Haldon Gold Cup Preview: Stick with the old Garde

The Melbourne Cup (see runner-by-runner guide here) – ‘the race that stops a nation’ – will have early alarm calls ringing out across Britain, however the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter (2.20pm GMT) is the perfect non-alcoholic afternoon livener for when those eyelids start to droop.

Cue Card topped the ratings in the race between 2012 and 2014, winning in 2012, but Colin Tizzard’s charge has used the Charlie Hall at Wetherby as his seasonal reappearance since. Last year’s winner Vibrato Valtat went to Aintree for the Old Roan this time around, and, as a result, this year’s renewal looks ‘competitive’. That’s often a euphemism for substandard, and it could be here, with this year’s top-rated Garde la Victoire the lowest since 2011, and 2007 before that.

Perhaps crucially, however, there are horses with a ‘+’ and a ‘p’ attached to their ratings amongst the entries, which means that being too dogmatic about the seemingly lower quality of this year’s renewal could come back to haunt in the coming months and years.

One such horse is the aforementioned Garde la Victoire (c176+) who fell in both the JLT at Cheltenham and Manifesto Novices’ Chase at Aintree last season, but won the Welsh Champion Hurdle (Limited Handicap) at Ffos Las on his seasonal reappearance in October. That was a smart performance, giving the Dai Walters-owned runner-up Welsh Shadow 8 lb, and this race was nominated as the target soon afterwards.

Philip Hobbs won this race in 2005 with Monkerhostin and in 2009 with Planet of Sound, but, along with Garde la Victoire’s owner Diana Whateley, Hobbs hasn’t enjoyed much luck since (Captain Chris unseated in 2011, Menorah a well-beaten third in 2012) - he will be keen to set the record straight.

While Garde la Victoire’s Cheltenham Festival memories (18^th in Supreme Novices in 2014 before last year’s fall) may not be happy ones, the opposite applies to Paul Nicholls’ Dodging Bullets who won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2015. That was a below-par year for the division (Dodging Bullets’ winning rating would have seen him finish fourth at best in the most recent renewal) but he still deserves respect for that achievement, for all that he didn’t get near that figure in three runs last season, a never-threatening third in the Celebration Chase at Sandown the best of the bunch.

Dan Skelton’s Pain Au Chocolat (172p) is potentially the sole front runner in the line-up and, as a result, could have things his own way. A progressive novice chaser last term, winning at Haydock and Newcastle, Pain Au Chocolat is worth forgiving his disappointing effort over hurdles in France in May and the five-year-old looks a horse to keep on the right side of this term.

Sir Valentino represents a yard in good form (Tom George) and he charge impressed when winning at Market Rasen in May, but he hasn’t reproduced that level of form in two starts since. Presenting Arms has been placed in five of his last six starts (would likely have been six but for being carried out at Uttoxeter) but may be harder to place now his novice status has expired.

Of the others, Dresden turned in an unusually lacklustre display on his reappearance at Chepstow, a comment that also applies to Ultragold, though he remains capable of outrunning his current odds of 12/1 having run well twice at the course previously. The field is completed by Purple N’ Gold who has been up and down in trip like a yoyo since winning at Haydock in May; he has the most to find on ratings.

Recommended bet:

Back Garde la Victoire at 11/4 to win the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter on Tuesday

The Haldon Gold Cup is our FREE race of the day on Tuesday. Click here to view full form and race hints.