Side with Greaneteen – his price doesn’t make sense

THERE have been a few Irishtrained favourites sink without trace in the big races in Britain this season, but none of them had the credentials of Betfair Tingle Creek Chase (2.25) favourite Chacun Pour Soi at Sandown.

The likes of Eklat De Rire and Mrs Milner at Newbury and Right placerigh time at Haydock were all expensive flops for those expecting the Irish to dominate as they did at the Cheltenham Festival in March, but in truth all of them were woefully underpriced on what they had achieved.

However, it is easy enough to argue the opposite is true of Chacun Pour Soi, who is officially the best 2m chaser in training and on BHA ratings has at least 8lb in hand of his rivals.

If he was running against this field in Ireland he’d almost certainly be odds-on, but the one nagging doubt is whether he can carry his form across the water because on his one and only awayday for Willie Mullins he was beaten in the Champion Chase.

In finishing third to Put The Kettle On at Cheltenham, Chacun Pour Soi was a length behind Nube Negra and half a length in front of Greaneteen, who are his two main

Sandown rivals, and it’s up for grabs if that is the sort of form he brings to the table.

There are those who believe Chacun Pour Soi simply didn’t handle the hill at Cheltenham, but he has coped with far more stamina-sapping conditions over further in Ireland, so I can’t be having that.

If there wasn’t such a big price difference between the two top Brits I wouldn’t get involved but Greaneteen being double the price of Nube Negra doesn’t make sense.

He improved throughout last season, saving his best for last when comfortably accounting for Altior, Sceau Royal and Put The Kettle On in the Celebration Chase at this track.

Given that piece of course form, it’s no surprise last year’s runner-up has been prepared for this ever since by Paul Nicholls, who is looking for his 12th Tingle Creek, and Greaneteen’s fourth when giving chunks of weight away in the Haldon Gold Cup should have brought him to the boil.

In Sandown’s closing Betfair Daily Rewards December Handicap Hurdle (3.35) it’s easy enough to make a case for any of those at the head of the market, but there are some at bigger prices well worth a look too.

The first is Miss Heritage, who was expected to need the run on her return at Ascot, but showed up well for a long way before finishing sixth to Soaring Glory, and is sure to be a fair bit fitter now.

The Lucy Wadham-trained seven-year-old improved throughout last season, and had a subsequent Aintree handicap winner behind her when scoring at Warwick before running second to Langer Dan in the Imperial Cup on this course in March.

The winner had a fair bit in hand – he went on to run second to subsequent Grade 1 scorer Galopin Des Champs at Cheltenham – and Miss Heritage was well clear of the rest.

It’s true it’s a case of the softer the ground the better, but she should be fine on the surface, and having already dropped to 1lb below that Imperial Cup mark, she is clearly handicapped to go well.

A horse who has dropped even quicker down the ratings is Navajo Pass, who was handed 7lb straight back by the handicapper after his distant third to Goshen in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton in February.

You don’t need a crystal ball to work out what was wrong, though, as he was sent for a wind operation just four days later, and while he has top weight to shoulder here, he’s certainly earned it.

Fourth in what turned out to be a surprisingly deep

Triumph Hurdle given how far Goshen would have won had he not unseated at the last in 2020, Navajo Pass was another major improver last season.

Before it all went wrong at Wincanton he earned a 7lb rise for storming home off a mark of 142 at Musselburgh and was then put up to 156 after beating Buveur D’Air at Haydock.

Nobody is pretending

Buveur D’Air was anything like the force of old (though he did run a close fourth in a Grade 1 next time), but it was still the mark of a rapidly improving horse, and he has to be of interest at a big price back off 149.

As a five-year-old there’s no reason why there won’t be more to come, and trainer Donald McCain is not showing any signs of a slowdown in what has been a remarkable campaign.

He has already bagged more winners this season than in any of the previous three, and his strike-rate has been better than 30 per cent since the beginning of October.

There’s still no sight like horses jumping over the Grand National fences, and I’ll be hoping one Irish horse comes away with the British booty as I’m backing Tout Est Permis.

He was pulled up as a 100-1 shot in the Grand National in April, but actually jumped really well for more than a circuit having gone into the race on a dreadful run of form.

The vast majority of Tout Est Permis’s best runs have come before the turn of the year and they include a third secondtime-out last year in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal.

That was far from a great running, but it still resulted in a mark of 157 and Tout Est Permis, a perfectly creditable fifth under a big weight in the Troytown at Navan two weeks ago (a race he won in 2018), could be primed to run a big race here off 150.

The sound-jumping grey mare Snow Leopardess is the other one to back in the race as she could be a joy to watch over these fences.

She never put a foot wrong when scoring in comfortable fashion on her return at Bangor, and is said to have schooled really well over replica National fences in the run-up to what has been the aim for a while.

There’s a good chance Kateson will return to his best reverting to hurdles at his favourite track in the Unibet 2021 Horserace Betting Operator Of The Year

Handicap Hurdle (3.15), but even that might not be enough to deal with Tamar Bridge.

He toyed with Bass Rock (dual subsequent handicap winner, now rated 132) in a match on his second run at Ayr in March, winning in a canter by eight and a half lengths, and returned with another smooth success at Wetherby (by 13 lengths from a next-time-out winner).

His reward for that is a mark of just 128, and that’s a figure he could leave a long way behind in the future, so even though he’s favourite he’s worth a fair bet.