Cheltenham‘s three-day November meeting kicks off on Friday and one of the biggest races on the Sunday is the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle. This £100,000 race is always competitive and the substantial prize money often garners some Irish interest.
Willie Mullins has an entry this year that was available at 16-1 but strong and and sustained recent market support has collapsed the price. Now only 4-1, the horse is now the subject of a major gamble. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Onlyamatteroftime is yet to win in four starts over hurdles and only one of those runs has come in handicap company. The size of the task facing this horse if he lines up cannot be understated. These competitive big field handicaps are often messy and experience can be a massive advantage. On that evidence, it’s hard to know what to expect from this thoroughly unexposed hurdler.
Coral were offering 16-1 as recently as Monday but the price has completely collapsed. One major thing in Onlyamatteroftime’s favour is the fact that he will carry a ridiculously light weight here. Making his debut for the Mullins yard, he’ll have to improve significantly on his latest effort. It was his handicap debut at Cork last time out and he ran out on the approach to the last.
Paul Byrne owns the seven-year-old and it wouldn’t be the first time he has pulled of a major gamble in the Greatwood. The Shunter won this race back in 2020 for Byrne and Emmet Mullins. Willie Mullins has won countless races here at Cheltenham but this one is currently missing from his CV. This is a massive gamble and it’ll be fascinating to see how things develop.
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