Cheltenham Betting / Wayne Bailey / 10 November 2009 / Leave a comment

Wayne Bailey takes a look ahead to this weekend's Cotswolds action where Master Minded is set to make his seasonal reappearance.

“We also have Gee Dee Nen, but the main one is Harry Tricker. He's taken the race well though we'll see what the ground is like before we make a decision. As it stands, he does have a lovely weight” (trainer Gary Moore).

This Sunday's Connaught Chase at Cheltenham should prove telling, and we may get an insight as to whether or not the brilliance of Master Minded is starting to wane. Most handicappers agree that his performances since the 2008 Champion Chase demolition job have been below what he's capable of; and I was on hand at Punchestown to witness him just about scrape a win last-time-out from Big Zeb back in April.

Indeed, Big Zeb traded as low as [1.12] before crashing through the last fence costing him a stride or two and can be considered unlucky not to have won for Colm Murphy on the day. Paul Nicholls is confident that Master Minded would have had enough when it mattered but I'm not so sure and I'm starting to think that his price for the festival in March is a little too short. Big Zeb has always had problems with his jumping and it's difficult to back him with confidence - however, he put in a near perfect display in the Fortria Chase at Navan on Sunday and this time, his in-running odds never went above his Betfair SP of [2.20]. With the benefit of hindsight, that was a cracking price and he's definitely a strong contender for the festival if his jumping continues to improve.

Master Minded will take on the much loved Well Chief this weekend and huge credit must go to David Pipe for the massive run the horse produced when second in the Champion Chase following a break of nearly two years. Well Chief is ten years of age at this stage but he can still give Master Minded a stern test so Sunday's race is very important for all at Ditcheat. I've always been a big fan of Master Minded so for the sake of the sport, I hope he gets back to the top of his game - however I don't think there'll be any value about so I'll take a watching brief for this instead.

In the Paddy Power Gold Cup (Saturday), I've already nailed my colours to the wall ante-post and may have another bet on the day depending on prices. In Tuesday's article I suggested backing Barbers Shop at [19.0] and Chapoturgeon at [7.0] with a view to laying off the latter on raceday. Unfortunately, the former won't get a run but I'm happy enough with the second bet. At this stage, I don't think there's any outstanding value in the ante-post market and I'm going to wait until the final line-up is complete before reassessing the race again.

Sunday's Greatwood Handicap Hurdle is always a good one for trying to spot up-and-coming talent and the list of winners this decade includes Rooster Booster, Detroit City and Sizing Europe. It's a bit early to have a bet but the one that's catching my eye in the decs list is Harry Tricker and trainer Gary Moore was upbeat when talking to the press this week:

"We also have Gee Dee Nen, but the main one is Harry Tricker. He's taken the race well - though we'll see what the ground is like before we make a decision. As it stands, he does have a lovely weight...He gets in with 10st 5lb and, so long as the ground doesn't go too soft, he'll be fine. I think you'd have to be quite confident of a big run."

Harry Tricker beat Barney Curley's Zabeel Palace on Saturday and I've stuck the five-year-old in my notebook as an improver. The ante-post market is lightly traded at the moment and I'll give the card a final check on the day of the race before making a decision on this one.

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Tags: Big Zeb, Champion Chase, Cheltenham, Connaught Chase, Greatwood Handicap Hurdle, Harry Tricker, Master Minded, November Open Meeting, Paddy Power Gold Cup, Wayne Bailey, Well Chief