Ladbrokes World Hurdle

the Ladbrokes World Hurdle over 3 miles at 16.20 CET is the top race at Cheltenham today and the sponsors must be very happy with the huge field of 17 runners with very open betting, To be honest, this is a slightly substandard affair with no obvious star running, such as previous winners Bib Buck´s, Baracouda or Inglis Drever. Paul Nichools, who hadf 3 winners here yesterday, trained Big Buck´s and must be hoping that he can win again with either Saphir Du Rheu (Sam Twiston-Davies) or Zarkandar (Noel Fehily). Connections are hoping to repeat their trick with Big Buck´s by bringing him back from chasing and he won the main trial here, the Cleeve, but only narrowly from Reve de Sivola (Nick Williams/ Daryl Jacob), Un Temps Pour Tous (David Pipe/ Tom Scudamore) and Cole Harden (Warren Greatrex/ Gavin Sheehan). We are not convinced that this form is good enough and much prefer Zarkandar, who was a good fourth here last year in a stronger renewal; he finished just behind At Fishers Cross (Rebecca Curtis / AP McCoy), who has been below form this season., but the Trainer´s horses are now running much bgetter and he is possibly AP´s best Chance to win a race at his last Cheltenham. Nicky Henderson also has yet to score at the meeting and has two runners, both of which are in with a good chance, Blue Fashion (David Bass) and Whisper with the stable jockey Barry Geraghty. This race is as tricky as any handicap, but in our opinion Zarkandar each-way is the safest bet.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Vautour - Ptit Zig - Valseur Lido
2. Race: Edeymi - Call The Cops - Regal Encore
3. Race: Don Cossack - Ma Filleule - Balder Succes
4. Race: Zarkandar - Saphir Du Rheu - Lieutenant Colonel
5. Race: Monetaire - Buywise - Un Ace
6. Race: Masters Hill - Gold Bullet - Grand Vision