The Cheltenham Festival hype horses start coming out the woodwork around New Year and the number one secret no more is Lulamba trained by Nicky Henderson for the Donnelly family. This 4yo gelding is a French recruit who was bought after winning his only start over hurdlers at Auteuil. His jumping wasn’t fluent but he quicked clear after the last to win by five lengths. The British debut was delayed after the abandonment of Kempton but the gelding is due to run on Saturday on the Clarence House Chase card at Ascot. Antepost supporters will be watching in anticipation as the price will dramatically shorten for Cheltenham if he wins.
The next horse we will look at is East India Dock trained by James Owen for the Gredley Family. This four year old is a flat recruit from the James Fanshawe yard, who won first time out at Wincanton before taking the step up to Grade 2 in his stride with an impressive win at the November meeting at Cheltenham. You couldn’t help being taken by that performance after travelling strongly before leading two out, going further clear up the hill to win by 18 lengths. He has an entry at the Dublin festival at Leopardstown in the Grade 1 Juvenile hurdle so the trainer has this horse in very high regard.
Hello Neighbour is up towards the top end of the market, this 4yo gelding trained by Gavin Cromwell had two wins out two on the flat before going straight into a Grade 2 3yo hurdle and winning that by a short head. He also has an entry for the Grade 1 Juvenile at the Dublin Festival so we will have the market shuffled marketbly well before March time.
Saint Lucie is Willie Mullins main challenger according to the current market. This 4yo filly is another French recruit, but she didn’t manage to win her only outing at Auteuil in April. She had her debut for the Irish legend on New Years Eve and won convincingly by 11 lengths at Punchestown. The Ricci family love to be represented in the big races and her only Cheltenham entry is in the Triumph Hurdle.
Current betting for this race:
US Gambling Sites: Lulamba 9/2, East India Dock 5/1, Hello Neighbour 11/2, Saint Lucie 8/1, Lady Vega Allen 10/1 and 16/1 bar.
Betting Sites That Accept Credit Cards: Lulamba 4/1, East India Dock 11/2, Hello Neighbour 6/1, Saint Lucie 9/1, Lady Vega Allen 12/1 and 16/1 bar.
No ID Verification Gambling Sites: Lulamba 4/1, East India Dock 9/2, Hello Neighbour 7/1, Saint Lucie 10/1, Lady Vega Allen 12/1 and 18/1 bar.
Non UKGC Casinos: Lulamba 4/1, East India Dock 5/1, Hello Neighbour 7/1, Saint Lucie 10/1, Lady Vega Allen 10/1 and 14/1 bar.
Good luck with your selections for this cracking race and please remember to gamble responsibly.
