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Saturday 13th November

 Cheltenham is back and I simply cannot hide my excitement for this meeting as it is one of my favourite weekends of the season. I think perhaps it has something to do with the hope and aspirations for the jumps season ahead. At this time of year, there is hardly a day that goes by without a "potential" Grade 1 horse making their debut over either hurdles or fences. Of course, the results vary and there are plenty of bubbles burst!

Looking ahead to tomorrow and the feature Paddy Power Gold Cup looks a cracking contest and one could make a reasonable case for at least half of the field. Those of you who read my Eyecatchers column on Attheraces will have seen that I mentioned the run of Zanza in the Haldon Gold Cup recently and I think he looks tailor made for this test, despite having course figures of 60FP. 

His run here last December when he fell 3 out in the race won by Sky Pirate was enough to suggest the course should not be a problem. It was probably too far out to know if he would have won but he had passed Ibleo going much better than him and looking back at it again, one would be confident he would have at least finished ahead of him. 

Ibleo won his next two starts before being one of the unluckiest losers at the Cheltenham festival off a mark 17lb higher than he was in the December race. Of course, we all know what Sky Pirate has achieved since and he is now rated 25lb higher. He surely looks well handicapped off a 1lb lower mark than that effort.

One can ignore Zanza's own effort in March as he made an early mistake and was then badly hampered. His jumping is an area of slight concern but at the price, it is a chance I am willing to take and it was actually quite good that day he fell, up until the third last of course. His recent run in the Haldon Gold Cup as mentioned was very promising, particularly considering he was 4lb out of the handicap. 

He hasn't the best record after a break either and there is a fair chance he might come on for the run, even though it was just 11 days ago. Given his form figures off a break were P4P prior to that third, I think it’s fair to expect improvement, with form figures of 112 on his second start of the season. There is the possibility of the run coming too soon but he wasn't given a very hard time. If his jumping holds up, he looks sure to run a huge race. 

There are loads of potential dangers and as I said you could make a case for over half the field. While I mentioned in a preview piece for this meeting that front-runners do particularly well at this meeting, there looks to be loads of pace on here and it might just suit one of those that races a little further back in the field. 

I can see Midnight Shadow running his race again and he had a lovely prep at Aintree while I was interested in Nietzsche earlier in the week but his price is long gone. I also found it hard to see him beating Zanza when I looked back at the December race (just a 1lb swing), for all the trip might suit him better. 


1pt win Zanza (10/1 General) Cheltenham 2.15


Current P/L since June 2020:

Total Staked: 111.5 points

Total Returned: 152.65 points

Total Profit: 41.15 points

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