Cheltenham Festival update: Spotlight on Corbetts Cross

What’s the latest development?

The much-talked-about Corbetts Cross made his seasonal and chasing debut at Naas on Sunday and ultimately finished third to the Willie Mullins-trained Grangeclare West in the Mongey Communications Beginners Chase.

Corbetts Cross, a three-mile point-to-point winner for Eugene O’Sullivan, only started to make a name for himself under Rules when switched to Emmett Mullins last winter and interest-levels went up another notch after he was bought privately by JP McManus following a narrow success in a Grade 2 novice hurdle (also at Naas) in February.

He was sent off the 9/4 favourite on his first run in the green and gold silks in the Albert Barlett Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham the following month and was only a fraction behind eventual winner Stay Away Fay when dramatically running-out at the final flight of hurdles.

Having been narrowly headed by Stay Away Fay, who stayed on tenaciously to win by a length, it’s hard to be sure if Corbetts Cross would have won the Festival three-miler, but he’d have been in the first four had he kept a true line, and the form is looking pretty strong with the winner, second (Affordale Fury), third (Sandor Clegane), and fourth (Letsbeclearaboutit) all going on to win more races subsequently.

Three of those have already scored over fences, so Corbetts Cross going off 11/10 favourite wasn’t a shock despite dropping half a mile in trip on his first outing of the new campaign.

However, Sunday’s race (replay below) was a little unsatisfactory to say the least. Not for the first time this weekend, the low sun frustratingly resulted in the removal of obstacles – in this instance the final two fences in the home straight were omitted (both were meant to be jumped twice) so the field only had to clear nine fences in total instead of the advertised 13 in the two and a half-mile race.

Those who took the short prices about Corbetts Cross must have felt they were in trouble right from the start, the market leader far from fluent at the first, before ballooning the second (first ditch) where he also went noticeably to his left.

He repeated the trick with a skewed leap at the third fence and by the time they eventually left the ground at the fourth (having bypassed the next two), Corbetts Cross appeared to be keen and a little lit up in the hands of jockey Mark Walsh.

The jumping improved from that point, in fairness, but he was nowhere near as smooth or professional as the all-the-way winner Grangeclare West and he was back in fourth when they took the last and began the extended run for home.

Victory never really looked likely for Corbetts Cross as Paul Townend poured it on up front, but this effort smacked of rustiness more than anything and he understandably wasn’t punished in the saddle when appearing to get tired in the final furlong or so.

Beaten just under 10 lengths, and 19 lengths clear of the fourth, there were positives to take from the performance.

What are the long-term options?

When it comes to the Cheltenham Festival next spring – and when doesn’t it when McManus is involved? – then Corbetts Cross has three potential targets by the looks of things at this stage.

The most obvious one on the face of it would be the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, run over three miles and half a furlong on the Old Course (second race on the Wednesday).

If connections felt he had the pace for shorter then the Turners Novices’ Chase, over two and a half miles on the more galloping New Course (first event on St Patrick’s Thursday) could come into it, while there is also the option of a switch back to the smaller obstacles and the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, a division plenty of people could be eyeing up with similar horses if the transition to fences hasn’t gone according to plan by the New Year.

What do the markets say?

• Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase – 20/1 generally from 10/1 in places
• Turners Novices’ Chase – 16/1 from 10/1
• Stayers’ Hurdle – 25/1 generally (unchanged)

What’s the current conclusion?

The road to the Cheltenham Festival is a long and winding one and while admitting there are various ways to tackle the antepost markets throughout the cold winter months, including the blindingly obvious idea that they can often be best left well alone, I'll be trying to focus this column around horses who have been eased out in the betting rather than cut across the boards after impressive victories.

I'm far more interested in why a horse may not yet be showing their true potential, than looking to follow the herd, and feel Corbetts Cross is a prime ideal example to get the ball rolling.

Here is a high-profile horse representing an owner-trainer combination who are more than happy to lose the battle if it means they may have a better chance of winning the war further down the line, and the fact that Corbetts Cross doubled in price for what is likely to remain his number one long-term objective (Brown Advisory) following a creditable defeat strikes me as quite surprising.

Granted, he'll have to improve his jumping technique but Sunday's effort was his first time over fences in public don't forget, and he was evidently warming to the task before the race turned into a relative sprint for him due to the omitted obstacles in the straight.

Combine that with the fact it was a race over a trip short of his optimum and I reckon we should still be thinking positively about Corbetts Cross as a legitimate contender for the top (staying) prizes next spring.

Honourable mentions...

Il Est Francais

Brown Advisory Novices' Chase - 16/1 (General)

Along with Naas winner Grangeclare West, who is into 10/1 in places and still 20s with the odd firm, the other major positive mover in the Brown Advisory market this Sunday was the fascinating Il Est Francais, who has been talked up by Tom and Noel George for some time now and really looks to be coming into his own as a novice chaser. Trained by the latter, along with joint licence-holder Amanda Zetterholm, they were promising last year the horse would be seen in England before long and Sunday’s odds-on success at Auteuil seemed to rubber-stamp his ticket for the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

That’s hugely exciting given the fact Britain’s leading staying novices tend to go for that Grade 1 prize and Paul Nicholls already has the race in mind for Saturday’s G2 Wincanton winner Knappers Hill, and that’s before he’s unleashed last year’s top-class novice hurdler Hermes Allen, who was also mentioned in dispatches following the ‘Rising Stars’ on Saturday.

Il Est Francais was cut to 16/1 generally (from 25/1) for the Brown Advisory and, if Cheltenham is definitely going to be the plan for this horse heading into the spring, it’s probably not a bad price to have in the satchel prior to next month’s clash over Christmas.

Sir Gerhard

Stayers' Hurdle - 20/1 (General)

Sir Gerhard isn’t a two-mile chaser. I’m far from convinced he’s a proper chaser at all, in truth, and it wasn’t a huge surprise to see his odds for the Stayers’ Hurdle being nibbled after a heavy-looking fall two from home in the Barberstown Castle Chase, won by Mullins stablemate Dinoblue.

Connections will presumably give him plenty of time to recover from this mishap (was still travelling quite well and in a challenging position), but it’s hoped he’s none the worse physically and a return to the smaller obstacles over the Christmas period would appear to make some sense, for all that backing the 2022 Ballymore winner antepost for the Festival makes precious little appeal, even in a seriously patchy division.

Dinoblue, runner-up in last season’s Grand Annual, was picking up where she left off following spring victories at Fairyhouse and Punchestown, and saw her long-range odds trimmed a point to 5/1 for the Paddy Power Mares’ Chase.

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