General / Graham Cunningham / 26 December 2007 / 1 Comments

Miko can restore the spirit of Christmas to the Alner camp while Denman heads the mighty Nicholls line-up

It takes forever to run its course and for many devotees it ends in severe anticlimax.

The Coral Welsh National mirrors the Christmas period itself in some ways, but a win and place bet on Miko de Beauchene and a place lay of Over The Creek looks the way forward at Chepstow on Thursday in a race that looks bound to provide its usual gruelling test of stamina.

With his trainer Robert Alner still hospitalised following a serious car accident there is no doubt victory for Miko de Beauchene would go down well with a racing media who adore a bit of seasonal sentimentality.

Fortunately, Mike de Beauchene has a lot more than sentiment on his side. Granted, he lacks seasoning for a severe test like this and critics will understandably point out that he has failed to complete in two of his four attempts over fences.

However, this powerful gelding boasted smart chasing form as a novice last season and preserved a workable chasing mark with a highly promising reappearance over hurdles at Newbury last month. In short, he could be a fair bit better than his current rating of 135 and will be hard to keep out of the frame if he jumps soundly.

The case for laying Over The Creek is risky in some ways given that he showed marked improvement to land a valuable Cheltenham handicap recently and David Pipe is enjoying a purple patch.

However, Over The Creek incurred a hefty 8lb penalty at Cheltenham. He's also unproven over this marathon trip and, in a race where dangers abound, it's worth taking him on for modest stakes in the place market.

Denman, Tatenen and What A Friend the names to note as Nicholls seeks to dominate

Kauto Star's commanding success in the King George means that part one of the Paul Nicholls Christmas wish has been fulfilled, and part two rests on the powerful shoulders of Denman in Friday's Lexus Chase at Leopardstown.

The odds will be short, and no Leopardstown race which features The Listener and Beef Or Salmon should ever be taken as a shoo-in, but Denman looked a mighty chaser when running away with the Hennessy off an official mark of 161 and is very hard to oppose with conditions to suit.

Indeed, the more you look at the Christmas 2007 programme the more it becomes clear that Nicholls has put together the sort of team that has seldom been bettered in jumping history.

Chepstow's Welsh National card also plays host to a handful of fancied contenders from manor Farm and Tatenen looks a very interesting horse for the Finale Juvenile Hurdle at 14:40.

Franchoek is bound to be popular here despite his recent Cheltenham defeat, but Alan King's gelding has yet to race on ground this testing and is worth a small lay with that in mind.

David Pipe's Ashkazar was smart on the Flat and looked a fine prospect when bolting up at Wincanton on his Wincanton hurdling debut, but Tatenen galloped on with tremendous zest to win a Grade 2 contest in the mud at Auteuil in October and the subsequent switch to Nicholls is hardly likely to see him go backwards.

That ever popular sporting knight Sir Alex Ferguson is listed as one of the owners of What A Friend, who bids to make amends for a slightly luckless defeat over this course and distance in the novice hurdle at 15:15.

Alan King's Spare Change reopposes with just a length to make up, but What A Friend still looked very green when last they met and he looks set to confirm the form and continue the irrepressible form of the Nicholls team.

Out with the old and in with the new as 2008 approaches

By the time you read this I will have swapped the puzzles of Chepstow, Kempton and Leopardstown for the delights of skiing in the French Alps.

But before signing off it's well worth harking back to the events that made 2007 both thrilling and depressing in equal measure.

Kauto Star's surge to Gold Cup glory fell firmly into the former category, while Frankie Dettori's first Derby aboard Authorized lit up the first Saturday in June in a way that gave racing the sort of publicity that money just can't buy.

Peeping Fawn, New Approach, Ramonti and Dylan Thomas also helped illuminate the Flat season, but 2007 will also go down as a depressing year in several ways.

The memory of walking away from a sodden Monmouth Park as the stricken George Washington was put out of his misery after the Breeders' Cup Classic isn't one that will fade easily.

Nor will the sense of embarrassment caused by the collapse of the race fixing trial, while the news of Kieren Fallon's latest drug positive and Eddie Ahern's long whip ban added further downbeat notes to the end of the year.

But what were your personal highlights and low points in 2007? And what momentous events might we be reflecting on this time next year? Feel free to have your say below and all the very best for 2008.

Cunningham's post-Christmas crackers:

Back Miko de Beauchene win and place 14.05 Chepstow Thursday
Place lay Over The Creek 14.05 Chepstow Thursday
Back Tatenen 14.40 Chepstow Thursday
Lay Franchoek 14.40 Chepstow Thursday
Back What A Friend 15.15 Chepstow Thursday

Tags: Chepstow, Denman, Leopardstown, Welsh National