Cheltenham Placepot: Saturday December 15

Paul Nicholls trains the first of three bankers

Keith Melrose tries to crack the Placepot on the second day of the International Meeting.

12:10 - Far West dominates the market for this opening juvenile on account of his two impressive wins in Britain, the second of which came here at the Open Meeting. On balance, we're probably better off banking on him and saving lines rather than trying to get cute. Barring mishap, Far West will probably win, so we needn't worry too much even if there's a defection to leave us with four runners.

12:45 - This leg looks a much better opportunity to use some finesse. Realistically, we can whittle six down to three: Court In Motion, Our Father and Highland Lodge. Having watched the way they finished in the races here yesterday, Court In Motion can probably be discarded as he barely gets three miles at the best of times, let alone this near quarter-mile further on testing ground. Our Father's position as favourite is justifiable on form, though he's lightly raced for a reason and went the wrong way for a taking reappearance last season, so he's not exactly strong banker material. That leaves Highland Lodge, who stays well, has a couple of runs behind him this winter and has looked an assured jumper of fences thus far. It's a move that could well make or break our perm, but he's the suggested banker.

13:20 - On a strict (if more than a little fanciful) line through Tingle Creek runner-up Kumbeshwar Oiseau de Nuit could be well in even from a career-high mark, but the real point to make is that he's clearly bang in form and has a good course record, so he's guaranteed a spot. The relatively consistent Oh Crick has, like Oiseau de Nuit, won a Grand Annual in his time, while his consistency, backed up by a near career-best run at Newbury last time, is enough to warrant his inclusion.

13:55 - Based on his pedigree (half-brother to Carruthers) and the manner in which he stormed clear at this track last time, you could scarcely have picked a better race for Coneygree, who looks likely to maintain his unbeaten start over hurdles in a race that lacks for much depth.

14:30 - We'll probably need three to be confident in the December Gold Cup, especially with it looking such an open renewal. Walkon is probably a bit short for win purposes, but ran a fine race under very similar conditions in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and is a reasonable bet for the places. Notus de La Tour is second in, as a sound jumper in the main who simply got it wrong when coming down at the third in March's Festival Plate. He looks on a decent mark and, given connections, will probably be fit even though this represents his first start since the spring. We're also going to give Michael Flips one more chance, as he's often shaped as though this mark isn't beyond him, while this looks more his trip than two miles these days.

15:05 - Although this is undoubtedly a fascinating renewal of the International Hurdle, it's unlikely to boost our Placepot windfall by much should we get this far, as what's ostensibly a seven-runner race is really a three-way go between Grandouet, Rock On Ruby and Zarkandar. Grandouet could well prove a match for the other two, but the fact he missed the tail end of last season with an injury and is making his first start since tempers enthusiasm from a Placepot standpoint, so taking both Rock On Ruby and Zarkandar will surely see us home, and possibly doubling up. 

Selections:
12:10 - 1
12:45 - 2
13:20 - 1, 3
13:55 - 2
14:30 - 4, 9, 10
15:05 - 2, 3
= 12 lines