Cheltenham tips: Fugitif fancied to retain December Gold Cup crown

Kate Tracey., Declan Rix and Sam Boswell return with their best bets ahead of a busy Saturday of racing at Cheltenham. Watch Weekend Winners in full on the At The Races YouTube channel...

Friday 13 December 2024 15:43, UK

The Weekend Winners team are back with a look ahead to a busy weekend of action at Prestbury Park.

In the opening part of the show, the team discuss their fancies for Saturday's feature race - the Nyetimber December Gold Cup Handicap Chase.

Madora and Stage Star sit towards the head of the market, with last year's winner Fugitif also in the mix alongside the likes of Ga Law, Grandeur d'Ame and Il Ridoto.

Host Kate Tracey...

"I've sided with Ga Law. I'm pretty certain I sided with him last time out when he ran second up against Il Ridoto. Ga Law is such a wonderful horse and he just edges the trends given horses who have won the Paddy Power don't have a fantastic record of backing it up in December - it's normally the horses in behind those winners that come to the fore.

"The only trend box he didn't tick was the rating, as he's going to have to win this off a very hefty mark (156). The ideal bandwidth in the last six years was 132-134 or 141-143, but the two anomalies have been lofty-rated types so I'm hoping he's going to be another one of those. He'll be ridden prominently and he seems ideal for this."

At The Races' Declan Rix...

"I'm with Il Ridoto. Hopefully he can go back-to-back with the two major handicaps at Cheltenham [having won ___ ]. It is going to be tougher for him, he is 8lb higher in the ratings and will carry 13lb more in terms of physical weight. He won idling the last day - the race was over after three out and he absolutely bolted up!

I thought it was a brilliant bit of training from Paul Nicholls to get him to win the Paddy Power and I'm hoping he can go on again in a slightly better race. Let's go, Il Ridoto!

BetVictor's Sam Boswell...

"Fugitif was an eye-catcher in the paddock before the Paddy Power, looks like he's stripped fitter from it - he's a big horse and is a really nice type. The only concern I would have is this drying ground, I wouldn't mind a shower or two hitting Cheltenham!

"His record second time out is pretty strong and I think he should be clear favourite. Sean Bowen is a massive positive taking the ride, there's a lot to like but I'd want the ground a little bit softer if he was to go shorter."

Watch Weekend Winners in full on the At The Races YouTube channel...