By Racing Blogger, PricedUp Brand Ambassador
Racing Blogger’s first Cheltenham Festival 2027 ante-post selection with PricedUp: 9/1 for the Arkle
Right, ladies and gentlemen, notebooks out, kettle on and pay attention, because I think I’ve found us a rather tasty ante-post bet for the Cheltenham Festival.
This is the first of my March to Cheltenham 2027 columns for PricedUp, where I’ll be flagging up the horses I think the ante-post markets have overpriced, long before the Festival previews get going. We start with one I’ve been itching to talk about.
Kabral Du Mathan makes his chasing debut for Dan Skelton at Perth on Thursday, and I’m going to stick my neck out: I think he wins, I think he wins easily, and I think the bookmakers will be reaching for the scissors on his Arkle price before Harry Skelton has pulled him up. PricedUp are 9/1 about him for the Arkle next March, and I think that’s a cracking price. Here’s why.
A horse with a serious engine
He’d already shown plenty over hurdles for Paul Nicholls, but since joining Skelton he has looked a different animal. He bolted up by twelve lengths in a competitive handicap at Haydock last November, and the form was franked when the runner-up won next time at Newbury. Then on New Year’s Day at Cheltenham he won the Grade 2 Relkeel Hurdle in a canter, beating Jingko Blue by five and a half lengths. He travelled like a Rolls-Royce, quickened when asked and looked every inch a horse going places.
He finished fourth in the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Festival, but I’m not remotely put off by that. Three miles at the very top level was a different examination altogether, and Skelton said straight afterwards that dropping back in trip and going chasing was the plan.
Why Thursday matters
He lines up in the 1.55 at Perth, a two-mile beginners’ chase, with Harry Skelton in the saddle. A horse rated 156 over hurdles and already a Grade 2 winner isn’t being asked to win the Arkle on Thursday. He’s being asked to jump twelve fences, show us what he can do and, ideally, make the opposition look as though they’ve wandered into the wrong race.
Jumping fences in public for the first time is never a formality, I’ve watched enough racing to know that. But if he takes to it the way I expect, I don’t see 9/1 being around for long. That’s why I’m interested in the price now rather than next week.
Why I fancy him for the Arkle
The Arkle is one of my favourite races of the Festival. Two miles, fast, accurate jumping, proper speed and no hiding place. You need a horse who can travel at pace and quicken when the pressure comes on, and that’s exactly how Kabral Du Mathan races. He cruises through his races without seeming to spend much energy, which is a huge asset for a novice chaser if he can carry it over fences.
Then there’s the Skelton factor. This is a trainer who knows how to get a horse ready for the spring festivals, and he was telling the Cheltenham stable tours back in February that this horse looks a chaser and the Arkle was the plan. The target hasn’t been dreamt up by me. It’s come from the yard.
I’m not pretending anything is guaranteed. He’s got to jump, prove himself at two miles and stay on the Arkle route rather than stepping up in trip. But that’s why he’s 9/1 and not 3/1. Ante-post betting is about spotting the potential before everyone else catches on, and this horse has bundles of it.
Yes, there’s risk. There always is when you’re backing a horse for Cheltenham five months out, especially one who has never jumped a fence in public, so only ever bet what you can afford to lose. But at 9/1, I’m happy to take my chance.
2pts Kabral Du Mathan for the Arkle. And if he hoses up on Thursday, don’t say Racing Blogger didn’t tell you.
Odds correct at time of publication and subject to change. 18+. Please gamble responsibly. For free, confidential support and advice, visit BeGambleAware.org
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