Cheltenham Festival Day 3 Tips: Frontal Assault can lead them home in the Kim Muir

Chris Loader
16 March 2022
3:00 min read

Loader lines up three in the Kim Muir

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Day 3 of the Cheltenham Festival wraps up with the Kim Muir, where Chris Loader has located a Gordon Elliott horse worth backing in the lucky last...

"The son of Presenting looks to have been brought along slowly for a valuable pot this season by Gordon Elliott and he was just denied in a beginners chase when finishing a close second at Fairyhouse last month."

This looks to be a very tricky puzzle to solve attracting a full field of 24 runners. However, a couple of positives to look out for are younger horses, especially seven and eight-year-olds who have won every renewal of this race since 2016, so don't say you haven't been warned.

The market has spoken

One horse that fits the profile of a younger horse is Frontal Assault, who has been attracting strong market support over the last few weeks and he currently finds himself to be at the top of the betting. The son of Presenting looks to have been brought along slowly for a valuable pot this season by Gordon Elliott and he was just denied in a beginners chase when finishing a close second at Fairyhouse last month.

He has always been an interesting horse and he performed credibly last season when finishing eighth at the Festival in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockey's Hurdle, so the track should not pose to be a problem to him.

Furthermore, this step up in trip should suit after having form over hurdles at this distance last season and wearing cheekpieces will not be a negative, after eight of the last eleven winners were fitted with some form of headgear. Despite having to carry top weight in this contest, his chance is there for everyone to see and Rob James claiming a handy 3lb will help the seven-year-old gelding's cause, so therefore he has to be my number one choice.

Another popular contender for this race over the winter has been Ain't That A Shame for Henry De Bromhead who has some strong form behind Stattler and Galopin Des Champs this season in beginner chases. He is very lightly raced and could be open to improvement on his handicap debut, but I have some concerns about him lacking experience in a race of this nature and I think he will come up short.

I can see the case for School Boy Hours and he is likely to have his supporters after his gutsy win to land the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas. He now finds himself off a 9lb higher mark for this contest and is likely to be in the mix, but I suspect others could be better treated and I am happy to oppose him here.

Two outsiders at a price...

When it comes to the British challenge I think the home team could have a dark horse lurking in this contest in the form of Almazhar Garde, who was not disgraced when finishing seventh in this race twelve months ago. Charlie Longsdon's runner finds himself being off a 4lb higher mark this time around but I think he has improved his form this season and he seems to enjoy a test of stamina which is a strong asset to have here.

I do not think he was disgraced when finishing second at Catterick behind Omar Maretti who reopposes here on the same terms, but the latter's could struggle here as his form has come in small fields and he is unproven at this track. The son of Kapgarde would not want the ground to be too testing and if the rain can stay away he is definitely worth an each-way play and can spring a surprise at his current odds.

One horse I could not leave out in my summary for this race is Larry, who will always be a legend to me after coming from the clouds to win the Sodexo Gold Cup at Ascot in October.

The nine-year-old gelding is untested at Cheltenham and although he doesn't fit the profile for this race on paper, his latest run at Ascot may have been better than bare form may suggest when finishing a respectable fifth and he is only 1lb higher than his last winning mark.

I think he will be suited by this big field scenario and I could see him running strongly up the hill, so I will be having an each-way saver on him.

When it comes to my final thoughts on Kim Muir, Frontal Assault looks to have a leading chance and he appears to have been laid out for this race. If he can get into a strong jumping rhythm I think he can give his trainer Gordon Elliott a third win in this contest, while Almazhar Garde and Larry can play a part at their prices and could run into the frame with plenty of extra places on offer.