28th-Jan-2017

I don’t think that Royal Vacation got the credit that he was due for winning the Feltham Chase last time.  Of course, he would have been beaten by around 20 lengths by Might Bite had that horse had popped the final fence, which is probably why his victory has been under-rated.

But Might Bite could be exceptional, and Colin Tizzard’s horse still beat high-class novices, including Virgilio and Amore Alato.  Also, the time that he clocked was only 0.7secs slower than the time that Thistlecrack clocked in winning the King George over the same course and distance an hour later.

Royal Vacation was raised 12lb for that win to a mark of 143, which is not insignificant, but that hike is factored into his odds.  It is worth having him on side at 14/1.

ROYAL VACATION WON (ADV 14/1, SP 12/1)