Doubts about Sodexo Favourite

The doubt with Saphir Du Rheu is not to do with whether or not he is capable of winning the Sodexo Chase because, clearly, he could certainly win and might conceivably succeed with something to spare if he enjoys a perfect trip. The question I would prefer to answer is whether or not he has the profile of a horse that we should be investing in when he is trading as short as 7/4 in what appears to be a competitive handicap chase with more than a little depth attached to it. He has been beaten by a double figure margin in each of his latest five races and has suffered from one or two well documented setbacks in the last couple of years. He had a breathing operation after the Hennessy and has not appeared to have improved since then – if anything his performances have dropped since November 2015. He is a very classy horse with plenty of ability and he is trained by an in form champion trainer; therefore, one can understand why he has shortened in the market especially as he has been dropped in grade and is competing off a mark of 152 today. If he reproduces his Aintree chase victory or even the standard of his Carlisle run on his seasonal debut last season then he will inevitably be very hard to beat today; nonetheless, he has competed in five races since that Carlisle win which was a couple of days shy of one year ago. He has generally been much more highly regarded at home in comparison to what he has actually achieved on the track and, all things considered, he remains a classy if inconsistent horse that I would prefer to oppose when trading short, whilst, at the same time, possibly consider for a decent prize when a little forgotten about and trading at a double figure price. Whichever way it goes for him today ( and it could certainly go either way) I hope he jumps well and remains competitive until deep into the race. Finally, the early bird offer for my Cheltenham Trail and Diary Notes services runs out at midnight on Monday 7th November. You can take a look at the free samples from last season if these services are new to you. All the best for today……