There was an A list panel last night for the London Racing Club Cheltenham Preview. Chaired with a light touch by Barry Faulkner, the remaining trio of speakers – ‘dodgy’ Dave Nevison, ‘loquacious’ Lydia Hislop and ‘gorgeous’ George Primarolo – were allowed to inform, provoke and otherwise entertain a healthy crowd.
But what of their views? Which nags did they have a shine for, and which lacked a winner’s lustre according to our panel of experts?
The panel started with the Graded hurdles, then moved on through the handicap hurdles, Graded chases, and handicap chases. Here were the key points they had to make (so far as my Guinness-addled brain can remember it!).
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – Cue Card’s to lose. Lydia was very sweet on his chances and made a clear distinction between Cue Card and last year’s ‘pegasus’ Dunguib.
The Irish horse came into the race last year rated 156, against Menorah’s 147 and Get Me Out Of Here’s 150. This year, Cue Card is rated 159 to Minella Class’ 148, with the rest lower rated. In other words, Cue Card is eleven pounds superior on ratings to any of his rivals.
Does that make him good value at 9/4? The general consensus was no, it didn’t, but he was far and away the most likely winner. My personal view is that, come the day,
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