Madison Du Berlais is likely to go off as favourite and, even allowing for being beaten 36 lengths, his performance in finishing second to Kauto Star in the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day was still one of merit. However his performances at Cheltenham have never quite matched those of his overall record and he has yet to win at the track in six starts there. Joe Lively does have a good record at Cheltenham – four wins from eight starts – and won this race last year but his recent form has been patchy at best. He is also best when he is allowed to dictate the pace but he is unlikely to be allowed an uncontested lead with Carruthers in the field.
Carruthers is likely to be up with the pace from the start but has been known to make jumping errors as he did in last year’s RSA Chase at Cheltenham. Both Knowhere and Ollie Magern could have chances on their best form but that is some way back now and their trainer, Nigel Twiston-Davies, has a strike-rate of just 6% for the last eight weeks.
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