Equinties - kopek des banker?

Gm Equinauts

Next Tuesday morning is easy to wake up for. Like a child on Christmas morning or a dog simply any day of the week, racing fans won’t sleep in. They can’t sleep in. It’s impossible to sleep when the humdrum of a normal calendar Tuesday has been vanquished by the arrival of the greatest show in racing which is now no longer days away, it’s hours.

The eagerness and anticipation of the event is not just shared among racing enthusiasts, Cheltenham reaches beyond it’s bubble.

But it’s not simply a pure and unbridled treat of positive emotions for all.

Within the frenzy of public furore hides a niche, crazy cohort of ‘punters’. A weird tribe who seek enjoyment in investing heavily in the outcome of the event, both emotionally and financially. The buzz other people feel is not experienced themselves, their veins overridden by anxiety, nerves and even nausea.

The important dockets nestled in their clammy palms the answers to the punting exam but you’re not getting graded here, no paper certificate to show off in front of admiring family members.

It’s cold hard cash in the most real assessment of your racing knowledge.

Cheltenham is the greatest test for horse and punter.

Let’s dive in.

HEADINE ROUND UP

KOPEK DE BANKER?

Every single year there is the Cheltenham banker; the one that can’t be beat, the one every one just assumes will lever up some acca’s. With clear divide in the Champion Hurdle and SIR GINO out, the horse seemingly carrying the weight of punters expectation (and money) is the unbeaten KOPEK DES BORDES.

Andy why not? So far he’s looked mightily impressive, he’s trained by Wizard Willie Mullins, has arguably the best form in the book, and he will be the choice of Paul Townend.

One thing is for certain; if he doesn’t win, the majority of punters will be chasing by 14.00 on the Tuesday.

His followers will be comforted by the fact his collateral form continues to be franked too; KOKTAIL DIVIN did a good job by bolting up in a 2m4f maiden hurdle at Leopardstown yesterday.

KOKTAIL DIVIN, in the MINELLA INDO colours, was second to KAID D’AUTHIE on his hurdles debut and third to KAWABOOMGA on his second start over hurdles. Both of those JP McManus-owned novice hurdlers have finished behind KOPEK DES BORDES at some stage this season, so even though KOKTAIL DIVIN hasn’t himself, there is a line into the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle favourite if you look.

As for the winner, he’s a nice horse. He came over from France having bolted up in two AQPS bumpers and he looks like a nice middle-distance/stayer in the making who will be contesting a Grade 1 soon. That Grade 1 appearance won’t be at Cheltenham, obviously, but Aintree is his intended target according to Henry de Bromhead.

Not only was yesterday’s success a promising one for the horse, but it also provided de Bromhead with a welcome winner. This season has been a bit slower for the County Waterford-based trainer, but in classic de Bromhead style his horses are just coming into form at the right time.

This will give a nice boost to some of his Cheltenham runners, notably WORKAHEAD in the Supreme, HEART WOOD in the Ryanair, THE BIG WESTERNER in the Spud race, JULY FLOWER in the Mares’ Hurdle, and MONTY’S STAR in the Gold Cup.

Back to KOPEK DES BORDES. We know we have seen a lot of noise on X with most confidently assigning him to the ‘just wins the Supreme’ category. It’s a bold assessment, perhaps which might be warranted and stamped with a big green tick come 13.25 on the Tuesday but Cheltenham is never that easy is it!?

Anything can happen at Cheltenham and even the biggest Willie Mullins bankers can ruin punters (think ANNIE POWER or most recently, EL FABIOLO in last years Champion Chase).

Townend described KOPEK DES BORDES as keen and free going last time out at Leopardstown and that was in a small field of 10 runners on his home turf. Cheltenham in March is a different beast to Leopardstown in January and the occasion, the noise and the increased field size might all be too much for the inexperienced horse.

Pro or even serious hobby punters looking to back him won’t take his eyes off him in the pre’s, making sure he’s cool, calm and collected because if he boils over from the big occasion then there is a huge chance his race might could be over before the race has even started!

MULLINS BINGO

We’re really not big into ante-post punting (feel it’s served us fairly well) so in a lighthearted way it’s always fun to watch Racing X go into melt down when markets shift and horses get scratched so close to Britain’s biggest racing event of the year.

Last night was particularly special to watch as Racing X almost went up in flames fire over, you guessed it, Willie Mullins exchange bingo.

In short?

FINAL DEMAND came in for the Albert Bartlett, he then drifted for the Turners, and then he went back out for the Bartlett.

Then, the aforementioned ‘Cheltenham banker’ KOPEK DES BORDES had a big wobble on the Exchanges, we imagine fuelled by the last few days rumours that SALVATOR MUNDI has been working the house down ahead of his charge at the Supreme.

We’re certainly not going to pour fuel on the fire, it wouldn’t be right given we’re commentating from the sidelines, and like the kind and imformative, some might say value add publication we are, all we’re going to do is try and reassure a few readers here.

Yes, these markets are for the Cheltenham Festival, so their liquidity is larger than the usual ante-post markets however, we are expecting Mullins’ stable tour with Sporting Life today and because they dropped a few hints yesterday, there was potentially a bit of a snowball effect going on in the markets with people trying to front run it - perhaps or value purposes?

For example, we checked the betting exchanges last night for FINAL DEMAND in the Bartlett - one minute, the last price matched was 9.0 and the next it was at least 11.0. It doesn’t take much money to make the Betfair Exchange do that at this stage of the build-up.

Mullins has cover for at least the Supreme and the Turners, though his Bartlett squad does look a little weak.

However, of the novice hurdles at the Festival, the Supreme and the Turners will be the ones he’s more inclined to send his better horses to. If you’ve backed a Mullins-trained horse in the novice hurdles, take a breath, look for the official news, and don’t do anything too rash. We are deep into silly season.

PLANE GROUNDED

Unfortunately, the Champion Bumper took a huge hit yesterday as WINDBENEATHMYWINGS was ruled out of the contest. Such a shame.

He looked bloody smart at Ascot in December where he was immediately installed as the ante-post favourite, and though a few Irish horses had come into a shorter price he was still well-fancied for those who couldn’t shake that unbelievable performance from their minds.

Just with a word to the future, this setback would have to be a small worry. He’s five and given his visually monstrous performance there will always be a nice aura surrounding this horse, especially when he steps into the novice hurdle ranks next season, so we really hope he’s not a fragile horse and can return to confirm his ability.

Best of luck with the recovery.

Speaking of the Champion Bumper, we got word for which horse Jack Kennedy could be riding in the contest, and it’s potentially a horse that is going a bit under the radar.

KALYPSO’CHANCE was a nice talking horse after he won at Punchestown and then kicked his stablemate CLASSICAL CREEK out of the way at Navan, though we haven’t seen him since. Because of this, the Willie Mullins trio of BAMBINO FEVER, COPACABANA, and GAMEOFINCHES have all come into a shorter price for the contest despite what the five-year-old by MASKED MARVEL showed on the track. 

Gordon Elliott could potentially have JALON D’OUDAIRIES and HE CAN’T DANCE in the contest at bigger prices, but the returning jockey is pretty sure on his mount for the Champion Bumper. He said: “If I get the pick of them, I’d probably pick him. He wouldn’t show you a whole pile at home and then he gets to the racecourse and comes alive. He looked pretty decent at Navan when Patrick Mullins rode him. His turn of foot when the question was asked came to the fore and he sprinted through the line.

He certainly adds to a fascinating Champion Bumper picture.

RISK ON

A couple we’re eyeing up but unsure on yet. Tomorrow is looking a different story.

CHELTENHAM COMPETITION

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