There have been occasions in recent years when the Greatwood Hurdle has seemed something of a poor relation to the Paddy Power Gold Cup which comes 24 hours earlier, but not so this year, with some of last season's top novice hurdlers set to do battle.
Given Vaniteux is such a short price it would be remiss not to start with him. His third in this year's Supreme Novices' Hurdle is arguably the best piece of hurdling form on offer, and you suspect there is significant room for improvement off his current mark of 147. However, it's fair to say he was seen to maximum effect in back in March given he was always perfectly positioned and he now has to concede weight all-round for Sunday's contest off 11st 12 lb. From a physical perspective, he looks every bit a chaser and you do just wonder whether a horse of his stature might need the run slightly. Then there is his price, which looks skinny enough at 7/2 in what is always a competitive event.
Nestled next in the market is something of a joker in the pack representing Willie Mullins. Clondaw Warrior has won three decent handicaps on the Flat this year and as a result looks likely to be well treated on his hurdles mark of 121. He won a bumper at Cheltenham which is cause for optimism but only has one hurdle victory to his name, which came over two years ago. He's attracting market support, which is understandable. Whether he's ready for this sort of test over hurdles isn't so certain.
Baltimore Rock and Goodwood Mirage come next, but the former looks high enough in the weights for what he's achieved so far and the latter has the all-important question of course form to answer given his background on the Flat. That said, the form of Goodwood Mirage's recent win at Wetherby has worked out well and there are signs that Jonjo O'Neill's string are returning to form.
One that does merit some support is the highly progressive Exitas, an impressive winner of his last three starts and a horse who looks likely to still be on the upgrade. What is most impressive about Phil Middelton's charge is that despite being a wide-margin winner over the minimum trip, he's bred to excel over further. That bodes well given the conditions he may encounter on Sunday. He is certainly worth a punt at around 10/1 in the hope the handicapper hasn't caught up with him yet, although this is clearly his toughest task to date.
Another who should be kept on side is Regal Encore, who may be running out of fans after struggling to justify market support on a number of occasions, but still looks capable of winning a race of this nature. His second in the 2012 Champion Bumper is clearly strong form, and although he had a difficult time of it last season clearly has enough requisite ability off a mark of 130 and with 16/1 still available in places, looks an excellent price. Don't worry about his fourth-placed finish at Chepstow: this is likely to be Regal Encore's big early-season target.
There are plenty of others who merit consideration, including Garde La Victoire who shaped encouragingly on his return at Aintree and represents a trainer in Philip Hobbs who has taken this race four times. If conditions were to turn really testing then Baradari would be worth an each-way snip too, but in Exitas and Regal Encore we have a pair of decent value bets from two horses whose best days may still lie ahead.
Recommendations:
Back Exitas & Regal Encore in the Greatwood Hurdle
