The Coral Cup, due off at 14:40, can go the way of the Alan King-trained Vendor, who is still relatively unexposed over this sort of trip and shaped better than the result suggests in the Betfair Hurdle last month. Last season was something of a write off for Vendor but he has returned better than ever this term, producing his best effort yet when landing a competitive handicap off a mark of 130 at Newbury in November, doing well to come from so far back in a modestly run affair. He could finish only eighth in the Betfair Hurdle but his usual hold-up tactics were very much against him that day given the lack of pace, finding himself in a hopeless position early in the straight and simply unable to make an impact on the leaders. It seems highly unlikely that this contest will be run at a crawl and the faster they go the more it will suit Vendor, who still looks fairly treated on a mark of 138.
Sire de Grugy sets a good standard in the Champion Chase in Sprinter Sacre's absence and, though plenty has been made of his two defeats at this venue, he has run perfectly well on both occasions, suggesting that the track really holds few fears for him. The eight-year-old, trained by Gary Moore, has been making hay in the top two mile contests this season, taking the Tingle Creek at Sandown, the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton and the Clarence House Chase at Ascot, posting a career-best on the last named occasion when slamming hidden Cyclone by 11 lengths.
The salient point with this year's renewal of the Champion Chase is that it's difficult to make a concrete case for many against the favourite. Arvika Ligeonniere has disappointed at the Festival in the past, Captain Conan has been seen just the once this year, Kid Cassidy is hardly the most straightforward, Somersby probably lacks a change of gear on decent ground at two miles these days and Sizing Europe is firmly in the veteran stage at 12 years of age. Taking all of that into account, the 3.7511/4 presently available about Sire de Grugy looks more than generous, and he is fancied to take his Grade 1 tally for the season to three.
It's incredibly difficult to ignore the claims of course specialist Balthazar King in the Cross Country Chase but Big Shu looked a natural recruit to this idiosyncratic race when triumphing 12 months ago, and has every chance of defending his crown despite being forced to race off an 11 lb higher mark. The nine-year-old went on to impress again when landing a similar event at Punchestown last season and shaped particularly well on his reappearance at the same track last month, being easy to back after nine months off but going as though he retained all of his ability, the fact that he conceded first run to the winner making all the difference. That outing should have put him spot on for this and he is expected to put up a bold show.
Timeform SmartPlays
All at Cheltenham
Back Vendor in the 14:40
Back Sire de Grugy in the 15:20
Back Big Shu in the 16:00
