Could Notus be ante post value in December Gold Cup?

Now the jumps season is up and going we have top class racing on every weekend! This weekend’s Hennessy meeting at Newbury (and the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle) is followed by the Tingle Creek meeting at Sandown and Becher Chase Day at Aintree, and those 2 are followed by Cheltenham’s International meeting which stars the International Hurdle (also known as The Bula) and the December Gold Cup. Though the December Gold Cup is still a few weeks away, a few firms have introduced their markets and I quite fancy the David Pipe trained Notus De La Tour who is a best priced 10/1 (Bet Victor).

 

 

To me he looks he could still be well handicapped off a mark of 144, having shown good form over fences to date. A useful hurdler (he was 2^nd behind Sanctuaire in the Fred Winter at Cheltenham before a less than 2 length 3^rd in the prestigious Totesport Hurdle at Newbury) he has shown at least level ability over the bigger obstacles, winning his first 2 novice chases easily over 2m4f. He then gave 8lb to both the winner (Walkon) and runner up (Zaynar) in a decent event at Exeter, with Zaynar hosing up in a Gr2 next time out and Walkon consistently running well (he finished 2^nd to Al Ferof in Cheltenham’s PaddyPower Gold Cup recently) and attaining a chase mark of 148. Notus De La Tour was then beaten less than 3 lengths in a Gr1 in Ireland before finishing 3^rd behind the ultra-impressive Flemenstar when having no chance with the winner but staying on well over the bare 2m. He is only a 6yo, and given the improvement we’ve seen recently with Sanctuaire, it wouldn’t be too shocking to see this one improve a few lbs. His 2^nd in Ireland was on soft ground, and he’s gone okay on soft/heavy before so is unlikely to be put out by any type of going. He is almost certain to be allocated a nice racing weight and I can’t see him being 12/1 on the day so it may be worth a small each way bet at this stage.