Racecards
15:35 Leicester
Weatherbys Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide Novices' Chase (Class 4)
- 5 Runners
- Distance: 2m
- Going: Good, Good to Soft in places
- Surface: Turf
- £5,000 added
- Winner: £3,249
- 2nd: £954
- 3rd: £477
- 4th: £238
- Form 4-11P14
- Age 8
- Weight 10-12
- Official Rating 107
- Trainer T Symonds
- Jockey Felix de Giles
led until 7th, 4th and weakening when mistake 4 out, tailed off
- Form U222F2
- Age 6
- Weight 10-12
- Official Rating 120
- Trainer A J Honeyball
- Jockey Rachael Green
held up in touch in 4th, hit 5th, stumbled and rider lost iron briefly, hit next 3 fences, went 3rd 4 out, no impression and well held by front pair
- Form P-03116
- Age 6
- Weight 10-12
- Official Rating 120
- Trainer Miss V Williams
- Jockey S Thomas
prominent, not fluent 8th, challenged 4 out, led next, clear last, stayed on well
- Form 24-1428
- Age 7
- Weight 10-12
- Official Rating 117
- Trainer J M Jefferson
- Jockey D F O'Regan
held up in 5th, mistake 1st, hit 5th, no impression and well held from 4 out, mistake 3 out, went 4th before next
- Form 3222/P3
- Age 9
- Weight 10-12
- Official Rating 114
prominent, led 7th, not fluent and headed 3 out, no impression last
- Form 53-146F
- Age 8
- Weight 10-12
- Official Rating 115
- Trainer Evan Williams
- Jockey Paul Moloney
Nonrunner
In depth
Verdict
Niceonefrankie won at Hereford and Plumpton before finding a combination of testing ground and a new handicap mark too much when favourite at Lingfield. He's been raised a further 6lb since and is worth taking on with HES OUR LAD. Anthony Honeyball's six-year-old certainly deserves a change of luck having only one found one too good in five of his last seven starts and he should reverse last month's Taunton running with Alpha Way on 16lb better terms. Quite The Man may appreciate the drop back to 2m and makes most appeal of the remaining trio.
Formwatch
Alpha Way (GER) 85-40 (10-6) Raced freely, led, clear 2nd until 5th, mistake and headed next, 3rd and beaten 3 out, weakened next, last of 4, 28l behind Scoter Fontaine (10-12) at Hereford 2m nov hcp chs (3) sft in Jan.
Hes Our Lad (IRE) 9-4fav (11-6) Held up in rear, headway 7th, in touch next, went 2nd 2 out, ridden and stayed on under pressure flat, not reached winner, 2nd of 6, 1 1/2l behind Alpha Way (10-9) at Taunton 2m nov hcp chs 0-120 (4) gs in Jan.
Niceonefrankie 2-1fav (12-2) Held up in 5th, closer order to 4th before 6th, not fluent and ridden 7th, mistake next, pushed along after 4 out, never on terms and weakened before next, last of 6, 34l behind Overnight Fame (10-12) at Lingfield 2m 4f hcp ch 0-110 (4) sft in Jan.
Quite The Man (IRE) 8-1 (10-12) Held up in rear and keen, mistake and weakened from 10th, 8th of 12, 20l behind Quicuyo (11-10) at Doncaster 2m 3f hcp chs 0-140 (3) gs in Dec.
Unforgettable (IRE) 9-1 (10-12) Led until mistake 2nd, led next, headed 2 out, still every chance last, one pace flat, 3rd of 4, 6l behind Wester Ross (11-5) at Leicester 2m nov chs (4) gd in Jan.
Five Out Of Five (IRE) 9-2 (11-7) Led until after 6th, disputing 3rd when fell 3 out, in a race won by Erdeli (11-5) at Stratford 2m 3f cnd/am sll hdl (5) gd in Oct, 7 ran.