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| Cheltenham Festival 2009 |
cheltenham home 17s
Nicholls To Dominate Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup Again?
08/03/09
Denman, Kauto Star and Neptune Collonges all stood their ground at the confirmation stage for this year's totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.
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Kauto Star (Ruby Walsh) is favoured in the ante-post market, with the sponsor offering 15/8, followed by Neptune Collonges (Christian Williams) at 5/1 and Denman (Sam Thomas) at 11/2, while Nicholls could also run My Will (Nick Scholfield) and Star De Mohaison, though the last-named is more likely to go for the William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival, Tuesday, March 10.
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The opening race on Friday, March 13 is the 120,000 Johnny Henderson Grand Annual (5.15pm), a handicap chase over two miles and half a furlong, is going to be most competitive, with 32 going forward.
GROUND
The going at Cheltenham is currently (Saturday):
Old Course (used on Tuesday & Wednesday) - Good to Soft, Good in places
New Course (used on Thursday & Friday) - Good to Soft, Good in places
Cross Country Course (Tuesday only) - Good to Soft, Soft in places
Simon Claisse, Cheltenham's Clerk of Course, said today: "It has been a really challenging winter, with the course covered in snow or frozen during five of last 10 weeks.
"It has now been dry for nearly three weeks apart from the half of inch of rain we had earlier this week.
"The going is currently good to soft and good in a few places on both the Old and New tracks. We are expecting a couple of mostly dry days with a few showers.
"There is rain forecast on Monday night into Tuesday morning, with up to half an inch falling. That could push us from good to soft into soft maybe.
"The grass has not really started growing yet, with the temperatures only being above six degrees in the last week. But, bearing in mind the winter we have had, the ground is not looking too bad."
