the focus for this race has fallen on the two horses discussed so far which is rather unfair when you consider that Al Ferof is currently Timeform’s highest rated novice chaser on the back of his third in the Victor Chandler Chase against his elders.
He never looked like winning that day but he ran a creditable third and was competing against far better horses than Sprinter Sacre and Peddlers Cross have been taking on to date.
Like Peddlers Cross, Al Ferof also has that all important Cheltenham Festival form having won last year’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in somewhat of an upset; and he arguably has the best novice form having beaten For Non Stop (who has gone on to record some smart performances) in his second novice chase.
Jockey Ruby Walsh is apparently keen on his chances and a Paul Nicholls horse should never ever be written off, it wouldn’t be the first time Al Ferof has done Paddy Power a favour either by beating a horse they’d pinned their money back offer on.
The next two horses in the betting both have Cheltenham form in the bag and are clearly talented but I can’t have either Cue Card or Menorah as an Arkle winner on the strength of their performances over fences.
Cue Card has fared the better of the two but his win at Newbury on New Year’s Eve filled me with little confidence as he hit several fences on his way round and had his rivals not jumped even worse he would have surely been beaten.
He’s certainly quick though but the Arkle is so fast there is no room for even the slightest mistake and I have very little faith that this horse can put in a clear round of jumping.
The same is also said for Menorah who came to the chasing game with a big reputation having been a solid hurdles performer, the highlight of which was his win in the Supreme at the festival in 2010.
Since switching to fences though, his jumping has been nothing short of atrocious. He unseated on his first start and was subsequently switched back to hurdles where he looked nothing like the force of old. Returning to fences he managed to record back to back victories in small field races but his jumping was still erratic and then on his stiffest chase test to date he fell after only a handful of fences on his last start up at Doncaster.
Menorah is quite clearly a very talented horse and if he puts it all together in the Arkle he could be a real danger but there is no evidence on his racecourse efforts to date that would suggest he’s close enough to getting it right over fences to land the Arkle.
Of the remainder, Tony Martin’s Bog Warrior would be Ireland’s leading hope if taking his chance but there remains doubt over firstly whether he’ll even head to Cheltenham and secondly if he does which race he’ll be contesting.
Ireland also have Blackstairmountain who went off favourite for the Irish equivalent of the race but was firmly put in his place by a dominating performance from Flemenstar. On the likely better ground at Cheltenham he will surely be seen to better effect but he looks a long way short of the pick of the home grown entries.
Willie Mullins’ Call The Police is the last horse worth a mention on the back of an eye-catching run behind Last Instalment last time out. He was travelling better than the winner towards home but seemed to fade out on the run in, that was over 2m5f though and back over a shorter trip on better ground he could be an interesting outsider.
This year’s Arkle definitely looks like living up to its billing as one for the ages and anyone who wants to go against a banker for many people in Sprinter Sacre should definitely do so with Paddy Power. The Irish bookie has got lucky in the last two years with this offer as both Cue Card and Dunguib were beaten but Sprinter Sacre looks a different animal entirely and 2012 could be the year that one of their staggering concessions comes back to bite them in the proverbial.
Selected Best Odds – Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase
Sprinter Sacre 5/4
Peddlers Cross 11/4
Al Ferof 11/2
Cue Card 17/2
Menorah 14/1
Bog Warrior 25/1
Blackstairmountain 25/1
Call The Police 40/1
Talking Horses Tips:
Peddlers Cross @ 11/4 and/or Al Ferof @ 5/1 with Paddy Power (Money back if Sprinter Sacre wins)
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