King expecting Cheltenham to bring out best in Yanworth

It's fair to say Yanworth might not be here but for Unowhatimeanharry's emergence as an overwhelming favourite for the Sun Bet Stayers' Hurdle, as last year's festival second to Yorkhill was over 2m5f and a reappearance 2m3f win at Ascot had JP McManus and his team leaning towards the longer race.

However, dropped back to 2m at unsuitably sharp Kempton and Wincanton, he has beaten The New One and Ch'Tibello, both rivals today, proving himself a very worthy contender indeed.

King, whose 2008 winner Katchit was a former Flat racing streetfighter and cut from a very different cloth, could scarcely be happier with Yanworth, on whom Mark Walsh takes over from the injured Barry Geraghty.

He said: "I walked the track on Sunday and I thought it was very slow, with a lot of soft in it. It will dry but I can't see it being any better than good to soft on Tuesday and Wednesday, which will be fine for Yanworth.

"He needed the run at Ascot, it was a sharp track at Kempton and he had a bad preparation for Wincanton. Cheltenham suits him so much better and he is in a good place physically. I feel I've got him in the best form I've had him all year. We can't do any more at this end."

He added: "Mark Walsh schooled him last Thursday and it went very well. He jumped as quickly and as accurately as I've seen him, which was very pleasing."

King also saddles Sceau Royal, another very capable hurdler on his day. He said: "Sceau Royal is in great form, fresh and well. He's got a fair bit to find but I don't think he could go into the race in better form. The Kingwell was his first race since November and I might have left him a tad short."

Pros Has been winning on tracks that will not have not suited him. Promises to be much better at Cheltenham

Cons Has not impressed in any of his three races and lacks a bit of the star quality one would hope for in a Champion Hurdle favourite

Point of fact
Beaten favourites at the festival should not be dismissed as having been overhyped and exposed as not good enough. In the 14 Grade 1 races in 2015, there was an even split of seven favourites who won and seven who were beaten. Yet those beaten favourites were well worth sticking with last year and that offers encouragement to backers of Yanworth, beaten favourite in last year’s Neptune Novices’ Hurdle.

Six of the seven beaten market leaders from the 2015 Grade 1 races returned for another crack at the festival and four of them won. Not only that, three of them (Don Cossack, Annie Power and Sprinter Sacre) took championship feature races. The other who made a successful return was Black Hercules (sixth as 5-2 favourite in the 2015 Albert Bartlett but the 4-1 winner of the JLT Novices’ Chase last year).

Following those six returning beaten favourites last year would have yielded a profit of +11.75pt to a level stake.

Five of the beaten favourites from last year’s Grade 1 races are set to return for another go: Yanworth, More Of That, Un De Sceaux, Augusta Kate and Bristol De Mai, which doesn’t look a bad shortlist.

Champion Hurdle card and betting

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