Horse Racing

Andy Gibson's Eyecatchers: Master Chewy, McFabulous, Monviel and more

Andy GibsonAndy Gibson17 February 2023
Gyenyame ridden by jockey Rob Hornby (centre) in the Racing TV Profits Returned to Racing Handicap at Nottingham racecourse

Gyenyame ridden by jockey Rob Hornby (centre) in the Racing TV Profits Returned to Racing Handicap at Nottingham racecourse

With the National Hunt season gathering pace, racing analyst Andy Gibson has been casting his eye over some recent performances to offer some noteworthy pointers for future reference.

Monviel

Monviel's was the most eye-catching performance in the Betfair Hurdle as he was not given a hard time of things, whilst still able to make up a lot of ground on the leading group.

He should remain on his current mark after this outing,which would prevent him from getting into the County Hurdle.
This leaves races like the Swinton, Scottish Champion Hurdle and, before then, the conditional jockeys' race on Grand National day.

Master Chewy

In the same race, Master Chewy was only just run out of fourth spot after the final hurdle and can be marked up for that. I doubt he was in his element on this faster surface, so it's worth keeping an eye on him when he competes off his mark on another day on a softer surface.

Gitche Gumee

With his 119 rating connections of Gitche Gumee would have had no interest in beating the 130 rated winner in this two-mile novices' hurdle, and I am confident he will prove to be a fair bit better than his 119 mark.

Unanswered Prayers

After making all the running in this novices' handicap chase, Unanswered Prayers was only joined on the approach to the final fence and from thereon he was a spent force, although he was found to have bled post-race and maybe this occurred close to the finish as he did stop quite quickly.

The time comparisons with Hitman strongly support the notion that he jumped round in his own time before being outstayed from the last.
When comparing times from the first fence he was around 20 lengths behind Hitman jumping the water and another 15 lengths in arrears half-way down the back straight.
At the winning line he was another 20 lengths plus behind the Denman Chase runner-up, so until he shows something different, I will mark him down on this performance as the form amounts to very little.

McFabulous

Of others in the same race, I thought McFabulous could struggle to stay this trip if the leader really pushed the pace down the far side.

We are left guessing how this would have turned out as he was in trouble early down the back straight before being pulled up, and he remains an inconsistent type and not one to trust when trading short.
Perhaps the irregular heartbeat he suffered from here has some relevance in his previous in and out record.

I hope that my notes on the five horse listed above are useful to you. I have kept them in this format for members of thecheltenhamtrail.com and for all readers wishing to save them in an A-Z file or in a Tracker service. 

There is usually more upside to noting an interesting performance when you believe the majority are more likely to have missed it.

My Eyecatchers Service considers horses that may go under the radar for many, some obvious ones, and a few interesting performances from horses I may be keen to oppose on another day. Spotting winning and losing efforts that may be underestimated or overestimated in the future can be key.

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