IT is a real shame that Riders Onthe Storm is not running in today’s Caspian Caviar Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

A really progressive horse last season for Tom Taaffe, he looked good in winning on his first run for Nigel Twiston-Davies at Aintree, and it would have been interesting to have seen how he would have fared today off a 13lb higher mark. We’ll just have to wait a little longer.

We will get a steer today though, because the horse that he beat into second place, Cepage, lines up in today’s race on a mark of 153, 8lb higher than the mark off which he finished second to Riders Onthe Storm. Cepage has a real chance too. He was racing at Aintree that day for the first time since he finished second behind Frodon in today’s race last year, and the third horse from the Aintree race, Oldgrangewood, came out and just got up to beat Kalashnikov in a good handicap chase at Newbury next time.

But Cepage is short, and an 8lb hike is not insignificant. He is only seven, but he has run 14 times over fences. He may not have bundles of improvement in him. He will race today off a handicap rating of 155, which is 12lb higher than last year’s mark and, at a relatively short price, off that mark, you can look beyond him.

Secret Investor is more interesting at a slightly bigger price. Winner of the Grade 2 Persian War Novice Hurdle on his debut last season, Paul Nicholls’ horse progressed nicely over fences last term. He finished second to Ok Corral in a three-mile novices’ chase at Warwick in January, before stepping back down in trip and winning at Wincanton and at Ayr over two and a half miles last spring.

He ran a big race on his debut this term too, in the Grade 2 intermediate chase at Down Royal in early November. He was beaten by 14 lengths in the end by Real Steel, but Real Steel is a classy performer, and Secret Investor can probably be marked up a fair bit on the bare form of the run. He and Mengli Khan went fast up front from early and, while Mengli Khan faded, Secret Investor kept on well to retain second place from Minella Fair.

Real Steel is rated 160, and Secret Investor was giving him 1lb that day so, even on that basis alone, he looks at least fairly handicapped on a mark of 150 today.

He has the potential to go higher though. He is only seven and he has raced just six times over fences. This two and a half miles is his trip, we know that he goes well left-handed now and, while he has never run at Cheltenham, he did win a Persian War Hurdle at Chepstow, which is, like Cheltenham, left-handed and undulating.

He probably wouldn’t want the ground to get too soft, but he goes well on good to soft, and his trainer Paul Nicholls has won five of the last 10 renewals of this race.

Mares’ Hurdle

Indefatigable could be a little under-rated in the mares’ hurdle that brings down the curtain. Fifth in the mares’ novices’ hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March, and an impressive winner at Cheltenham’s April meeting, Paul Webber’s mare did well to finish second behind Lady Buttons in a mares’ listed hurdle at Wetherby’s Charlie Hall Chase meeting last month.

She was being niggled along from a fair way out, but she kept finding and, while she may not have finished second had Zambella not unseated her rider at the second last, she stayed on admirably to run the admittedly idling Lady Buttons to two lengths.

The key to her is the step up in trip today.

It looked like she was going as fast as she wanted that day over two miles, and her jumping wasn’t overly fluent. She should be suited by a step back up to two and a half miles today, and by the return to Cheltenham, a track at which she has put up two of the best performances of her career in two runs there.

Recommended

Secret Investor, 1 point win, 1.55 Cheltenham, 6/1 (generally)

Indefatigable, 1 point win, 3.40 Cheltenham, 9/1 (generally)

Winner

One of Donn’s two recommended bets last week, Walk In The Mill, won the Becher Chase at an SP of 8/1.