Monbeg Genius is a smart chaser

The Charlie Hall Chase survived the morning inspection and goes ahead at Wetherby.

That is a small field race with little value so instead we head to Ascot for the Sodexo Live! Gold Cup handicap chase.

It’s hard to get away from Monbeg Genius who is a young chaser on the up. He ran a cracker in the Ultima handicap chase at the Cheltenham Festival when run down after the final fence by winner Corach Rambler and runner up Fastorslow. Corach Rambler went on to win the Aintree Grand National while Fastorslow won the Punchestown Gold Cup. Monbeg Genius has won three of his five chasing starts and will love the testing ground at Ascot.

Ascot 3:45

1 point each way Monbeg Genius 5/1 Ladbrokes & Coral else 9/2 generally, 4 places.

Past Results

Click to see past Big Saturday Race Preview Tips results

 

Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park, near CheltenhamGloucestershire, England, hosts National Hunt horse racing. Racing at Cheltenham took place in 1815, but comprised only minor flat races on Nottingham Hill. The first racing on Cleeve Hill was on Tuesday 25 August 1818 when the opening race was won by Miss Tidmarsh, owned by Mr E Jones.

The course's most prestigious meeting is the Cheltenham Festival, held in March, which features several Grade I races including the Cheltenham Gold CupChampion HurdleQueen Mother Champion ChaseRyanair Chase and the Stayers' Hurdle.

The racecourse has a scenic location in a natural amphitheatre, just below the escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at Cleeve Hill, with a capacity of 67,500 spectators. Cheltenham Racecourse railway station no longer connects to the national rail network, but is the southern terminus of the preserved Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.

The Showcase Meeting in October starts off a new season of racing at Cheltenham racecourse.

Epic Jumps Season At William Hill Handicap Chase (GBB Race) (Class 2)

The Sodexo Live! Gold Cup is a Premier Handicap National Hunt race in Great Britain. It is a handicap steeplechase and is run at Ascot in late October or early November, over a distance of about 3 miles (2 miles, 7 furlongs and 180 yards, or 4,791 metres).

The race was first run as the United House Gold Cup on 28 October 2006 as a Class 2 race. It was worth £100,000 and was run over three miles. In 2009 the race was upgraded to Listed class and was further upgraded to Grade 3 in 2011. Sodexo sponsored the race from 2015 to 2020 and Bateaux London have been the sponsors since 2021.

Winners over past 10 years

Year Winner Age Weight Jockey Trainer
2006 See You Sometime 11 10-08 Wayne Kavanagh Seamus Mullins
2007 Harris Bay 8 10-07 Timmy Murphy Henrietta Knight
2008 Roll Along 8 11-01 Barry Geraghty Carl Llewellyn
2009 The Last Derby 5 10-03 Liam Treadwell Eoin Griffin
2010 Massini's Maguire 9 11-03 Tom Scudamore David Pipe
2011 Exmoor Ranger 9 10-10 Andrew Glassonbury Victor Dartnall
2012 Roberto Goldback 10 10-10 Barry Geraghty Nicky Henderson
2013 Houblon Des Obeaux 6 11-03 Aidan Coleman Venetia Williams
2014 What A Warrior 7 10-06 Harry Skelton Dan Skelton
2015 Pendra 7 10-07 Barry Geraghty Charlie Longsdon
2016 Antony 6 10-01 Jamie Moore Gary Moore
2017 Go Conquer 8 11-00 Aidan Coleman Jonjo O'Neill
2018 Traffic Fluide 8 11-12 Josh Moore Gary Moore
2019 Vinndication 6 11-00 David Bass Kim Bailey
2020 Regal Encore 12 10-10 Richie McLernon Anthony Honeyball
2021 Larry 8 10-00 Jamie Moore Gary Moore
2022 Our Power 7 11-02 Charlie Deutsch Sam Thomas

Best of Luck,

Nicky