2012 Argento Chase Odds and Betting Preview: Grands Crus bids to book Gold Cup ticket

CHELTENHAM, UK - In recent years the Argento Chase has been won by steeple-chasers well past their prime, but the 2012 renewal looks like a strong Cheltenham Gold Cup trial and is expected to throw up a pretender to former winners Long Run and Kauto Star, who currently dominate the ante-post betting for March.

The Argento Chase is run over the same course as the Gold Cup, but is a furlong shorter at three miles and one and a half furlongs. It is a Grade Two contest and carries a total prize fund of £100,000. 13 horses have been entered at the five-day stage, and the bookmakers have already installed David Pipe’s Grands Crus as the favourite, even though he is still a novice and has had just three starts over fences.

Grands Crus heads the Argento betting at 9/4 with Sporting Bet and Coral. Even though this will be his toughest assignment to date, his class is expected to see him triumph. The grey gelding shocked everyone at Cheltenham when he waltzed away with the Cleeve Hurdle on the card last year, and then he put in two fantastic runs to finish behind the invincible Big Buck’s at both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals. Connections were not too disheartened however, as they have always thought of Grands Crus as a chaser in the making, despite his small frame. Tom Scudamore keeps the ride, and the duo had plenty in hand when they beat Silviniaco Conti and Bobs Worth in the Grade One Feltham Novices’ Chase on Boxing Day.

His doubters will point out that he has never won at the Cheltenham Festival, and that he has to face two Hennessy winners as well as the Arkle hero from last year in the Argento. However, on the balance of his form, he deserves to be favourite and it is interesting that he is just 3/1 with bet365 to win the Gold Cup ‘without Kauto Star and Long Run’. Those odds could look massive if he wins on Saturday.

Next is Captain Chris at 11/2 with Coral, who had brilliant form as a novice but has yet to win this season. Philip Hobbs’ eight-year-old is an outstanding athlete on his day, but he has encountered a number of set-backs already this year. Finishing third in the King George to Kauto Star and Long Run was a sound effort, especially as the only horse from that race to have run since, fourth-placed Somersby, won a Grade One last weekend at Ascot. Captain Chris is usually at his best at this time of year, and if he runs up to form he will surely not be out of the first three here.

Time For Rupert (pictured) is biggest with Paddy Power at 11/2, and he got his chasing career back on track when winning a Graduation Chase at Newbury last month. His hurdling form with Big Buck’s meant that he was sent off as the 7/4 favourite for last year’s RSA Chase, but he bled in the big race and ended up being soundly beaten by Bostons Angel. At eight-years-old he has plenty of time on his side to make the step up to the highest level, but he looks just short of top notch and preference is still for the unexposed Grands Crus. Rupert’s new jockey is Denis O’Regan.

Diamond Harry looks fairly skinny at 11/2 with BetVictor, although most firms go 5/1 about Nick Williams’ gelding bouncing back at Cheltenham. He famously beat Denman two starts ago in the Hennessy Gold Cup, but has had a number of problems since, and was on the sidelines last March when Long Run won the Gold Cup. Some argue that he does not run his best races at Cheltenham, but if he is fit and runs to his best then he should at least make the frame. It is hard to see him winning the Gold Cup at 25/1 with Stan James, but he would not be the first horse to come back fighting after a bit of TLC.

Stan James are 10/1 about Midnight Chase winning the Argento. He fits the bill as a veteran with plenty of jumping experience, and he has finished in the first three in six of his seven races at Prestbury Park. The only time when he did not make the frame was last March, when he finished a gallant fifth to Long Run in the Gold Cup.

The Minack is in good heart, but the 11/1 shot is certainly not good enough to beat all the horses at the top of the market. On the other hand his stable-mate Tidal Bay could out-run his odds of 11/1, and he seems to do well in the month of January.

At 20/1 with Sky Bet is Carruthers who won the Hennessy this season and likes to race at the front end. However he needs to bounce back from a poor showing in the Welsh National.

The remainder are all available at 33/1 or bigger and have plenty to prove based on recent form: Knockara Beau, Little Josh, Any Currency and The Sawyer.

The Argento Chase is due off at 2.35pm on Saturday 28 January and is live on Channel Four.   2012 Argento Chase Odds   2012 Cleeve Hurdle Odds   2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup Odds