Paul Nicholls: The verdict on my Friday runners at Cheltenham

A seven-strong team go to Cheltenham for Paul on the first day of the International meeting. Here are exclusive views on all seven...

12:00, Cheltenham
Sam Winner
Proved himself one of the best juveniles of last season with two impressive wins here, and when running an extraordinary race from off the pace to finish 4th to Zarkandar in the Triumph, but we have always viewed him as a chaser. And, even though he was up against Menorah in a three-runner race, we had high hopes for him on his chasing debut at Exeter last month, as he had worked and schooled really well at home and we felt a summer breathing operation have aided him, too. But let's just say the race didn't turn out as we had hoped; Menorah would have won but for unseating his rider 2 out and then we go and fall at the last. But a touch more disappointing was the fact he continually jumped out to the left, which he had never showed us before. Hopefully, that problem won't resurface now we switch back to a left-handed track and we try him over a longer trip. And he has done loads of schooling since. Faces some class opposition in the likes of Solix here, but we get 12lb off him and Sam Winner is clearly capable of winning this if showing his true potential. But, to be honest, I will be happy with an error-free round to get his confidence back and a win will be a bonus.

12:35, Cheltenham
Edgardo Sol
Like Sam Winner, he didn't appear to appreciate going right-handed at Sandown last week, jumping out to his left and running below par in finishing an 11 ½ length 4th to Ubi Ace. So he is probably far better assessed on his earlier two wins on left-handed tracks, including a course and distance win. Was given a great ride by Ruby when getting up by a nose over fences at Aintree and we took advantage off his 5lb lower mark over hurdles and sent him to a 2m1f handicap here at the Paddy Power meeting. And he certainly made the most of it as he dotted up by 6 lengths from the favourite Cape Dutch, an in-form and progressive horse himself. Went up 12lb for that and has to give weight all round here, but appears to have come out of the Sandown race well and takes his chance before we give him a winter break. Harry takes 7lb off and Edgardo Sol will enjoy the better ground here too, as Sandown was too soft for him.

13:10, Cheltenham
That'lldoboy
Point winner who confirmed the promise of his fencing debut at Chepstow when winning at Wincanton and then following up at Newbury, beating Zarrafakt by a head, with the pair pulling 23 lengths clear of the third. Has paid for the latter win with a further 9lb rise in the weights but is clearly improving and it was good to see that the blinkers continued to do the job at Newbury, too. Let's hope he can continue to defy the handicapper, and Ryan's 3lb helps in that regard. Will love the ground.

13:45, Cheltenham
Mon Parrain
Was one of the early hype horses of the season, with some bookmakers anticipating that he could go off as low as [3.0] in the Paddy Power at one stage. That was clearly nonsense, and on the day I gather that he went off at over [6.0] on Betfair, which didn't surprise me at all. Because while I said in my column that I fancied him, and thought him a horse of immense potential after his Sandown and Aintree runs, I also warned that there were clear question marks over him for that highly competitive race; namely that he is not the easiest to train, I wasn't sure of his optimum trip, and the nature of his Aintree second, where he looked all over the winner for most of the race, was a nagging doubt in the back of my mind. And the race itself at Cheltenham was undeniably disappointing, as he didn't jump with the superb accuracy or fluency of his previous two runs for me, and he simply plugged on for seventh through beaten horses.
It is clearly far too early to be writing him off (I didn't give him a King George entry for nothing) and it could be that this smaller field allows him to get into a better rhythm and show his true worth. But there is plenty of pace in this race and the fact that he runs off the same mark here, and has to give weight all round to some classy and improving horses, suggests he is up against it. In short, he has it all to prove off this mark now.

14:55, Cheltenham
Oscargo
This horse surprised us when winning on his debut at Chepstow in March, as he certainly wasn't fully tuned up and we fancied his stablemate (and runner-up) Harry The Viking more. That form has already been franked this season, although I didn't think a mark of 124 was overly-generous for his handicap debut at Cheltenham last month. He ran well to finish third there though, but has paid for it with a further 4lb rise in the handicap. Is clearly unexposed and stays well, so we are hopeful there is improvement to come.

Garton King
Successful in all three of his points in 2010, he made a highly promising hurdling debut when beating his stablemate Royal Collonges by 4 lengths at Exeter last October. And that form worked out well, with the 3rd and 4th winning next time with the 5th, 6th and 7th all winning subsequently. Has been off for over a year but I would like to think he has races in him off a mark of 122. However, will probably need the run today and I would want to see some rain for him, too.

15:30, Cheltenham
Balding Banker
Showed smart form in bumpers last season, notably when winning by 10 lengths at Newbury, and he clearly didn't give his true running at the same track on soft ground on his final start, when he stopped quickly after travelling well. But that was addressed and he came out and ran a cracking race to finish second to subsequent winner Molotof at Wincanton. Those behind him that day haven't done a great deal for the form and he will need to step up considerably again to trouble the likes of the highly-regarded Darlan and Aikideau. But with only four runs under his belt, the potential for improvement is obviously there.

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Paul Nicholls / 9 Dec 2011