WITH the Cheltenham festival fast approaching, the bankers have been well marked for many weeks at this stage. But form lines are thin on the ground this year, with fewer runs and horses having fewer collateral form lines.

KEMBOY (8-10/1 Gold Cup)

Kemboy is priced as the shortest of Willie Mullins Gold Cup quartet. He owns his place to his Christmas win in the Savills Chase where he benefitted from a well judged David Mullins ride.

On the face of it he looks progressive, has won his last four races, but he could be flattered by those successes. The Savills was a messy race and he had then run of it. Cheltenham will be different.

On his two previous Festival outings he was fifth in the Ballymore and fourth in the JLT, where he made a bad mistake, something he is prone to do. He also has stamina to prove, even if Willie ran him in the Irish National last year. (Fell)

There’s a lot to be wary of and to me, he should be the outsider of the Mullins Gold Cup runners.

OK CORRAL (3/1-11/4 NH Chase)

The JP McManus-owned gelding has been favourite for the four-miler since Derek O’Connor gave him a polished ride to win a listed three mile chase at Warwick. At the time it looked good form, Secret Investor, Rocky’s Treasure and White Moon had all won novice chases. Rocky’s Treasure was the odds-on favourite and had form with the top novices. But he ran well below form and did again at Doncaster on Saturday.

The other two from the Warwick race have been beaten since also. OK Corral’s second in the Albert Bartlett last year, behind Kilbricken Money and ahead of Santini reads well. But he could be flattered by this year’s form in what looks a strong contest. At the odds, he could be one to treat with a bit of caution.

SIR EREC (1/1 Triumph)

Is the Triumph Hurdle the race you would want to go in hard to support an odds-on favourite?

Sir Erec could be the new Our Conor and dominate his rivals here. With his fine flat form, he could be a new Champion Hurdle contender next year as in his two outings he has taken really well to jumping and appears the best in Joseph O’Brien’s strong juvenile string.

But, we saw with Fusil Raffles that the juvenile scene is a bit of a mine field, even if some look exposed. Softer ground and that stamina-sapping finish on the Friday could also play a part for a son of Camelot, his two wins coming on Leopardstown good ground. He did win on Limerick heavy on the flat but there are a few variables that could throw a spanner in the works and he’s too short for me even if this race non longer throws up big shocks.

RYANAIR DILEMMA

We’ve had a fair bit of media discussion over the different targets for many of the leading chasers, and the Ryanair Chase is often in the middle of the debate. The two mile five chase has previously pulled horses away from the two championship races. Vautour may have put up an outstanding performance in winning it but it remains a shame we never knew how he would have fared in the Gold Cup itself.

And we have the same scenario this year where Arkle winner Footpad may sidestep the traditional follow up in the Champion Chase and go for the longer distance race.

Similarly the Gold Cup may be without Frodon and Monalee if connections come back in distance to the Ryanair.

Monalee - best when able to use his jumping

Do you put the horse in the race he is most likely to win or have a go at the more prestigious race, just in case. Coneygree’s connections went bold and it paid off.

For my money – Footpad’s Arkle performance marked him a horse who, on his A-game, will at least test Altior and that is where he should go.

Frodon, on his Cotswold Chase run, looks as though he will stay the Gold Cup trip even if he may not just be good enough. But Monalee, after being beaten twice at the Festival over three miles, would look far more suitable to drop back in distance and ride him to make use of his clean jumping in the Ryanair.

Frodon for Gold because he should stay – and Monalee to Ryanair because he probably won’t!

WHIP BANS

It’s no surprise that the whip rules here have been adjusted and brought more in line with Britain and France.

Irish jockeys getting whip bans at Cheltenham is a long running serial. No one has too many concerns that on Irish tracks that we are abusing horses, but the fact that it was three top Irish jockeys, Ruby, Patrick, Katie, who got bans at Cheltenham last year means that the issue is likely to arise again and it cannot be ignored.