Cheltenham today

today´s meeting at Cheltenham has not only the best card of the day but is also extremely high class with several runners out to stake their claim to a place in the big races here in March. This applies especially to the hurdle race at 16.05 CET - there are only 3 runners here but two of them are among the favourites for the Champion Hurdle - Annie Power (Willie Mullins/ Ruby Walsh) and Zarkandar (Paul Nicholls/ Daryl Jacob). Annie Power - by Shirocco out of a mare who was a Group winner in Germany - is unbeaten in 8 starts; she is Ruby´s only ride of the day, in itself significant, and seems certain to start at odds-on as she has already beaten Zarkandar, when they met at Ascot in November. However Zarkandar is now better off at the weights and has the advantage of a good record here, while Annie Power runs at Cheltenham for the first time. In addition this is bound to be a tactical affair, with the third runner also saddled by Nicholls, so it could be a close thing. Definitely a race to watch rather than to bet on.
There is also a small field for the Grade Two Dipper Novice Chase at 14.30, where the two main protagonists have also already met this season. Taquin diu Seuil (Jonjo O´Neill/ Tony McCoy) defeated Oscar Whisky (Nicky Henderson/ Barry Geraghty) here in November and is now better off at the weights, but there are still reasons to expect Oscar Whisky, who was by far the better over hurdles, to turn the tables today. Close House (David Pipe/ Paddy Brennan) is also not out of it, as he was still going well when falling in the race won here by Oscar Whisky last time.
The opening novice hurdle at 13.10 is also an extremely interesting affair, with several major prospects on view, including Ballyalton (Ian Williams/ McCoy), who lost a lot of ground at the start last time, but still won and has in fact won 5 of his 6 starts. However we prefer Royal Regatta (Philip Hobbs/ Richard Johnson) and Racing Pulse (John Quinn/ James Reveley), both unbeaten so far.