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Chasing Cheltenham Glory Part IV: Opening Cheltenham Meet boasts plenty of Novices to keep an eye on.

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With so many high calibre Novice Chasers on show, picking a winner may prove to be tough. Fortunately our man Steven Rawlings is on hand to run the rule over the horses to keep an eye on over the next few days.

The impressive Breedsbreeze out-stayed and out-jumped my selection, Ring The Boss in the Rising Stars Novices' Chase at Wincanton last Saturday.
Ring The Boss had made most of the running and for a few strides after the fourth last he looked like he might get the better of the argument, trading as short as [1.25] in running, but in the end he was comprehensively beaten by what looks to be an outstanding prospect.

The winner went straight to the front of the RSA betting and will be eagerly observed when he next runs; possibly at Fairyhouse in the Drinmore Novices Chase in two week's time.
My other selection last weekend was Free World at Sandown and he was just as impressive as stable-mate Breedsbreeze. He led them all a merry dance, jumped well in the main, and is now second favourite for the Arkle.

The Cheltenham ante-post markets change rapidly and that was highlighted this week when three days after being made RSA favourite Breedsbreeze was pushed out to third best.
The new favourite is Aran Concerto, who sauntered home in a Beginners Chase at Navan on Sunday. This was his first race since he was a disappointing favourite in the Ballymore Properties Novice Hurdle at the 2007 festival, having been sidelined with a tendon injury. Though hugely impressive he appears to need it very soft and coming back from injury he looks plenty short enough.

Then on Tuesday the highly regarded Nevada Royale also gazumped Breedsbreeze in the RSA market following a comfortable win at Exeter. He too needs soft ground and was pretty impressive but he also looks short at this stage.
Half-an-hour after Nevada Royale had put himself in the festival picture the Nicholls team sent out another exciting prospect in Chapoturgeon. The French bred four year old, a possible Arkle horse, jumped beautifully and looked sure to collect the odds of [1.28] until crashing out at the third last. If he's none the worse for his mishap he'll be worth following.

The Open Meeting at Cheltenham starts today and there's a quality novice chase on each of the three days.
The last race today looks to concern Paul Nicholls' Herecomesthetruth and Nigel Twiston-Davies' Razor Royale. The former jumped really soundly on his chase debut at Chepstow and the third that day has come out and franked the form, winning a fair event at Stratford.

Razor Royale was alongside Ring The Boss at Cheltenham before falling at the second last on his debut and it's widely felt that he'd have got the better of the Hobbs' horse that day, but he's a strong traveller that doesn't always find that much at the business end of his races. He's clearly a fair prospect but I'm going to stick with the Nicholls horse.
Dream Garden and Shining Gale both won their chase debuts well enough and are worth watching today. They're probably not quite up to this but both will win more races this year.

Tomorrow's novice chase at Cheltenham is the Sir Tristram Ricketts Novice's Chase over three miles, won last year by subsequent RSA winner Albertas Run.
Irish challenger Dashing George has plenty of experience and is improving rapidly but I wouldn't imagine he's quite up to this class.
Twiston-Davies' Ballyfitz returns to Cheltenham having won here last time but his jumping wasn't flawless and I'd have concerns about it holding up in this hotter race.

Gone To Lunch was the best of these over hurdles and fared much better in his second race over the larger obstacles when second to The Tother One. He still didn't convince me that he was going to reach the top in this sphere though and the ground looks a shade soft too.
West End Rocker and Big Fella Thanks, who filled the places behind Wichita Lineman in a cracker at Chepstow, are clearly closely matched but I'm going to stick with Big Fella Thanks who was cruelly denied that day. The softer ground here and the benefit of that race will stand him in good stead, though the trip is probably still on the sharp side.

The first race on Sunday is the November Novices, which could prove an excellent trial for the Arkle.
Straw Bear will be fascinating to watch after his debut at Exeter where he jumped poorly early on but warmed to his task. There was much criticism of the ride that day and many will expect improvement from the Gifford horse, which was said to need the run that day. He'd be well ahead of these on hurdle form and if it all clicks could win but I'm not convinced he's going to take to chasing and I'm passing him over.

Runner-up in the Swinton Hurdle in May and with a couple of chase wins under his belt already, I'm So Lucky would have been a real consideration had the Pipe stable not been under such a cloud, and Twiston-Davies' Crescent Island doesn't quite look up to this class.
So that leaves the Paul Nicholls pair, Poquelin, a quite remarkable winner here a month ago, and Tatenen, the current Arkle favourite. The Stewart family and the Nicholls team have to be commended for pitching two of their big talents against one another and I hope they're rewarded. Preference is for the latter.