Jack Cantillon
I like a challenge me. I’m the one who tries to eat four crackers in a minute. I’m the one who thinks he can give Usain Bolt a run for his money. I’m the one who quite fancies his chances for the American Presidency despite the fact I was born in Newbridge, not New York. So this week I’ve set my self a tiny bit of a challenge. I’ve decided I’m going to turn the one euro coin I found down the back of the couch into one million by next Friday. “Impossible” I hear you say and to be honest you’re probably right, I’d be much better off hitting the euro saver menu in McDonalds and getting me some of that one-euro Hamburger goodness. But I’m a dreamer, always have been, always will be. I don’t know if Donald Trump had an 8-horse accumulator at Cheltenham in mind when he said, “If you’re going to be thinking, you may as well think big” but I’ve decided I’ve had enough of this recession, so here we go one euro to one million in 8 easy to follow steps. What could possibly go wrong?
Step 1: Hurricane Fly – €1 @ 11/2 (Ladbrokes)
Hurricane Fly is quite simply one of my bets of the meeting and he should hopefully have our one euro quickly rising to the princely sum of €6.50. In his 11 starts to date, Hurricane Fly has only been beaten twice. Injury has robbed him from a trip to Cheltenham the last two seasons but this year he finally gets a chance to right that wrong with victory in the Champion Hurdle. Make no mistake this will not be easy. Peddlers Cross is undeafted in all his starts; Menorah destroyed Cue Card last time by 8 lenghts and Bincolur returns the defending champion having done nothing wrong. What makes Hurricane Fly so special then? Quite simply, class. He oozes the stuff. On the flat he won a listed race defeating not one but two future Group 1 winners. Over jumps he has been even better, winning 4 Grade 1’s on the bounce since his return in April. Expect the Fly to come cursing into contention jumping the final flight and power up the Cheltenham hill to an almighty roar. I’ll be cheering, make sure you are.
Step 2: Garde Champetre – €6.50 @ 5/1 (William Hill)
Fresh from our 1st victory it’s time to reinvest our €6.50 on a personal favorite of mine, Garde Champetre. He has won the Cross-Country chase twice before and this time he looks like going off the biggest price he has to date. His trainer has won the race 4 of the 6 times it’s been the race has been run so all the signs point to a huge run. His my rival, stable mate L’Ami has run nine times around Cheltenham without recording a single victory so the money has to be on Garde Champetre and Nina to record another mesmeric victory and have our winnings rocketing to €39.
Step 3: Quevega – €39 @ Evens (Coral)
€39 euro in the back pocket things are looking up from earlier in the day when you found that discarded euro and it’s time to roll in for the last time on day on super mare, Quevega. She is in a different league to the opposition in this one and the only thing that can stop her is her 12-month layoff. I’ve confidence in Willie Mullins to have her tuned up to the minute however and we should be ending day one on a high after turning our one-euro into 78 big ones.
Step 4: Plan A – €78 @ 8/1 (Paddy Power)
Gordon Elliot is as shrewd as they come and he has mapped out the Fred Winter for Plan A months in advance. After a good victory in Gowran Park he has been put away to protect his mark and expect Gordon to have left plenty more in the tank to work on. This could be of the real improvers of the festival and the 8/1 available looks a bit of value.
Step 5: Big Bucks – €702 @ 5/4 (Paddy Power)
Big Bucks is my banker of the meeting. Here is a horse that no other horse has come close to beating in his last 10 starts and he is still odds against to record his 3rd victory in his World Hurdle. Put the €702 on without even thinking, I can’t see this one getting beaten.
Step 6: Aigle D’Or – €1404 @ 8/1 (Coral)
Aigle D’Or has been laid out for the Byrne Group Plate and has a great chance of delivering at the juicy odds of 8/1. An impressive winner of a handicap in Newbury way back in November he has been put away ever since just for this day. Expect him to be tuned to the minute by Nicky Henderson and to be bang in contention when they turn into to the Cheltenham roar.
Step 7: Marsh Warbler – €12,636 @ 16/1 (Bet 365)
You’ve backed 5 winners and you’ve finally reached 5 figures, now it’s time to back an outsider with a big chance, Marsh Warbler. Marsh Warbler is the highest rated horse in the race yet his odds are 16/1. Don’t think it’s from lack of confidence in his chances, his trainer Brain Ellison thinks he should be favorite. Trust the Warbler to take on the big guns and win, his odds might be big but his chances are equally as big.
Step 8: Long Run – €214,812 @ 5/1 (Stan James)
214 grand, I don’t know about you but I’m starting to sweat a little. I could have 214,812 more Euro saver hamburgers then with my original euro but nonetheless I’m sticking the lot on Sam Waley Cohen and Long Run. Amateur ridden and having never won around Cheltenham the odds are stalked against Long Run but don’t let that put you off. Kauto Star and Denman are now 11, a Gold Cup winner has not been that age since 1968, Imperial Commander is now 10 and has had a problem since last running way back in November and Diamond Harry, Pandorama and Kempes need to seriously improve to win a Gold Cup. When you look at it like that Long Run’s problems pale into insignificance. For me there is only one Horse to be on in this year’s Gold Cup and that one horse is Long Run. Back Long Run and start booking your place in the millionaires club.
RESULT!
€1,288,872 is not bad for a weeks work eh? I’m sure you’re saying don’t be stupid it will never happen and to be honest you are almost definitely right but let me introduce you to a man named Steve Whiteley. Steve walked into Exeter racecourse last Tuesday and placed a £2 jackpot bet and ended up walking home with a cool £1.4 million. He was immediately quizzed as to his methods, had he burnt the midnight oil into the wee hours studying the form, had he got a series of unbelievable tips or had he been studying the betting markets and found an elusive clue to each of the races. Finally, a journalist got round to asking the question on everyone’s lips, “Steve, just how did you do it?”. His theory? “I just liked the names of the horses”.
