Paul Nicholls’ name is very prominent when you look at the list of recent winners of the stanjames.com Supporting Greatwood Gold Cup Handicap Chase.
The Ditcheat trainer has been responsible for six of the last eight winners of this Saturday’s big race at Newbury and saddles both of the current market leaders this year in Art Mauresque and Sametegal.
stanjames.com Supporting Greatwood Gold Cup Handicap Chase Sponsors’ Current Odds
Art Mauresque (11/2), Sametegal and Little Jon (7/1), Generous Ransom and Ultragold (8/1), Bennys Mist (9/1), Pythagore (10/1), Off The Ground and Vicomte Du Seuil (12/1), Laser Hawk (14/1), Shutthefrontdoor (16/1), Seventh Sky and Aerlite Supreme (20/1), Un Beau Roman (33/1)
I must admit to preferring Sametegal over his stablemate on the forecast going, even though Noel Fehily rides the latter. Harry Cobden can claim his full 7lb allowance and his mount achieved a rating of 150 over hurdles so a mark of 143 on his handicap debut over fences could be lenient.
The current odds aren’t giving us much leeway, however. Little Jon has been beaten out of sight in two starts since winning over the course and distance back in November and usually makes at least one serious error so the best 8/1 is plenty short enough. Former Irish Grand National winner Shutthefrontdoor is likely to find this much too sharp nowadays and is being aimed at Aintree next month.
We don’t get many French runners in handicap chases in the UK but Emmanuel Clayeux has sent over two this weekend with Jacques Ricou partnering Vicomte Du Seuil in preference to multiple recent winner Pythagore, who would have wanted much softer ground.
No recent winner of the Greatwood Gold Cup has been rated as high as 150 so that suggests Seventh Sky, who has looked in the handicapper’s grip for a while and has had a busy campaign, has it all to do. Likewise Aerlite Supreme and Laser Hawk are easy to ignore off marks of 128 and 127 respectively. Fine Parchment won this in 2012 off 130 but that was the lowest winning mark in the last 12 years.
Ultragold’s victory at Wincanton came over a shorter distance but he was successful over 2m6f at Auteuil when trained in France and Colin Tizzard’s string looks in good shape ahead of what could be a monumental few weeks.
I’m drawn to Nick Gifford’s GENEROUS RANSOM at Skybet’s 12/1 as it is only 12 months since he was finishing third in a Listed novices’ handicap chase at the Cheltenham Festival off the same mark. He has only raced four times since and looked to be coming to the boil nicely when fifth over 3m at Doncaster in December. This is his time of year and best distance and, with the ground continuing to dry out, there will be worse bets this weekend.
