Sprinter Sacre and Al Ferof joint favourites for Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase
Sprinter Sacre and Al Ferof will be joint favourites for the Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase Grade 1 at Cheltenham in England on Tuesday, March 13, 2012. A cash prize of £74,035 has been set for the winner.
A total of six runners will have to battle against each other in the 2 mile race, which is scheduled to start at 2:05 GMT. The entries confirmed are: Sprinter Sacre, Al Ferof, Cue Card, Menorah, Blackstairmountain and Foildubh.
The going will be good, which will not be any problem for Sprinter Sacre, who has been given the best odds for victory by the bookmakers. He is a quality runner and has been in terrific form over the past few months.
In his past three outings, Sprinter Sacre was absolutely dominant and did not allow anyone else to come closer. He managed to complete a hat-trick of victories last month and will have the confidence of making a solid impression yet again.
The six-year-old gelding has entered three chase races in his career until now, winning all of them comfortably. However, he will have to be at his absolute best in order to maintain his 100 percent winning record.
The punters will be interested in placing a lot of bets on Nicky Henderson’s trained runner, who seems to be in great rhythm at the moment. He will be partnered by Barry Geraghty, who is a seasoned runner and has won 90 races while chasing. His strike rate
is terrific and he looks set for yet another victory.
On the other hand, Al Ferof is also not far behind the race favourite and will be expected to deliver a strong result today. He has also taken part in three chase event, winning a couple of them. There was only one occasion, where he failed to make it to
the top, but he still managed a third place finish that time around.
The seven-year-old gelding has been an exceptional performer since making debut and is all set to challenge Sprinter Sacre for race victory at Cheltenham. He will be ridden by veteran jockey, Ruby Walsh, who has won 108 races while chasing. He has a marvellous
strike rate and will be eying a dominant show in the race today.
Other than the top two favourites, Cue Card and Menorah might also manage to make an impression. However, Willie Mullins’ trainee, Blackstairmountain, can be the dark horse of the race.
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