Barry Geraghty
Barry Geraghty’s William Hill blog: No need for a Heads Up about Le Grande’s chance
William Hill ambassador Barry Geraghty picks out his best bets on day one of Cheltenham’s November Meeting.
Cheltenham, Friday
Friday begins with the highly competitive Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (1:10pm). I had BECTIVE ABBEY at home as a youngster, so I know him well. He has won two of his five starts to date, but he has promised more than he has delivered to date. He won at Ffos Las in April after a wind operation and then ran over fences at Southwell in June, so he has a reasonable amount of experience. I’d imagine the likely softer ground at Cheltenham will suit him well and I think he’s definitely better than his handicap mark.
Olly Murphy’s horses are on fire at the moment, and I like the chances of GUNSIGHT RIDGE in the Veterans’ Handicap Chase (1:45pm). He was only beaten six lengths behind Sans Bruit in Aintree in the spring, which is strong form in open handicap company. Before that he had won a handicap chase on heavy ground at Sandown so whatever rain falls won’t affect him. I think the step up in trip could well unlock a bit of improvement, and he’s coming here with very strong form for his debut in veterans’ company.
LEAVE OF ABSENCE is a horse that’s very much on the up and could be the one in the Listed Novices’ Chase (2:20pm). The novice chase he won at Cheltenham last month was a strong race for the level and I thought it was a good performance. He won the time before that back in Newbury in the spring too, and his record now stands at two wins and two seconds over fences in four runs since joining Anthony Honeyball. This is another yard that are in form, and I think Leave Of Absence sets the standard here.
I was at Seven Barrows last month where I saw JONBON out on first lot and I thought he looked sharp ahead of this run. He can labour a bit on his seasonal debut but to me he looked ready for a horse three weeks ahead of his first run. He’s ultra consistent, winning 13 of his 17 starts over fences, and has been unlucky in two of those defeats that happened to be at Cheltenham. He’s going for a hat-trick here in the Grade 2 Shloer Chase (2:55pm) and I think he’ll be hard to beat. Perhaps L’Eau Du Sud is the one who can chase him home, having good early season form to his name and with the Skelton’s in red-hot form.
HEADS UP who leads the market for the Grade 2 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (3:30pm) has some very strong form to his name having finished second to Bambino Fever in the Champion Bumper last season. I thought he benefitted from being the most efficiently ridden horse in that race but form such as his second to Kalypso’chance at Navan last December shows it was no fluke. He won his maiden hurdle at Listowel on reappearance in impressive enough fashion, without there really being any fireworks. That was over two miles and it’s interesting that they’re immediately stepping up in trip to two-miles-five-furlongs here. To me he looked like a horse that needed further when he won in Listowel, and I think we should see more from him now.
ALPHONSE LE GRANDE could be seriously well-in in the finale, the two-mile Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (4:00pm). He won the 2024 Cesarewitch on soft ground, and while soft at Newmarket in October would be very different to soft ground at Cheltenham in November, he might just prove too well-handicapped here. He’s rated 93 on the Flat, and was only beaten three lengths off that mark in a valuable handicap at York in August, so to be in here off 98 – almost the same as his Flat mark – suggests this should be a penalty kick. Tony Martin is a dab hand at these kinds of handicaps too. If the ground did go heavy, it would be a bit of a concern, but he’s potentially well enough handicapped to overcome that.
