16th-Mar-2011

We are in good shape with Jessies Dream, and I still expect him to run a big race, but I am also getting Bostons Angel on side. He continues to be under-rated, as is the case with a lot of the Jessica Harrington horses, as Oscars Well was before the market eventually copped on, and remember that Harrington sent out the 66/1 shot Horner Woods to finish second to Cooldine in this contest in 2009.

Bostons Angel is a dual Grade 1 winner. There was no fluke about his defeat of Quito De La Roque in the Fort Leney Chase, nor about his defeat of Magnanimity in the Dr PJ Moriarty Chase. He only got home by three parts of a length and a head in those two races respectively, but he is a horse who only just does enough, Magnanimity was never getting past him last time, and the distance of two miles and five furlongs was probably too sharp for him anyway.

He is the sort of dour galloping type that perennially does well in the RSA Chase. It is a war of attrition, you want a galloper who jumps and stays well much more than you want a flashy speedy type who had the Arkle as an option. He is only seven, he has run just five times over fences and, winner of his last two races, he is almost certainly still progressing. He jumps well, he handles good ground, and he is sure to be going on when a lot of his rivals have cried enough.

Of course Time For Rupert sets the standard, but it is a little bit of a worry that he missed his intended prep for this in the Argento Chase because of a setback. Because of that, he has only raced twice over fences and, while he does jump and stay well, there is a chance that lack of experience will catch him out. By contrast, Jessies Dream and Bostons Angel have both raced five times over fences, Jessies Dream is a second-season novice, and I am happy to be against the favourite at the prices.

I am also happy to be against Aiteen Thirtythree. I think that he is a flat track horse, a Newbury horse, a Hennessy horse for next year for sure. He has been unimpressive in his two runs at Chepstow, an undulating track, and while he has won at Cheltenham, last October, he was again unimpressive in winning a relatively ordinary race.

BOSTONS ANGEL WON (SP 16/1)