(Image by: samjthomasracing)
Sunday sees the 2024 edition of the Cheltenham November Meeting reach the finish line, but happily, the meeting goes out with a bang, thanks to a cracking six-race card.
All six events have much to recommend them, but the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle is the headline act from a betting perspective. Twenty talented hurdlers locking horns over 2m½f presents an intriguing puzzle, but who will come out on top?
Here, we present a snapshot of each of the twenty runners and pick out our best bets for what promises to be a sizzling contest.
1. Lump Sum – 20/1 with bet365
Trainer: Sam Thomas
This six-year-old has yet to race at Cheltenham but enjoyed a productive novice campaign, headlined by a Grade 2 success in the Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle at Kempton. Never out of the first three in four starts on good to soft or quicker. Talented, but will need to be off top weight.
2. Under Control – 9/1 with bet365
Trainer: Nicky Henderson
Represents the 2023 winning trainer and mastered last year’s hero, Iberico Lord, in a 2023 Sandown Novice event. 1½l too good for Pretending on her only previous visit to this track - that rival is now rated 122, but Under Control must defy 137 here.
3. Anyharminasking – 25/1 with bet365
Trainer: Jonjo & A J O’Neill
Seven-year-old gelding who races off 135, which is 8lbs above his peak winning mark. Zero from three at Cheltenham, with his best effort seeing him finish third off 134 in a Class 3 event on his seasonal return. Finished ninth in the 2023 edition.
(Image by: fob_racing)
3. Go Dante – 8/1 with bet365
Trainer: Olly Murphy
8lbs higher than when sixth in 2023 and 9lbs higher than when landing a Class 3 event on the New Course in December. 5¾l behind Lump Sum on his seasonal return at Ffos Las, but 12lbs better off with that rival here.
4. Spirit d’Aunou – 66/1 with bet365
Trainer: Gary & Josh Moore
His only visit to Cheltenham saw him finish a 12½l fourth to the now 150-rated Blueking d’Oroux. He has since scored at Sandown off 4lb lower but was 35 lengths behind Go Dante in the Imperial Cup.
5. Burdett Road – 5/1 with bet365
Trainer: James Owen
Handicap debutante who is two from three over hurdles, including a 6½l win in the Grade 2 JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle at this meeting last season – the second and third from that race now rated 122 and 126. Fit and well following a solid campaign on the flat and potentially well-handicapped off 133.
6. Dysart Enos – 5/2 with bet365
Trainer: Fergal O’Brien
A perfect six from six in bumpers and over hurdles, this mare landed a Class 3 Novice at this track in December. She mastered the now 132-rated Beat The Bat by 2¾l that day but received 7lbs and races off 131 here.
7. Black Poppy – 40/1 with bet365
Trainer: Kerry Lee
Boasts form figures of 1-2 at Cheltenham - the most recent of those efforts seeing her finish a 7½l second off a mark of 129 and she races off 1lb higher here.
8. Liari – 14/1 with bet365
Trainer: Paul Nicholls
This unexposed sort shot up to 134 following three wins in as many starts upon joining Nicholls last season. He's now 4lb lower but disconcertingly pulled up on his only previous outing at this track.
9. Williethebuilder – 25/1 with bet365
Trainer: Dan Skelton
Five-year-old gelding, who is up a career-high mark following his win last time out at Wetherby. Has performed well in two previous Cheltenham runs – finishing fourth in a Grade 2 and 2¼l behind Go Dante in a Class 3 Handicap. 4lb better off with the Olly Murphy runner here.
10. Be Aware – 12/1 with bet365
Trainer: Dan Skelton
The most lightly raced runner in the field makes only his fourth career start and second in handicap company. Up 6lb for a runner-up effort at Sandown but may have more to offer for a trainer who does well in Cheltenham Handicaps.
11. Cracking Rhapsody – 33/1 with bet365
Trainer: Ewan Whillans
Progressive in 2023/24 with three wins in seven starts seeing him climb a stone in the handicap to 129. Copes well with a big field and finished a length adrift of the now 141-rated Favour And Fortune in the Scottish Champion Hurdle. He received 8lb that day but looks feasibly handicapped.
12. Fiercely Proud – 25/1 with bet365
Trainer: Ben Pauling
Beaten by 25l on his only previous run at Cheltenham. However, that came in the Grade 1 Champion Bumper. 4½l adrift of Lump Sum in a Grade 2 event at Kempton, but 12lbs better off with that rival here.
13. Teddy Blue – 20/1 with bet365
Trainer: Harry Derham
1lb lower than his most recent winning mark but has failed to fire in two previous Cheltenham outings – had no chance in the 2022 Triumph Hurdle and unseated his rider at the second in a handicap here last season.
14. Florida Dreams – 25/1 with bet365
Trainer: Nicky Richards
Tried at up to Grade 1 level last season and rounded off with an eighth-placed effort in the Scottish Champion Hurdle. Unexposed in handicap company and returned with a win at Hexham but has no experience of this course.
15. Napper Tandy – 66/1 with bet 365
Trainer: Matthew J Smith
Outsider, whose only win in nine hurdles outings came in a Punchestown novice. That was a decent effort, but he has failed to build on it since. He finished second over 2m4f at Gowran Park two starts back but needs more to defy this 7lb higher mark.
16. Jacovec Cavern – 12/1 with bet365
Trainer: Emmett Mullins
Zero from five over hurdles but highly tried in Grade 1 company and drops in class here. He boasts solid recent form on the flat and appears for the first time over hurdles since joining the dangerous Emmett Mullins. Nevertheless, he is hard to recommend purely on a form basis.
(Image by: emmet.mullins)
17. Tintintin – 50/1 with bet365
Trainer: Fergal O’Brien
This in-and-out performer won four times last season to climb 16lb in the handicap. Scored over 2m1f around the New Course off a 4lb lower mark, but this looks tougher than that conditional/amateur rider’s event.
18. Royal Way – 33/1 with bet365
Trainer: Gary & Josh Moore
A winner of three of his six hurdle outings and only once outside the first three. However, that effort came on his sole run at this track and his best form has come on soft ground.
19. Toll Stone
Trainer: Emmett Mullins
A fair stayer on the flat for Ken Condon, this son of Australia has won one of five outings over hurdles. The ground is a concern, as he is unraced on anything quicker than soft in this sphere and that sole win came in Maiden company.
The Verdict
Burdett Road and Dysart Enos have the potential to prove a cut above the opposition. We prefer Burdett Road of the two, but with four places to play for (and possibly more on the day) we will take a chance on two runners at significantly longer odds.
The first to catch our eye is Dan Skelton’s Williethebuilder. We like his claims of at least turning the tables with the well-fancied Go Dante, which should be enough to see him involved at the business end. He is 4lb better off with that rival for a 2l defeat at Sandown and, significantly, that effort came on soft ground. Williethebuilder is a much better performer on a quicker surface. The final tick in the box is provided by his trainer, who is an expert at preparing one for a challenge such as this.
Cracking Rhapsody joins the staking plan. He may hail from the unfashionable yard of Ewan Whillans, but his form stacks up well. A bare reading of his Scottish Champion Hurdle effort puts him in the mix, and we like the fact that his most recent win came in a 17-runner event over this trip. Fit and well following a recent pipe opener at Hexham, he’s an appealing proposition to reward each way support.
Recommended Bet: Williethebuilder each way @ 25/1 with bet365
Recommended Bet: Cracking Rhapsody each way @ 33/1 with bet365
Falling in love with racing at a young age, Paul’s passion for sports and betting took him to Salford University, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics with Gambling Studies. Having spent ten years in the employment of a leading bookmaker, Paul opted to go it alone and pursue his dream job as a freelance writer.
Paul Harrison
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