We may have an overreaction of epic proportions on our hands. Defending Gold Cup champion A Plus Tard drifted out to 12-1 with bet365 to retain his crown in March. The firm in question are now offering 9-1 which is a sign of market correction but this is still a massive price. This all happened at the weekend and was a result of his bitterly disappointing reappearance run in Haydock’s Betfair Chase on Saturday. Quite frankly, the argument could easily be made that his run at the weekend will have no bearing on the likelihood of him winning in March. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
The same firm were offering 4-1 for A Plus Tard to win the Gold Cup before Saturday’s race and we didn’t see anything to justify the tripling of his price. Henry de Bromhead’s gelding wouldn’t be the first horse to pull up on seasonal reappearance. It has to be taken into consideration that it was his first start for 246 days.
One re-watch of his emphatic Gold Cup demolition job would be enough to dispel any concerns about his ability to win again. He destroyed the field in what was a very quick time. Ground conditions were probably softer than he would have liked as he seems at home on better ground. If it’s good to soft at Cheltenham in March, we’ll see a totally different animal.
Although this was a disappointing performance, reading too much into it could be a mistake. The massive price change would only have been justified if there was any indication he wouldn’t make it to Cheltenham. Having shortened him into 9-1, bet365 are going the right way but make no mistake; this is still a massive price.
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