Matchbook’s Daniel Hussey and Micheál Deasy look at the 2022 Cheltenham Arkle Chase Ante-Post Preview.
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Cheltenham 2022 Arkle Chase Ante-Post Preview:
At the time of recording, the betting on the Matchbook Betting Exchange market was:
- Ferny Hollow 2.38
- Ewardstone 5.5
- Blue Lord 6.0
- Riviere D’etel 15.0
- Haut En Couleurs 15.0
- Third Time Lucki 21.0
- Saint Sam 21.0
- Brave Seasca 21.0
- Magic Daze 34.0
Daniel Hussey’s Arkle Tip: Blue Lord (6.0)
The obvious place to start here is with the Willie Mullins-trained favourite Ferny Hollow who impressed last time at Leopardstown beating Riviere D’etel despite having to give her 13lbs at the weights.
Both Deasy and I are big fans of the horse and he is the most likely winner. However, given the horses’ price and the fact he still has to run at the Dublin Racing Festival next month, we are staying clear of him as a selection.
Edwardstone is a horse we’re also leaving alone at the current prices so for me, Blue Lord (6.0) makes most appeal at the top of the market.
We still don’t know how much this horse has improved for fences yet, and he wasn’t a half-bad hurdler either. An unlucky faller at the last in the Supreme, where he would have finished second to stablemate Appreicate It, the Simon Munir-owned horse is 2/2 over fences but both were easy victories at odds-on.
With connections saying he is heading to the Irish Arkle to take on Ferny Hollow, I’m prepared to take a swing at him at 6.0 in the hope he can cause an upset at the DRF and half in price before the Festival.
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Micheál Deasy’s Arkle Tip: For Pleasure (40.0)
Deasy is never one to shy away from a big price and he’s staying on brand once again for the Arkle.
While accepting the top of the market is strong, he has had an eye on one horse for a while for this race.
For Pleasure at 40.0 is his selection for this race at the current prices.
He won by 37 lengths last time out at Plumpton and is the clear front runner of this field in March.
Deasy feels the fact he is both guaranteed to line-up at the start as well as dictate the pace makes him too big a price to turn down at the current prices.
Recommended Cheltenham Bets:
- Blue Lord – 1 unit @ 6.0 (Daniel Hussey)
- For Pleasure – 1 unit @ 40.0 (Micheál Deasy)
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