The Off The Fence panel look again in any respect the motion from throughout the 4 days of the Cheltenham Pageant and have two horses to place of their tracker.
Tony Keenan urged a 105-1 treble for the 2025 Cheltenham Pageant which includes three stars from this 12 months.
“The only thing that interested me was the Champion Hurdle, Willie Mullins has got three horses there around the 4-1 to 8-1 bracket; Ballyburn, Lossiemouth and State Man. There’s very little chance they’re all going to turn up for a Champion Hurdle but it would be brilliant if they did.
“You can however do somewhat of a related treble with State Man going for the Champion Hurdle again, Lossiemouth going to the Mares’ which to me would be very possible. She might just decide to go to the Mares’ again or more likely she will run against State Man at Punchestown in one of those Grade 1 races and get beaten, and Ballyburn going over fences.
“If you happen to had been to place these right into a treble – State Man to the Champion Hurdle, Lossiemouth to the Mares’ and Ballyburn to the Arkle – it really works out to 105-1.
“And if Ballyburn heads to the Turners it’s about 79-1. You’d need an awful lot to go right but betting on splitting up Willie Mullins’ best horses hasn’t been the worst policy over the years.”
Two for the tracker
Barry Geraghty has his eye on one from Martin Pipe. This horse positioned regardless of not fully dealing with the journey.
“I thought Answer To Kayf stayed on well and Waterford Whispers pulling away from the turn-in, he got out-paced.
“He completed strongly. I would think about a step up in journey is on the playing cards there, perhaps a three-mile handicap at Punchestown could be of curiosity to him.”
From the penultimate day of the Pageant, one from the Turners Novices’ Chase caught Keenan’s eye. He completed a decent fifth.
Keenan stated: “Iroko – I think the way that race was run was the last thing he wanted as he returned from a setback. He was a horse mainly ruled out for the season after his win in Warwick and in this race from the start, there was no hiding place or warm-up at all.
“Gray Dawning and Ginny’s Future went at it and that ought to’ve came upon any health or conditioning weak point, however he hung in very properly with them.
“I would say this trip was on the sharp side with him. He won the Martin Pipe last year which suggests he’s more of a three-miler. I wouldn’t mind seeing him now to go onto the three-mile race at Aintree or something like that.
“I might see him bettering once more on that offering he will get a good run between every now and then.”
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