Arkle Trophy Betting Guide

"He'll certainly be entered for the Arkle, but he won't be entered for the RSA Chase. He would possibly be entered for the Jewson but I don't know if a horse has ever won it with a rating of 147. Top weight is not ideal, but he might be entered for it. You sometimes need stamina to win an Arkle, especially if it's soft ground to make it more of a test. He's looked very good in the jumping sphere so far, but he's certainly got a lot to learn at racing speed."

"I think I've made the mistake of keeping him over hurdles for too long as I should have put him over fences at the start of the season. He had shown some good form over hurdles and he was certainly the pick of the paddock today so I have to say I was quite hopeful. He travelled, jumped and I think he was quite impressive in the end. That said I think a lot of the fancied runners didn't run to their mark. I think I will definitely give him an entry in the Arkle and hopefully we'll find another race for him beforehand to give him a little more experience. The Arkle is not an easy race to win but they have prize-money down to sixth and you would have to give him a bit of a squeak if he takes to a left-handed track and an undulating track, the opposite to today of course."

"He has an entry in the Arkle. I suppose it will be a toss-up between that and the race at Fairyhouse, which is two-and-a-half miles. We'll take it one day at a time. Good National Hunt ground is what he wants, and he should get that at Cheltenham, but it's a lottery over there. I'd be happier, if we thought we'd get nice ground at Fairyhouse, to keep him at home. It's a hurly-burly over at Cheltenham and they're flat to the boards from the start. It takes a lot out of a horse and I'd prefer to keep him at home."

"He's spot on this morning and I was very happy with him yesterday. I was a bit worried down the back - he seemed to be struggling a bit for a couple of furlongs - and Barry just sat. Two good leaps got him back into it again and he jumped the last well - but tired. The ground was very tacky. It was deep and loose the last day but very tacky here - look how stretched they were in the Hennessy. If we met Cooldine on better ground, we'd beat him. We're going for the Arkle. You want a two-and-a-half-mile horse for that and better ground will suit. He's just coming right in himself now."

"When I saw that Jayo was 2-1 and he (Golden Silver) was 25-1 this morning I thought that was a big mistake - he was too big. Jayo made a big mistake which is a shame as we didn't get to see the real Jayo. The race might have come a bit soon after Naas for him too so I'll forgive him. This puts Golden Silver into the picture as one of our top novice chasers. He has plenty of speed but I thought he might stay. He didn't appear to stay in the Drinmore but I'm now wondering whether he wasn't straight enough for that. He never seems to give his all at the first time of asking so he'll hopefully improve again from here. The two-mile trip in the Arkle will suit him and he'll get a lead the whole way. They are both in the Arkle and that is where they will go."

"He's learning as he goes along. The ground was very tacky which did not suit him. Three out I was a bit worried but he got in a relentless rhythm and when they passed the line I couldn't pull him up. I nearly got him beat last time against Calgary Bay because I wasn't positive enough on him so I didn't want to make the same mistake today. I'm not sure whether Cheltenham will suit him because I think he might be better on a flat track, but you don't know unless you go. He certainly deserves his place in the race anyway."

"The key is that the ground needs to dry up if he is to go to Cheltenham. There are plenty of alternatives such as Aintree, Ayr and Punchestown. He has won over two and a half miles but he is a genuine two-mile horse. On lively ground, he can play at the top table."

"He's had a break since his last run and we've not had a saddle on him since then. We'll probably ride him out towards the end of the week but if we don't we'll definitely start riding him out on Monday or Tuesday. You'll definitely see him at Cheltenham. We'll wait to see if we want to run him before then or not, but the target is the Arkle. We just think he was tired in his last couple of runs and we hope the break will have cured that."

"We are hoping to run Original in The Arkle. We were expecting him to run well at Kempton but didn't really reckon that he would win. He's better going left-handed so we are hoping that he can improve going round Cheltenham. Obviously, he's won a Grade Two and now we are going to be taking on some of the top novice chasers around at The Festival. We had thought about Cheltenham prior to his victory at Kempton Park and I wanted to get him used to British fences beforehand. He will go straight to Cheltenham now and he will follow the same programme as he did prior to Kempton, when he came over 10 days before the race and stayed with Jean-Rene Auvray in Lambourn. He's a very tall horse but jumping seems to come naturally to him. James Davies will definitely take the ride again having ridden him so well at Kempton Park. We actually asked some other jockeys to ride him at Kempton Park but they all declined - perhaps they were too scared of the horse!"

"The Arkle was always in the back of my mind, and there is no reason why he shouldn't take his chance, but my one slight concern would be that he does love soft ground."

"He's a lot more confident now - he used to flatten out in soft ground but after the mistake he just picked up again. Richard (Johnson) would like to run him once more before Cheltenham. The Arkle does take some getting - you need to be a bit of a stayer."

"I'm delighted with him. It took us a while to get to know exactly what was best for him. We started off thinking he wanted a distance and he was very exciting when he arrived. He ended up making the running because we had no option but now he's settled down and grown up. The quicker they go over a shorter distance, the better because we can really make use of his brilliant jumping. His jumping really is excellent. The reason he was staying the extended distances was because he was relaxed in front whereas over a shorter distance, we can be more positive rather than restraining him and that brought about a big improvement at Kempton. The turning point was when AP (McCoy) rode him at Haydock. He dropped him in and it taught him to settle. That's the way to ride him and we won't be worried about running him over two miles in the Arkle."

"We'll probably go to Cheltenham fresh with him and not go for a run before. He's a better horse fresh. He's fine. The Leopardstown race just took a little bit out of him with the travelling involved. I think I probably learned that it wasn't a good thing going to Ireland with him. I had him in the Irish Arkle but he definitely won't be going there. I just need to get him back to his best for Cheltenham now."