Saturday 16 November 2013 15:49, UK
The Super Sunday Hat-Trick was a fascinating marathon of Premier League football.
The Paddy Power Gold Cup looks a typically difficult puzzle and as with all big handicap chases round Cheltenham, the winner will need a lot of luck. The picture will also become a lot clearer when messrs Pipe and Henderson reveal their hand. The favourite looks set to be either Dynaste or Johns Spirit. The latter will need more luck than most as he needs holding up and has a worrying tendency to wallop a fence. He can't do that in this company and the record of winners of the race he won at the Showcase meeting is awful. No horse has done the double in that race and the Mackeson/Thomas Pink/Paddy Power since Shooting Light in 2001. Nadiya De La Vega won that October race, off only a 3lb lower mark than she races off on Saturday, before finishing third in the Paddy Power last year. I'm pleased Nicky Henderson has gone straight for the big race this term as she tends to run her best race of the season first time up: she's won on her seasonal debut in all three seasons that she has been in this country. I have backed Nadiya De La Vega at 16/1 with Sky Bet. If the weights go up, she could be the mount of the champion jockey. My bet of the meeting is Thomas Edison in Sunday's Greatwood Hurdle. He put up one of the performances of the season at Down Royal earlier this month. I backed him to win that race and was tearing up my ticket when he was badly impeded at the second flight and left well adrift of the field. Thomas Edison did brilliantly to get back in to the race and very nearly won it, which would have been remarkable. He's clearly still really well handicapped for the shrewdest of shrewd yards and 12/1 with Sky Bet looks a big each-way price. It's not the highest quality renewal of the Greatwood and I strongly fancy Thomas Edison to run a big race. Despite all the top racing at Cheltenham, the clash of the week will come in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown on Sunday. Champion Hurdler Hurricane Fly takes on one of the numerous high-class young pretenders to his crown in Jezki, who is my fancy to win the 2014 Champion Hurdle so I'm hoping Sunday will signal the start of the changing of the guard.