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| Sacre Bleu! - Can anything get near Sprinter Sacre in Day 2's feature!? |
However the Queen Mother Champion Chase poses no such conundrum, because quite simply put: if Sprinter Sacre runs, he wins.
Now of course a lot can happen between now and mid-March and, God forbid, the brilliant talent may get injured in Saturday’s rearranged Victor Chandler Chase and be unable to run at the festival – it can happen to the best of them, Big Buck’s anyone?
If that unfortunate sequence of events did transpire to be the case then anybody taking odds on about Sprinter Sacre for March will look pretty foolish; however if he wins on Saturday as he looks set to do, and turns up at Cheltenham and puts up the sort of performance we know him capable of then 1/2 will look like a gift.
Tipping a 1/2 shot isn’t exactly bold or revolutionary, but on all known form Sprinter Sacre simply will not be beaten and worse still his mere presence in the race, as was the case with the Arkle last year, looks set to scare off most of his best opposition.
Flemenstar has all but been confirmed as a non-runner here and can still win the Gold Cup for me (more on that in a few weeks though), winners of the last two renewals Sizing Europe and Finians Rainbow also look poised to swerve the new star of the National hunt sphere too, with the latter going for the Ryanair while the former could pitch up anywhere knowing how erratic his owners seem to be with him.
Simonsig (NRNB at 9/4) would be mouth-watering but that little duel looks more likely to be something for us to savour 12 months from now, with the other Nicky Henderson inmate completing his novice season the traditional way.
So what does that leave?
Well best of the rest looks to be Sanctuaire, a horse that has already been well and truly destroyed by Sprinter Sacre in the Tingle Creek already this season.
I for one actually thought Sanctuaire might be able to give Sprinter Sacre his sternest test to date in the Tingle Creek, and for a few short moments I was able to delude myself that was the case, but if anything Sanctuaire’s presence in the race and his front-running effort only served to bring about further improvement from Sprinter Sacre.
On his best form you would think Sanctuaire would be in or around the places, but as we saw in the Tingle Creek his unconventional running style meant he had very little left in the tank come the run-in and that left him vulnerable to lesser horses who had simply conserved their energy better, and with the prospect of that being a very distinct possibility up that grueling Cheltenham hill 12/1 doesn’t look like much of an each-way price to me.
Cue Card has already been thumped by Sprinter Sacre in last year’s Arkle and too looks bound for a vintage Ryanair as does Rubi Light, Menorah simply doesn’t jump well enough for me and maybe harshly I’ve never really rated Somersby and think he’ll do well to plod on for a place no matter how depleted the field is.
Williams Wishes has been on a real roll since returning from a long absence and comes from a yard that excels in bringing horses back to form after long lay-offs, so looks interesting to me from an each-way perspective.
After initially electing to miss a clash with Sprinter Sacre in the Victor Chandler last weekend at Ascot, he could now test his credentials against the best around in Saturday’s re-arranged race at Cheltenham.
We will know more in just under 48 hours but if he were to run well in defeat on Saturday he could be half the price for the Champion Chase afterwards.
At a really monster price Kumbeshwar could be one to reward each-way punters too. On their Desert Orchid Chase clash at Kempton over Christmas Sanctuaire has his clear beating, but if Sanctuaire tried to take it to Sprinter Sacre again as he did at Sandown in the Tingle Creek, then Kumbeshwar – who does stay further – could be one to pick him off for a place, as he did at Sandown back in early December.
It’s a bit of a shame that a race steeped in such history has lost a lot of it’s mystique with such a dominant force at the head of the market, but the race itself will be no less of a spectacle for it.
Sprinter Sacre looks like a horse that could dominate National Hunt racing for many years to come and, even if you still need convincing of his raw talent and brilliance, his course and festival form is solid, Arkle winners have a fantastic record in the following season’s Champion Chase and he comes from a yard at the very top of it’s game.
It’s unoriginal, uninspiring and it won’t make you much money but for as close to a certainty as you can get in jumps racing get on Sprinter Sacre for the Champion Chase.
Queen Mother Champion Chase 2013 – Selected Best Odds:
Sprinter Sacre 1/2
Simonsig - With A Run 9/4
Flemenstar 5/1
Sizing Europe 8/1
Finians Rainbow 10/1
Sanctuaire 12/1
Days Hotel 16/1
Cue Card 20/1
Williams Wishes 20/1
Menorah 25/1
Rubi Light 33/1
Somersby 33/1
Shooters Wood 50/1
Wishfull Thinking 50/1
Kumbeshwar 66/1
Recommendation:
Back Sprinter Sacre to win @ 1/2 (Boylesports, Paddy Power)
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