Notlongtillmay can come Lashing home to win Paddy Power

CHELTENHAM returns this weekend for the three-day November Meeting, offering the chance to see more of the stars of the National Hunt game return to the track.

This meeting is an early season target for many horses and that’s once again the case for Martin Keighley’s BACK ON THE LASH, who is aiming for a third straight success in the Glenfarclas Handicap Chase on Friday (2.55pm). 

In the last two renewals of this race, Back On The Lash has gamely repelled late challengers to narrowly get the verdict, with his winning margins being a neck in 2021 and then three-quarters of a length last year.

He thrives around this three-mile six-furlong specialist course and is now two pounds lower in the handicap than he was when winning here last year.

He has also had a recent pipe opener at Exeter last month, and it’s no concern that he pulled-up in that contest as he bounced back from a poor run to win this race for the first time two years ago.

Connections will be hoping the rain stays away for their nine-year-old as he operates best on a sounder surface and the current good-to-soft going description should suit him well.

While this contest contains the likes of the high-class Galvin and Delta Work, unlike the Cross Country at the Cheltenham Festival, which is run off level weights, this handicap scenario favours those that can race off low weights.

Back On The Lash is set to receive a huge weight allowance of the best part of two-stone from both Galvin and Delta Work, and considering he is now a pound better off at the weights with Delta Work than when getting the better of Gordon Elliott’s runner last year, everything points to a bold show in his bid for a hattrick.

At this stage he looks well worth siding with each-way at 6/1.

The Paddy Power Gold Cup (2.20pm) is the feature race on Saturday and is shaping up to be a fascinating clash between two Cheltenham Festival-winning novice chasers in The Real Whacker and Stage Star.

They won the Grade One Brown Advisory and Turners’ Chases respectively back in March and are clearly the class horses in this field.

Despite that fact, I’m willing to look elsewhere on the basis that the last seven winners of this race had all had a prep run, so the top duo might well be vulnerable to a rival that comes here race fit, especially as they both have to shoulder big weights.

NOTLONGTILLMAY was three out of three over fences before finishing a fine second to Stage Star in the Turners. He receives three pounds here and only has just over three lengths to find on that performance.

He has already had a crucial prep for this, having run a nice race when finishing fourth over an inadequate two miles here last month, which will have blown the cobwebs away.

He hails from a smaller yard in that of Laura Morgan’s so there’s a chance he might drift later in the week, but he looks the right bet at this stage, and I’ll be siding with him each-way at around the 6/1 mark.

Another to note is Angels Breath, who ran well on his return to action at Cheltenham’s Showcase Meeting last month.

Trainer Sam Thomas is proving to be adept at targeting valuable handicaps and he is sure to have left no stone unturned in preparing Angels Breath for this.

POINTERS

Back On The Lash e/w                   2.55pm Cheltenham (Friday)

Notlongtillmay e/w                        2.20pm Cheltenham (Saturday)