Joseph O'Brien could have a live one in the Albert Bartlett
Cheltenham Festival tips: Ben Linfoot takes aim at the 2022 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle
By Ben Linfoot
16:53 · TUE March 22, 2022
Ben Linfoot kicks off our new weekly Cheltenham Festival antepost column – featuring a different contributor every Thursday – and his focus is on the Albert Bartlett.
2022 Cheltenham Festival antepost tips
1pt win Eric Bloodaxe in Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at 16/1 (General)
There isn’t a better time of year to have a Cheltenham Festival antepost bet than in January for my money.
Personally, this is a quiet month on the punting front as the low-key midwinter action does very little for me and thoughts now turn to those four golden days in March. Not only that but the first half of the season is in the bag, so there’s loads of form to go on including from a bumper festive period that threw up many a Cheltenham clue.
That’s where my attention lies and particularly so on a race that has become a breeding ground for Festival winners over the last decade; the Grade 2 Lyons of Limerick Jaguar Land Rover Novice Hurdle on December 27.
Faugheen, Martello Tower, Penhill, Delta Work and Vanillier have all won at the Cheltenham Festival having run in the Limerick novice hurdle since 2013 and three of them did the Limerick-Cheltenham double, so it’s form to really sit up and take notice of. Going further back, Weapon’s Amnesty did the Limerick-Albert Bartlett double in 2008-9.
I think one of the reasons for this unusually red-hot trial is the fact that there simply aren’t many staying novice hurdles in Ireland between now and Cheltenham, so the Limerick race is one of the last opportunities for a three-mile novice hurdler to get a good race in the bag.
Vanillier jumps the last flight in the 2021 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle - click for replay
There’s the Grade 1 Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival – upgraded to a top-level contest in 2018 when it went up in trip from 2m4f – but that’s still two furlongs short of three miles and has been more of a pointer to the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle over 2m5f in recent renewals.
At the end of January there’s a 2m7f novice hurdle at Thurles and in February there’s the Grade 3 Mercedes-Benz Novice Hurdle at Clonmel over three miles, but that’s it, so much of the Irish form for the Albert Bartlett is already set in stone.
Which is key as, unsurprisingly, Irish trainers have dominated the Albert Bartlett in recent years, with six of the last eight winners being Irish-trained, including Martello Tower, Penhill and Vanillier, who all ran in the Limerick race.
That’s one of the reasons the 16/1 generally available about this season’s Limerick winner, ERIC BLOODAXE, looks a good bit of business for the Albert Bartlett.
There are more, though.
Joseph O’Brien’s horse was good enough to beat Ferny Hollow in a bumper at Fairyhouse on his racecourse debut, so he has a good bit of back class and though he had a truncated career as a bumper horse – with 452 days off between defeats by Appreciate It and Kilcruit – he’s a more mature model now and has taken his hurdle races very well this season.
He started his campaign in the BetVictor Irish EBF Maiden Hurdle at Naas on November 6 – the same maiden last season’s Albert Bartlett winner Vanillier won on his way to the top – and he did it nicely. The sixth home, Highland Charge, beaten 23 lengths, was an eight-length second to Sir Gerhard on Boxing Day.
That’s a nice little form nod but a bigger one came next time out when he ran second to Ginto over 2m4f at Navan.
Gordon Elliott’s horse had too many guns for him over that trip and he subsequently won the Grade 1 Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle over the same distance on January 2, a performance that might well persuade connections he’s too good for an Albert Bartlett (especially as the owners also have Hollow Games).
Eric Bloodaxe didn’t have the gears to cope with Ginto over 2m4f, but there was no shame in that and he improved for the step up to 2m7f at Limerick, where he hit a flat spot half a mile from home before staying on powerfully for a clear-cut and convincing seven-and-a-half length success.
That performance suggested he’s only going to get better over staying trips and, perhaps significantly, he was Joseph O’Brien’s only winner of the festive period from loads of runners (he was one from 20 from Boxing Day to January 1).
It might have been heavy ground at Limerick on December 27, but O’Brien thinks he’ll be better on better ground and I can’t imagine there’s any race on his radar for him at Cheltenham other than the Albert Bartlett. This horse is a stayer with a touch of class and looks a future chaser, so the Albert Bartlett is the perfect stepping stone for him.
As for those ahead of him in the market, Blazing Khal is a worthy favourite for Charles Byrnes, as he has done his impressing at Cheltenham, but he did win a steadily-run trial over three miles. It will likely be very different in March and even if his stamina ends up being a major strength, there’s very little wriggle room with him at 5/1.
Crucially, two of the horses shorter than Eric Bloodaxe in the Albert Bartlett betting, Ginto and Journey With Me, could be Ballymore-bound and that really seals the deal when it comes to the seven-year-old from Gigginstown – owners who have won this race twice before with Weapon’s Amnesty and Very Wood.
At 16/1, now is the time to strike with Eric Bloodaxe.
Published at 1520GMT on 06/01/22
WATCH: Eric Bloodaxe wins that Limerick Novice Hurdle...
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