Cheltenham Festival Day 1 Analysis: Trends & Pedigree

Analysing 5 races from day 1 of the 2016 Festival from an alternative viewpoint

Guide by Narrowing The Field www.narrowing-the-field.co.uk

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 15th March – 1.30 Cheltenham

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle: Winners Trends Analysis

This section compiles the important trends of the past 15 winners of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle so that we can apply them to this year’s entries.

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Trends

1 14/15 had at least 2 previous hurdle wins

2 13/15 had either won a bumper or had previously run on the flat

3 13/15 were either making their track debut or had previously won at the track

4 13/15 recorded a top 3 finish on their hurdling debut

5 13/15 recorded a top 3 finish on their NH debut

6 13/15 won last time out (last NH start)

7 13/15 ran at a Grade 1 track last time out

8 13/15 recorded an RPR of at least 140 on 1 of their last 3 starts

9 13/15 were aged 5 or 6

10 12/15 ran within past 45 days

11 12/15 had between 2 & 4 previous hurdle runs

12 12/15 were (IRE) OR (GB) bred

13 12/15 ran to an RPR of at least 137 Last Time Out

14 11/15 made their hurdle debut at a Grade 1 track

15 11/15 had a 100% W-P hurdle S/R 2016 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Entries: Trends Applied

This section applies the important trends of the past 15 winners of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle to this year’s entrants.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Tot Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y 14/15 CHARBEL Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y 13/15 BELLSHILL Y Y N Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N 12/15 BUVEUR D'AIR Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y N Y N Y Y Y 12/15 TOMBSTONE N Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y 12/15 MISTER MIYAGI Y Y Y Y Y Y N N N N Y Y N Y Y 10/15 NORTH HILL HARVEY N N Y Y Y N N Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y 10/15 SUPASUNDAE N Y N Y Y Y Y N Y N Y Y N Y Y 10/15 WILLIAM H BONNEY Y N Y Y Y Y N N Y Y Y Y N N Y 10/15 HOLLY BUSH HENRY Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y N N Y Y N N 9/15 MIN Y N Y N N Y Y Y Y N Y N Y Y N 9/15 PENGLAI PAVILION Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y N Y N N N N 9/15 PETIT MOUCHOIR N Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y N N N N 9/15 SILVER CONCORDE N Y Y Y Y N Y N N N Y Y N Y N 8/15

Trend Follower(s) – ALTIOR

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle: Winners Pedigree Analysis

This section compiles the *Dosage trends of the past 15 winners of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and applies them to this year’s entries.

*Dosage is a powerful statistical analysis tool that is used to dissect a horse’s pedigree.

DP 14/15 had 8 points or more in their DP

12/15 had 14 points or more in their DP

DI 12/14 had a DI of 1.50 or below

11/14 had a DI of 1.13 or below

CD 12/14 had a CD of 0.34 or below

10/14 had a CD of 0.10 or below

DPA (7/15) - DQ - 3 / 20+ - 4 / PATB - 0 2016 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Entries: Dosage Applied

Here the runners are split in 4 groups based on their Dosage strength for the race –

Snug Fit

HOLLY BUSH HENRY 3-0-19-4-0 20+ 26 0.93 0.08 TOMBSTONE 1-1-8-2-0 / 12 1.00 0.08 NORTH HILL HARVEY 2-0-16-4-0 20+ 22 0.83 0.00 PENGLAI PAVILION 3-2-15-8-0 20+ 28 0.81 0.00 ALTIOR 2-3-8-6-1 DQ 20 0.82 -0.05 CHARBEL 4-2-17-5-4 DQ 32 0.83 -0.09 WILLIAM H BONNEY 3-0-4-5-2 / 14 0.56 -0.21 MIN 1-0-11-6-0 / 18 0.57 -0.22 MISTER MIYAGI 1-0-5-0-2 / 8 0.78 -0.25

Can’t be discounted

SUPASUNDAE 5-2-15-4-0 20+ 26 1.26 0.31 BELLSHILL 4-0-10-4-0 / 18 1.00 0.22

Not ideal

PETIT MOUCHOIR 0-1-3-0-0 / 4 1.67 0.25

Wide of the mark

BUVEUR D AIR 3-4-7-2-0 / 16 1.91 0.50 SILVER CONCORDE 1-6-6-1-0 / 14 2.50 0.50

2016 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle: Pace analysis

Here we take a look at the race from a Pace angle –

Horse RS Running Style ALTIOR CP/HU CP/HU BELLSHILL CP/FR CP/FR BUVEUR D AIR HU/CP HU/CP CHARBEL CP CP HOLLY BUSH HENRY HU/CP HU/CP MIN CP CP MISTER MIYAGI HU HU NORTH HILL HARVEY HU/CP HU/CP PENGLAI PAVILION CP CP PETIT MOUCHOIR HU/CP HU/CP SILVER CONCORDE CP/HU CP/HU SUPASUNDAE CP/HU CP/HU TOMBSTONE HU/CP HU/CP WILLIAM H BONNEY HU/CP HU/CP

HU CP FR ALTIOR BELLSHILL BUVEUR D AIR MISTER MIYAGI CHARBEL HOLLY BUSH HENRY NORTH HILL HARVEY MIN PETIT MOUCHOIR PENGLAI PAVILION SILVER CONCORDE SUPASUNDAE TOMBSTONE WILLIAM H BONNEY

This may be up to BELLSHILL to pull the field along although it would also be no surprise to see MIN be right in the firing line as well.

Here is the how the past 15 winners of the race have run in the race –

Running Style fr-3 / cp-6 / hu-6 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Trial Summary

Dosage & Trends COMBINED shortlist (Total possible score 16)

ALTIOR -15/16

CHARBEL – 14/16

TOMBSTONE – 13/16

BELLSHILL -12/16

BUVEUR D’AIR – 12/16

Conclusion/Selection(s)

ALTIOR (N Henderson) – The course and distance winner has done precious little wrong over hurdle to date and there is a real chance that this larger field will bring about even more improvement from him. He’ll be right at home on the drying ground, De Boinville gets on fantastically with him (5/5), the form of his last race has worked out superbly and there is a real chance he could shake-up the hot fav Min.

TOMBSTONE (G Elliott) – I rate this horse highly and I think he’s been undone the last twice in Ireland by small field/tactical affairs. He’ll get cover in a true gallop here and that will suit him much better and he’ll be able to put his G1 form to good use in this contest.

Arkle Chase (Grade 1) 15th March – 2.10 Cheltenham

Arkle Chase: Winners Trends Analysis

This section compiles the important trends of the past 15 winners of the Arkle Chase so that we can apply them to this year’s entries.

Arkle Chase Trends

1 14/15 no more than 18 previous NH starts

2 14/15 were rated 142+ over hurdles

3 13/15 had a 75%+ W-P chase S/R

4 13/15 1st or 2nd last time out

5 13/15 had previously recorded a top 2 finish at G1 or G2 level

6 13/15 aged 5, 6 or 7

7 13/15 ran at a Grade 1 track last time out

8 13/15 had 3, 4 or 5 starts in current season

9 13/15 finished 1st or 2nd on their Chase debut

10 13/15 ran within past 66 days

11 12/15 finished in the top 2 on all chase starts to date

12 11/15 ran at Grade 1 or Grade 2 level last time out

13 11/15 had 3, 4 or 5 previous chase starts 2016 Arkle Chase Entries: Trends Applied

This section applies the important trends of the past 15 winners of the Arkle Chase to this year’s entrants.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Tot DOUVAN Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 13/13 VANITEUX Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 13/13 SIZING JOHN Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y 11/13 FOX NORTON Y Y N N Y Y N Y Y Y N Y Y 9/13 ASO Y N N N Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y 8/13 BALTIMORE ROCK Y N Y Y N Y Y N Y Y Y N N 8/13 THE GAME CHANGER N Y Y Y N Y Y N Y N Y N N 7/13

Trend Follower(s) – DOUVAN | VANITEUX

Arkle Chase: Winners Pedigree Analysis

This section compiles the *Dosage trends of the past 15 winners of the Arkle Chase and applies them to this year’s entries.

*Dosage is a powerful statistical analysis tool that is used to dissect a horse’s pedigree.

DP 14/15 had 8 points or more in their DP

DI 10/14 had a DI of 1.00 or above

0/14 had a DI above 2.33

CD 10/14 had a CD of 0.00 or above

9/14 had a CD of 0.21 or above

0/14 had a CD above 0.61

DPA (4/15) - DQ - 1 / 20+ - 2 / PATB - 1

2016 Arkle Chase: Dosage Applied

Here the runners are split in 4 groups based on their Dosage strength for the race –

Snug Fit

ASO 4-3-15-0-0 20+ 22 1.93 0.50 SIZING JOHN 3-0-6-1-0 / 10 1.50 0.50

Can’t be discounted

VANITEUX 1-0-6-1-0 / 8 1.00 0.13

Not ideal

BALTIMORE ROCK 1-6-6-1-0 / 14 2.50 0.50 THE GAME CHANGER 2-2-8-6-2 DQ 20 0.67 -0.20 DOUVAN 1-0-9-6-0 / 16 0.52 -0.25 FOX NORTON 2-1-3-0-0 / 6 3.00 0.83

Wide of the mark N/A

2016 Arkle Chase: Pace analysis

Here we take a look at the race from a Pace angle –

Horse RS Running Style ASO CP/FR CP/FR BALTIMORE ROCK HU HU DOUVAN FR/CP FR/CP FOX NORTON CP/FR CP/FR SIZING JOHN CP/FR CP/FR THE GAME CHANGER CP/HU CP/HU VANITEUX CP CP

HU CP FR BALTIMORE ROCK ASO DOUVAN FOX NORTON THE GAME CHANGER SIZING JOHN VANITEUX

DOUVAN will go from the front here but he’s unlikely to get a free shot at the lead as any of ASO, FOX NORTON or SIZING JOHN could well decide to try and pressure him on the front end.

Here is the how the past 15 winners of the race have run in the race –

Running Style fr-1 / cp-10 / hu-4 Arkle Chase Summary

Dosage & Trends COMBINED shortlist (Total possible score 14)…

DOUVAN – 13/14

VANITEUX – 13/14

SIZING JOHN – 12/14

Conclusion/Selection(s)

No Selection

I’ve no real desire to go against DOUVAN for the sake of it and it’s surely a case of him just jumping round to win. VANITEUX & SIZING JOHN are not that far off on the figures at all but it’s hard to get away from the fact that Vaniteux is 0/5 at the track (yet to jumps the fences admittedly) and Sizing John has been beaten out of sight the 4 times he has met Douvan. Hard to see anything but a win for Douvan here and I’m happy to sit it out.

Ultima Handicap Chase (Grade 3 Hcp) 15th March – 2.50 Cheltenham

Ultima Handicap Chase: Winners Trends Analysis

This section compiles the important trends of the past 15 winners of the Ultima Hcp Chase so that we can apply them to this year’s entries.

Ultima Handicap Chase Trends

1 15/15 were aged between 7 & 10

2 15/15 had an OR 146 or below

3 14/15 ran at a Grade 1 track last time out

4 14/15 had 26 or less previous NH starts

5 14/15 had 2 or less previous handicap chase victories

6 14/15 carried 11-03 or less to victory

7 13/15 had previously won at 3m+

8 13/15 had 15 or less previous chase starts

9 12/15 had previously recorded a top 4 finish at the track

10 12/15 had between 2 & 5 runs in current season

11 12/15 had recorded a top 2 finish at class 2 level or better

12 12/15 were (IRE) bred

13 12/15 had between 2 & 4 previous chase victories (all had at least 2 chase wins)

14 12/15 had a top 3 finish last time out 2016 Ultima Handicap Chase Entries: Trends Applied

This section applies the important trends of the past 15 winners of the Ultima Handicap Chase to this year’s entrants.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Tot INDIAN CASTLE Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N 13/14 MORNING ASSEMBLY Y N Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 12/14 BEG TO DIFFER N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y 12/14 AUDACIOUS PLAN Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N 12/14 ACCORDING TO TREV Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N 12/14 CAROLES DESTRIER Y N Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y 11/14 THEATRE GUIDE Y N Y Y Y N Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y 11/14 SPRING HEELED Y Y Y Y Y N Y N Y Y Y Y Y N 11/14 ALGERNON PAZHAM Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y N N 11/14 DOING FINE Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y N N 11/14 BAND OF BLOOD Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y N Y Y Y N Y 11/14 HOLYWELL Y N Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y N N 10/14 SOUTHFIELD THEATRE Y N Y Y Y N N Y Y Y Y Y Y N 10/14 UN TEMPS POUR TOUT Y N Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y N N 10/14 REGAL ENCORE Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y N Y Y N N 10/14 OUT SAM Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y N Y N N Y Y 10/14 SHANAHANS TURN Y N Y Y Y N N Y N Y Y Y Y N 9/14 THE YOUNG MASTER Y N Y Y N N Y Y Y Y Y N Y N 9/14 FOX APPEAL Y N Y N Y N Y N Y Y Y Y Y N 9/14 O MAONLAI Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y N Y N Y N N 9/14 BALLYKAN N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N N Y N 9/14 DOUBLE ROSS Y N Y N Y N N N Y Y Y Y Y N 8/14 KRUZHLININ Y N Y Y N N Y Y N N Y N N Y 7/14 KATENKO Y N Y N Y N Y N Y N Y N N N 6/14

Trend Follower(s) – INDIAN CASTLE

Ultima Handicap Chase: Winners Pedigree Analysis

This section compiles the *Dosage trends of the past 15 winners of the Ultima Handicap Chase and applies them to this year’s entries.

*Dosage is a powerful statistical analysis tool that is used to dissect a horse’s pedigree.

DP 13/15 had 8 points or more in their DP

DI 13/13 had a CD of 0.64 or above

12/13 had a CD of 0.74 or above

3/13 had a CD above 1.32

CD 12/13 had a CD of -0.15 or above

10/13 had a CD of 0.00 or above

1/13 had a CD above 0.64

DPA (6/15) - DQ - 2 / 20+ - 3 / PATB - 1

2016 Ultima Handicap Chase: Dosage Applied

Here the runners are split in 4 groups based on their Dosage strength for the race –

Snug Fit

ACCORDING TO TREV 5-1-6-4-0 / 16 1.29 0.44 THE YOUNG MASTER 3-0-9-2-0 / 14 1.15 0.29 SOUTHFIELD THEATRE 5-1-12-6-0 20+ 24 1.00 0.21 FOX APPEAL 3-1-8-4-0 / 16 1.00 0.19 INDIAN CASTLE 3-1-10-4-0 / 18 1.00 0.17 HOLYWELL 5-0-15-6-0 20+ 26 0.93 0.15 THEATRE GUIDE 4-0-6-6-0 / 16 0.78 0.13 UN TEMPS POUR TOUT 1-1-6-2-0 / 10 1.00 0.10 SPRING HEELED 2-1-7-4-0 / 14 0.87 0.07 CAROLES DESTRIER 3-0-12-5-0 20+ 20 0.82 0.05 KRUZHLININ 3-1-8-5-1 PATB 18 0.80 0.00

Can’t be discounted

BAND OF BLOOD 6-3-8-5-0 20+ 22 1.44 0.45 BEG TO DIFFER 4-2-7-2-1 PATB 16 1.46 0.38 MORNING ASSEMBLY 4-3-4-0-3 / 14 1.80 0.36 SHANAHANS TURN 1-3-7-1-0 / 12 1.67 0.33 REGAL ENCORE 4-0-15-5-2 20+ 26 0.79 -0.04 OUT SAM 2-2-13-3-2 DQ 22 0.91 -0.05

Not ideal

KATENKO 0-0-2-0-0 / 2 1.00 0.00 AUDACIOUS PLAN 2-0-6-6-0 / 14 0.56 -0.14 ALGERNON PAZHAM 3-1-7-4-3 PATB 18 0.71 -0.17

Wide of the mark

O MAONLAI 2-0-8-8-2 20+ 20 0.43 -0.40 BALLYKAN 2-1-1-6-2 PATB 12 0.41 -0.42 DOING FINE 1-2-1-4-4 PATB 12 0.41 -0.67 DOUBLE ROSS 0-0-0-4-12 / 16 0.00 -1.75

2016 Ultima Handicap Chase: Pace analysis

Here we take a look at the race from a Pace angle –

Horse RS Running Style SHANAHANS TURN CP CP HOLYWELL CP CP CAROLES DESTRIER HU/CP HU/CP SOUTHFIELD THEATRE FR/CP FR/CP THEATRE GUIDE CP/HU CP/HU MORNING ASSEMBLY CP/FR CP/FR DOUBLE ROSS CP/HU CP/HU THE YOUNG MASTER CP/FR CP/FR KRUZHLININ CP/HU CP/HU UN TEMPS POUR TOUT HU/CP HU/CP FOX APPEAL CP/HU CP/HU KATENKO HU/CP HU/CP SPRING HEELED HU/CP HU/CP BEG TO DIFFER CP CP REGAL ENCORE CP/HU CP/HU ALGERNON PAZHAM HU/CP HU/CP OUT SAM CP CP O MAONLAI HU/CP HU/CP BALLYKAN CP CP DOING FINE HU/CP HU/CP INDIAN CASTLE CP/HU CP/HU BAND OF BLOOD HU/CP HU/CP AUDACIOUS PLAN CP CP ACCORDING TO TREV CP/HU CP/HU

HU CP FR BAND OF BLOOD SHANAHANS TURN UN TEMPS POUR TOUT HOLYWELL CAROLES DESTRIER SOUTHFIELD THEATRE THEATRE GUIDE MORNING ASSEMBLY DOUBLE ROSS THE YOUNG MASTER KRUZHLININ FOX APPEAL KATENKO BEG TO DIFFER SPRING HEELED OUT SAM REGAL ENCORE ALGERNON PAZHAM O MAONLAI BALLYKAN DOING FINE AUDACIOUS PLAN INDIAN CASTLE ACCORDING TO TREV

SOUTHFIELD THEATRE, MORNING ASSEMBLY & THE YOUNG MASTER look the likeliest pace-setters in this. The vast majority of the others will be sitting and waiting to unleashes their challenges late in the day.

Here is the how the past 15 winners of the race have run in the race –

Running Style fr-0 / cp-5 / hu-10 Ultima Handicap Chase Summary

Dosage & Trends COMBINED shortlist (Total possible score 15)…

INDIAN CASTLE – 14/15

ACCORDING TO TREV – 13/15

THEATRE GUIDE – 12/15

SPRING HEELED – 12/15

CAROLES DESTRIER – 12/15

BEG TO DIFFER – 12/15

MORNING ASSEMBLY – 12/15

AUDACIOUS PLAN – 12/15

Conclusion/Selection(s)

INDIAN CASTLE (I Williams) – This 8yo ran a career best in this race last year off a 5lb higher mark and he would have finished plenty closer had he not been hampered on the run-in as well. He’s struggled a little on the deep winter ground so far this term but this better ground will suit and he does seem to enjoy the Cheltenham fences (17045), springtime (March-May form of 1742P1) and trips around the 3m0.5f – 3m1f mark (1414). Leighton Aspell gets the ride for the first time and he seems to ride these fences well from limited recent opportunities (2 wins, 1 place from 7 rides) and this one looks a player at lofty odds.

BEG TO DIFFER (JJ O’Neill) – Jonjo’s yard have been quite since the turn of the year (4/83) however this lad was one of the 4 that managed to win in that spell, and win impressively, and I’m pretty sure he’s still a fair bit ahead of his mark on OR 143. The horse has already jumped round these fences safely and although he’s yet to race on anything other than Soft or Heavy I don’t see him having any issue with the Good to Soft ground here. He’s progressive, runs well in the Feb/Mar period (111) and although I’m a little concerned by Aidan Coleman’s poor festival record I do want to have this horse on side at the prices.

SPRING HEELED (J Culloty) – He’s become a tad frustrating of late but this former festival winner is still relatively lightly raced for a 9yo and is on a handy mark based on his best form. Decent ground seems to be the key to him so this drying ground will be in his favour and I suspect Culloty has kept him fresh specifically for this target.

Champion Hurdle (Grade 1) 15th March – 3.30 Cheltenham

Champion Hurdle: Winners Trends Analysis

This section compiles the important trends of the past 15 winners of the Champion Hurdle so that we can apply them to this year’s entries.

Champion Hurdle Trends

1 15/15 ran at a Grade 1 track last time out

2 15/15 did NOT run in a handicap last time out

3 14/15 won 1 of their last 3 starts

4 14/15 had a 60%+ W-P Hurdle S/R

5 14/15 had previously finished in the top 4 at the track

6 13/15 had their last run between 19 & 52 days previous

7 13/15 had 4+ previous hurdle victories

8 13/15 no more than 28 TOTAL career starts

9 13/15 had previously won at Grade 1 level

10 13/15 ran at previous seasons Festival AND finished in the top 4

11 13/15 had no more than 20 previous hurdle starts

12 12/15 had 3 or 4 starts in current season

13 12/15 were aged 6, 7 or 8

14 12/15 had an OR of 159+

15 12/15 ran in a graded race last time out

16 12/15 were (IRE) or (GB) bred

17 11/15 won a Grade 1 or Grade 2 race in current season

18 11/15 won last time out (all finished in the top 4)

19 11/15 had previously run on the flat 2016 Champion Hurdle Entries: Trends Applied

This section applies the important trends of the past 15 winners of the Champion Hurdle to this year’s entrants.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Tot Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y 18/19 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N 17/19 CAMPING GROUND Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y Y Y Y Y N Y N Y 15/19 SEMPRE MEDICI Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y Y Y N Y N Y Y Y 15/19 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y N Y Y N Y N Y N 14/19 IDENTITY THIEF Y Y Y Y N N N Y Y N Y Y Y N Y Y Y N N 12/19 LIL ROCKERFELLER N Y Y Y Y N Y Y N N Y N N N Y N Y Y Y 11/19 Y N Y Y Y N Y Y Y N Y N N Y Y Y N N N 11/19 PEACE AND CO Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N N N N N N N 11/19 TOP NOTCH N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y N N N N N Y N 11/19 HARGAM Y Y N N Y N N Y N Y Y Y N N Y N N N Y 9/19 SIGN OF A VICTORY Y Y N N N N N Y N N Y Y Y N Y Y N N Y 9/19

Trend Follower(s) – NICHOLS CANYON

Champion Hurdle: Winners Pedigree Analysis

This section compiles the *Dosage trends of the past 15 winners of the Champion Hurdle and applies them to this year’s entries.

*Dosage is a powerful statistical analysis tool that is used to dissect a horse’s pedigree.

DP 14/15 had 12 points or more in their DP

13/15 had 14 points or more in their DP

DI 14/14 had a DI of 1.80 or below

12/14 had a DI of 1.67 or below

2/14 had a DI below 0.56

CD 14/14 had a CD of 0.63 or below

12/14 had a CD of 0.43 or below

2/14 had a CD below -0.22

DPA (9/15) - DQ - 2 / 20+ - 6 / PATB - 1

2016 Champion Hurdle: Dosage Applied

Here the runners are split in 4 groups based on their Dosage strength for the race –

Snug Fit

LIL ROCKERFELLER 4-4-14-2-0 20+ 24 1.67 0.42 HARGAM 4-3-6-5-0 / 18 1.25 0.33 THE NEW ONE 4-2-8-4-0 / 18 1.25 0.33 IDENTITY THIEF 3-1-10-4-0 / 18 1.00 0.17 TOP NOTCH 2-1-9-4-0 / 16 0.88 0.06 SIGN OF A VICTORY 2-0-16-4-0 20+ 22 0.83 0.00 ANNIE POWER 2-0-8-6-0 / 16 0.60 -0.13

Can’t be discounted

NICHOLS CANYON 1-0-14-10-1 20+ 26 0.44 -0.38 MY TENT OR YOURS 2-3-8-5-8 DQ 26 0.53 -0.54 SEMPRE MEDICI 8-1-10-3-0 20+ 22 1.75 0.64

Not ideal

PEACE AND CO 4-3-7-2-0 / 16 1.91 0.56 CAMPING GROUND 4-3-15-0-0 20+ 22 1.93 0.50

Wide of the mark N/A

2016 Champion Hurdle: Pace analysis

Here we take a look at the race from a Pace angle –

Horse RS Running Style CAMPING GROUND CP CP HARGAM HU/CP HU/CP IDENTITY THIEF FR/CP FR/CP LIL ROCKERFELLER CP CP MY TENT OR YOURS HU/CP HU/CP NICHOLS CANYON CP/FR CP/FR PEACE AND CO HU HU SEMPRE MEDICI CP/HU CP/HU SIGN OF A VICTORY HU HU THE NEW ONE CP CP TOP NOTCH CP CP ANNIE POWER FR/CP FR/CP

HU CP FR CAMPING GROUND HARGAM IDENTITY THIEF PEACE AND CO LIL ROCKERFELLER MY TENT OR YOURS NICHOLS CANYON SIGN OF A VICTORY SEMPRE MEDICI ANNIE POWER THE NEW ONE TOP NOTCH

Potential for there to be a decent pace on here IDENTITY THIEF, NICHOLS CANYON & ANNIE POWER all potentials to be on the front end.

Here is the how the past 15 winners of the race have run in the race –

Running Style fr-3 / cp-7 / hu-5 Champion Hurdle Summary

Dosage & Trends COMBINED shortlist (Total possible score 20)…

THE NEW ONE – 18/20

NICHOLS CANYON – 18/20

ANNIE POWER – 15/20

SEMPRE MEDICI – 15/20

CAMPING GROUND – 15/20

Conclusion/Selection(s)

NICHOLS CANYON (W Mullins) – There is no doubt this lad is a classy beast, six G1’s in the bank tell us that, and it’s easy enough to forgive his run last time out where he tried to go toe to toe with after himself having taken part in a gruelling contest over Xmas. He was beaten fav in the Neptune last term but he maybe just didn’t quite stay that 21f trip and he did miss out the second last just as he was starting to lay down a serious challenge. He’s a fast and fluent jumper when the ground isn’t overly testing and if Townend can just sit on the tails of the leaders he can kick on coming down the hill and use his 18f-20f stamina to beat the others off coming back up the hill.

THE NEW ONE (N Twiston-Davies) – It’s not the easiest task to come back and try and win the Champion Hurdle after previous ‘failed’ attempts but it can be done (Hors La Loi III, & in recent seasons) and I think it’s fair to say that this renewal probably isn’t quite up to the previous two renewals he has taken part in. He had a terrible preparation for the race last year but reports are that he’s been markedly straighter this time round and it would be no shock should he be bang there come the death.

Close Brothers Novices’ Hcp Chase (Listed) 15th March – 5.30 Cheltenham

Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase: Winners Trends Analysis

This section compiles the important trends of the past 11 winners of the Close Brothers Novices’ Chase so that we can apply them to this year’s entries.

Close Brothers Novices’ Chase Trends

1 11/11 yet to win at higher than Class 2 level

2 10/11 carried 11-07 or less

3 10/11 had between 3 & 6 chase starts

4 10/11 had 0-2 chase wins

5 10/11 no more than 17 NH starts

6 10/11 16-45 DSLR

7 10/11 wore no headgear (tt not included)

8 10/11 running from a higher OR than LTO

9 9/11 won 1 of last 3 starts

10 9/11 were aged 6 or 7

11 9/11 finished in top 2 last time out

12 9/11 had previously recorded a top 2 finish over 20f-21f 2016 Close Brothers Novices’ Chase Entries: Trends Applied

This section applies the important trends of the past 15 winners of the Close Brothers Novices’ Chase to this year’s entrants.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Tot FOURTH ACT Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y 11/12 FIVE IN A ROW Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y 11/12 DOUBLE SHUFFLE Y N Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y 10/12 DOMESDAY BOOK Y N Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y N Y 9/12 BRIDGETS PET Y Y N Y N Y Y Y Y N Y Y 9/12 ALOOMOMO Y N N N Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y 8/12 THOMAS BROWN Y N Y Y Y Y N N Y Y N Y 8/12 AMORE ALATO Y N Y Y Y Y Y N N Y N Y 8/12 JAVERT Y N Y Y Y N N Y Y Y Y N 8/12 RACING PULSE Y N Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y N N 8/12 WILLOWS SAVIOUR N N Y Y Y Y Y N Y N Y Y 8/12 REZORBI Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y N N N 8/12 KATGARY Y Y Y Y Y N N N Y Y N Y 8/12 MCKINLEY N N Y Y Y Y N N Y Y N Y 7/12 KILLALA QUAY N N N Y Y Y N Y Y N Y Y 7/12 ON TOUR Y N Y Y Y Y Y N Y N N N 7/12 TWELVE ROSES Y N Y Y Y Y N N N N Y Y 7/12 BALLYALTON Y N Y Y Y Y N N N N N Y 6/12 BOUVREUIL Y N Y Y Y Y N N Y N N N 6/12 JAYO TIME Y Y N N N Y N N N Y Y Y 6/12

Trend Follower(s) – FIVE IN A ROW | FOURTH ACT

Close Brothers Novices’ Chase: Winners Pedigree Analysis

This section compiles the *Dosage trends of the past 11 winners of the Close Brothers Novices’ Chase and applies them to this year’s entries.

*Dosage is a powerful statistical analysis tool that is used to dissect a horse’s pedigree.

DP 11/11 had 8 points or more in their DP

DI 9/11 had a DI of 1.18 or below

8/11 had a DI of 1.00 or below

CD 9/11 had a CD of 0.20 or below

8/11 had a CD of 0.00 or below

DPA (6/11) - DQ - 1 / 20+ - 3 / PATB - 2

2016 Close Brothers Novices’ Chase: Dosage Applied

Here the runners are split in 4 groups based on their Dosage strength for the race –

Snug Fit

KATGARY 2-1-7-6-0 / 16 0.68 -0.06 ON TOUR 3-1-8-7-1 DQ 20 0.67 -0.10 DOUBLE SHUFFLE 2-0-9-4-1 / 16 0.68 -0.13 AMORE ALATO 1-0-13-8-2 20+ 24 0.45 -0.42 FIVE IN A ROW 0-0-5-2-3 / 10 0.33 -0.80

Can’t be discounted

FOURTH ACT 4-0-6-6-0 / 16 0.78 0.13 JAYO TIME 5-1-13-5-2 DQ 26 0.93 0.08 BOUVREUIL 3-1-8-6-0 / 18 0.80 0.06 JAVERT 3-1-14-6-0 20+ 24 0.85 0.04 KILLALA QUAY 0-1-2-0-5 / 8 0.33 -1.13

Not ideal

REZORBI 2-3-10-1-2 PATB 18 1.25 0.11 RACING PULSE 2-4-8-4-0 / 18 1.25 0.22

Wide of the mark

TWELVE ROSES 2-0-3-1-0 / 6 1.40 0.50 DOMESDAY BOOK 7-2-7-0-0 / 16 3.57 1.00 THOMAS BROWN 7-3-7-0-1 / 18 3.00 0.83 WILLOWS SAVIOUR 4-1-6-1-0 / 12 2.00 0.67 BRIDGETS PET 6-0-16-0-0 20+ 22 1.75 0.55 BALLYALTON 4-2-6-4-0 / 16 1.29 0.38 MCKINLEY 7-3-14-6-0 20+ 30 1.31 0.37 ALOOMOMO 2-2-6-2-0 / 12 1.40 0.33

2016 Close Brothers Novices’ Chase: Pace analysis

Here we take a look at the race from a Pace angle –

Horse RS Running Style BALLYALTON CP CP ALOOMOMO CP/HU CP/HU BRIDGETS PET HU/CP HU/CP THOMAS BROWN CP CP DOMESDAY BOOK CP CP AMORE ALATO CP CP MCKINLEY CP/HU CP/HU JAVERT CP CP KILLALA QUAY FR FR RACING PULSE CP/HU CP/HU ON TOUR CP/HU CP/HU WILLOWS SAVIOUR CP/FR CP/FR TWELVE ROSES CP CP DOUBLE SHUFFLE CP CP BOUVREUIL HU HU JAYO TIME CP/HU CP/HU REZORBI HU HU KATGARY CP/FR CP/FR FOURTH ACT CP/HU CP/HU FIVE IN A ROW CP/FR CP/FR

HU CP FR BRIDGETS PET BALLYALTON ALOOMOMO KILLALA QUAY THOMAS BROWN DOMESDAY BOOK BOUVREUIL AMORE ALATO MCKINLEY JAVERT RACING PULSE WILLOWS SAVIOUR ON TOUR TWELVE ROSES REZORBI DOUBLE SHUFFLE KATGARY JAYO TIME FOURTH ACT FIVE IN A ROW

KILLALA QUAY should lead this field along from the front with the likes of WILLOWS SAVIOUR, KATGARY & FIVE IN A ROW all sitting close on his tail.

Here is the how the past 15 winners of the race have run in the race –

Running Style fr-1 / cp-3 / hu-7 Close Brothers Novices’ Chase Summary

Dosage & Trends COMBINED shortlist (Total possible score 13)…

FIVE IN A ROW – 12/13

DOUBLE SHUFFLE – 11/13

FOURTH ACT – 11/13

KATGARY – 9/13

AMORE ALATO – 9/13

DOMESDAY BOOK – 9/13

BRIDGETS PET – 9/13

Conclusion/Selection(s)

DOUBLE SHUFFLE (T George) – This one has been on my radar for spring handicaps since running 11L 4th to More Of That over C&D in November so I’m delighted he comes out top of the figures here. He also ran an eye-catching race over the Cheltenham fences on seasonal debut as well, just finding the race fit Art Mauresque too strong for him at the finish. He’s clearly been saved for this since opening his chase account at Ludlow in December and he looks to have an excellent chance in this with the drying ground sure to suit and improvement highly likely from OR 138.

FIVE IN A ROW (B Ellison) – This 8yo sneaks in at the foot of the weights and comes here in bouncing form having won his last two starts, recording career best figures both times. He has strong form over 2m3f-2m4f (21311), Danny Cook gets on well with him (121) and he handles large fields well (11510). He looks to have a good chance of outrunning his odds.

FOURTH ACT (C Tizzard) – I’m far from convinced these will prove to be the horse’s ideal conditions, however, he’s lightly enough raced for me to risk it and the 28-1 odds more than factor in my concerns. It maybe just took a while for the penny to fully drop for him and his win last time suggested he’s now getting the hang of things (a big career best) and he definitely rates as a progressive type. The booking of Tom Scu also catches the eye as he has a 35% strike-rate for the yard in the past two years from a book of only 23 rides.

Please undertake sensible betting practices at all times.

Visit www.gambleaware.co.uk to find out more about gambling.

Please note that past performance should not be taken as a guarantee of future performance.

www.narrowing-the-field.co.uk