Staking A Claim Week 9 Tips - Chmpion Bumper & an Any Race Picks

As we move into the Christmas period, we will start to get more clues for the 2022 Cheltenham Festival and this week Ciaran and OB are looking at the Champion Bumper and the ‘to win any race’ market. You can see all the existing selections in the table at the end of this article and there are also links to the write-ups for each week. All the selections will be recorded as a 1pt win or 0.5pts each-way and we haven’t restricted the tips to any particular bet so you can expect to see singles, doubles and even the odd treble for the tips. You can also follow both Ciaran (@murphfinbarrs) and OB (@OB_14) on Twitter where they will be outlining all of their ante-post bets and thoughts ahead of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival.

Ciaran’s Week 9 Bet

Barry The Butcher (Champion Bumper)
Current Odds – 20/1 with bet365 (each-way)

Tis the season to have a bit of a swing at a big price. This week’s selection is one that I have my eye on for a while. I had actually backed him back in May for the Ballymore (the reasons will become clear) but it is now the Champion Bumper that I am putting him up for. The horse, as many of you will probably have guessed from my intro, is BARRY THE BUTCHER. Bought by Mr Ballymore, Sean Mulryan, after an impressive win in a Lingstown point to point just 2 days before last year’s Cheltenham Festival (watch the race below), he was subsequently sent to Henry De Bromhead. The distant second in that race was Croke Park, who would later be purchased for €400,000 for Gordon Elliot and Gigginstown. The standout concern for me is Henry’s reluctance in the past to target the Champion Bumper. Indeed, his last runner in the race was in 2015. However, in his stable tour, he indicated that BTB would be sticking to bumpers this year and he has now entered him in the Leopardstown Bumper on St Stephen’s Day, a race won last year by a certain Facile Vega. He might meet OBs week 3 selection Chapeau Du Soleil here and if he were to win, I think that Henry would have no choice but to aim for the big one. The final positive was the victory on the John Durcan Card of Henry’s Slade Steel over Blizzard of Oz, who Patrick Mullins had put up as a bumper horse to follow. I am fairly certain that Barry the Butcher is the number 1 Bumper horse in the stable and if that’s the case 20/1 with bet365 looks huge for the Champion in March.

OB’s Week 9 Selection

Impaire Et Passes (to win any race)
Current Odds – 6/1 with Sky Bet

Week 9 sees me go as recency bias as can be as ive responded to a performance on the track from Tuesday. There havent been many performances this season (in any discipline) that have made me stand up and take notice like I did in the maiden hurdle. I will be honest and admit I knew nothing about IMPAIRE ET PASSE before his 18 length demolition of a big field over 2m3f at Naas on Tuesday. Now, what he actually beat can be questioned and they may have only been trees but it was the way he won which stood out. The ground was officially described as soft but horses throughout the card seemed to really struggle to get home on both courses under different distances. Impaire Et Passe was a horse that almost flew through the ground and his time from what would have been 2 out (final 2 obstacles were omitted) to the line was eye catching. It was a remarkable last couple of furlongs and his lead was only extending the further he went. Its quite something just how under the radar this horse has gone into the season and although he returned a 4/7 in winning, he was as big as 40/1 for the novice races at Cheltenham before the off. The novice hurdle division is gradually coming alive after some good performances over the last couple of weeks and things will start hotting up going into the Xmas period. The shape of the Supreme & Ballymore will almost certainly be dictated by Facile Vega and what other horses come out of Closutton. Impaire Et Passe has stamped his mark on the division and I believe there are more to come (Quais De Paris & Parmenion) but I believe my charge will be dining at the top table regardless of others and what races they go for. As there is doubt on where he may end up (I would guess the Ballymore but Willie suggesting he may go to the Moscow Flyer next would think the Supreme is a possibility) im going to bet my selection in the ‘to win any race market’. Currently best price 10/1 (General 7/1) for the Ballymore and 14/1 for the Supreme im happy to take 6/1 to win any race. This horse could be anything after his first start with Willie and im hoping hes a machine. Stake – 1pt win only IMPAIRE ET PASSE (Any race) 6/1 Skybet

Staking a Claim Tips so Far

	Ciaran	OB
Week 1	Galopin Des Champs (Cheltenham Gold Cup) & Allaho (Ryanair) ODDS: 12.5/1	Gaillard Du Mesnil (National Hunt Chase) Delta Work (Cross Country) ODDS: 15/1
Week 2	Dysart Dynamo (Arkle) ODDS: 16/1	Brandy Love (Mares Hurdle) ODDS: 5/1
Week 3	Honeysuckle (Champion Hurdle) ODDS: 4/1	Chapeau De Soleil (Champion Bumper) ODDS: 12/1
Week 4	Ashroe Diamond (Mares Novice) ODDS: 9/1	Blazing Khal (Stayers Hurdle) ODDS: 6/1
Week 5	Proschema EW (Stayers Hurdle) ODDS: 25/1	Jet Powered (Supreme Novices' Hurdle) ODDS: 14/1
Week 6	Grangeclare West (Ballymore) ODDS: 10/1	Telmesomethinggirl (Mares Chase) ODDS: 8/1
Week 7	James Du Berlais (Brown Advisory Chase) EW ODDS: 20/1	Lossiemouth (Triumph Hurdle) and Luccia (Mares novice hurdle) ODDS: 19/1 win double
Week 8	Hiddenvalley Lake (Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle) ODDS: 8/1	Three Stripe Life (Brown Advisory Novices Chase) ODDS: 14/1 win double
Week 9	Barry The Butcher (Champion Bumper) ODDS: 20/1	Impaire Et Passes (to win any race) ODDS: 6/1 win double
Week 10	Salvador Ziggy (Pertemps) ODDS: 25/1	Three Card Brag (Albert Bartlett) ODDS: 14/1
Week 11	Arctic Bresil Without Favile Vega (Supreme Novices' Hurdle) ODDS: 20/1	El Fabiolo (Turners) ODDS: 10/1
Week 12	Fascile Mode (Champion Bumper) ODDS: 12/1	Risk Belle (The Boodles Fred Winter) ODDS: 16/1
Week 13	Tekao (Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle) ODDS: 8/1 NRNB	Selection: Chris’s Dream (Hunters Chase) ODDS: 10/1
Week 14	Brandy Love (Mares Hurdle) ODDS: 4/1 NRNB	Threeunderthrufive (Ultima Handicap Chase) ODDS: 12/1 NRNB
Week 15	Galvin (Cross Country Chase) ODDS: 6/1	Gerri Colombe (Brown Advisory Chase) ODDS: 8/1
Week 16	Inothewayyourthinking (Martin Pipe) ODDS: 16/1	Spanish Harlem (Martin Pipe) ODDS: 20/1
Week 17	Coole Cody (Plate Handicap) EW ODDS: 40/1	Bravemansgame (Gold Cup) ODDS: 8/1
Week 18	Shanbally Kid (Albert Bartlett) ODDS: 25/1 EW	Camprond (Coral Cup) ODDS: 20/1
Week 19	Gerri Colombe (Brown Advisory) & Mighty Potter (Turners)double ODDS: 6/1	Sharjah (County Hurdle) ODDS: 10/1 EW
Week 20	Dino Blue (Grand Annual) ODDS: 7/1	Mighty Potter (Turners Chase) & Edwardstone (Champion Chase) ODDS: 11/2

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