It's not the bookies' fault that the Cheltenham markets are so uncompetitive

There is an awful lot of chatter about the ante-post markets at Cheltenham these days and most of the flak seems to be aimed at the bookmakers, who shorten up horses at the drop of the hat.

Of course scything a point off Energumene's price for the Champion Chase after he has had an exercise gallop around Cork isn't really in the Christmas spirit, but what do we expect the bookmakers to do?

Energumene answered a few questions for ante-post punters that we didn't know prior to the weekend. We saw that he was in good shape, having not been seen since Punchestown, and with Shishkin out of the way he seems to have only Edwardstone to beat.