The weights for the Cheltenham Festival handicaps were announced to much fanfare on Tuesday. Some growing storylines have emerged as a result, as we look at three talking points which may have the biggest impact throughout Cheltenham week.
Kopeck De Mee
Having emerged as a horse of serious interest when entered into three of the handicap hurdles last week, many eyes would have been scouring for the name Kopeck De Mee within the weights for the Coral Cup, County Hurdle and Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle. The British handicapper saw fit to assign him a mark of 136 based on his efforts to date in France.
Purchased by JP McManus and sent straight into the care of champion trainer Willie Mullins, he is already favourite for the Coral Cup and Martin Pipe over distances just beyond 2m4f, and is second in the betting behind McLaurey in the County Hurdle. Similar to Gaelic Warrior in the past, there is a sense of the unknown about him, which makes him a risky betting proposition, and yet the history and association of McManus and Mullins will surely make him one of the gambles of the week wherever he turns up.
Horses Balloted Out
Bookmakers can sometimes be slow to update their ante-post markets, and some horses have been balloted out having failed to meet the qualifying criteria for the races they were entered in. If you have backed, or were thinking about backing any of the following, make sure to avoid:
Ultima: Affordable Fury (Not Qualified), Copperhead (Scratched)
National Hunt Chase: Chigorin, Cleatus Poolaw, Karuma Grey, The Short Go, Walking On Air, Westerninthepark (All Not Qualified)
Coral Cup: Gentleman Bill, Kap Vert, Newton Tornado (All Not Qualified)
Pertemps Final: Nab Wood, Sole Solution, Staffordshire Knot (All Not Qualified)
Kim Muir: In d’Or, No Time To Wait (Both Not Qualified)
County: Gentleman Bill, Kap Vert (Both Not Qualified)
Martin Pipe: Gentleman Bill, Kap Vert (Both Not Qualified)
McManus Favourites
Across a variety of trainers, JP McManus owns the favourite in eight of the 12 handicaps at this year’s Festival. His purchase of Kopeck De Mee has been responsible for two of those, but throughout the week, he has a huge chance of walking away with numerous prizes.
The Fred Winter market leader is French raider Stencil, though it is on the Thursday where he could have the biggest impact. All four handicaps on the day have a McManus-owned favourite, with Jagwar leading the money in the new Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap and the Plate, while Jeriko Du Reponet is atop the Pertemps Final betting and Sa Majeste leads the way in the Kim Muir. Meanwhile, the only horse keeping Kopeck De Mee off the top of any ante-post market is McManus’ own McLaurey, an impressive recent winner at the Dublin Racing Festival.