CHAMPION CHASE PREVIEW:MASTER MINDED is following a path that only one horse has ever gone down before in today's Queen Mother Champion Chase and it's hard to argue against his chances of bringing off a rare hat-trick.
Only Badsworth Boy (1983-85) has ever managed to land the two mile crown on three occasions in the race’s 51-year history. In contrast the Gold Cup has thrown up four champions who have won on three or more occasions so Master Minded is in truly singular company. The evidence is pretty conclusive though that the Paul Nicholls-trained star is a truly singular talent.
A lot of that is down to a spectacular first Queen Mother triumph two years ago that had Ruby Walsh pondering the idea that Master Minded might be a horse to at least compare to Kauto Star.
Rarely if ever has a championship event at Cheltenham been won so conclusively, so much so in fact that last year’s defeat of Well Chief seemed almost an anti-climax since it was by only five lengths. Scrambling home at Punchestown afterwards from Big Zeb added to an impression of a champion whose dazzle was brilliant but short-lived.
However, an early season defeat here in November – when Master Minded hung dramatically right – led to a veterinary examination that revealed a fractured rib. While on the sidelines, potential successors like Kalahari King, the Irish pair, Big Zeb and Forpadydeplasterer, and his stable companion Twist Magic laid down convincing claims to take his place.
But all that effort might just be for nought judged on Master Minded’s comeback at Newbury last month. The most vivid memory is the mess he made of the final fence but the ex-French star had been foot-perfect before that, won easily and Nicholls now believes he has Master Minded back to where he was in 2008.
“I do think he is back to where he was two years ago. He had loads of problems last spring and just wasn’t the same horse,” Nicholls said yesterday. “He only started back in work on January 6th and there wasn’t much time to get him ready for Newbury. He won but he has improved enormously since then.”
If that is true, then today’s eight opponents are in form-terms facing a mission-impossible. None of them come close on official ratings to a peak Master Minded and it is not as if they have anything to cling to in terms of ground conditions either.
Forpadydeplasterer and Big Zeb will relish the good ground more than the third Irish hope, Golden Silver, but both have other question-marks over them.
Forpadydeplasterer held off Kalahari King in last year’s Arkle but an injury blip last month threatened to rule him out of the festival and this is one meeting that finds out an interrupted preparation.
Big Zeb’s prep’ in contrast has been as silky-smooth as his jumping is sometimes plain-dodgy. It was noticeably better though on his last start when Barry Geraghty really made his mind up for him. A good round of jumping makes Big Zeb possibly the biggest threat to Master Minded but good as he was at Punchestown, this task is a very different cup of tea.
There will be a lot of sentiment around the veteran Well Chief who in his pomp chased home Moscow Flyer around here in 2005. That was during an era of some exceptional two-milers and there’s little doubt Well Chief would have been a worthy winner of this race at any time.
It’s just his misfortune that injury coincided with a brief period when there wasn’t a great champion around in the mould of Moscow or Master Minded who today can prove himself an exceptional one too.
CHAMPION CHASE
1. Master Minded
2. Big Zeb
3. Kalahari King
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