Hobbs holds a strong hand in the Jewson
Philip Hobbs seems to hold plenty of aces in the Jewson Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham festival. Hobbs trains both Wishful Thinking and Captain Chris and this pair sit very close to the top of the market for the newly created Grade 2 event.
The question that remains unanswered though is if the trainer will allow the two horses to take each other on at the festival or whether he will reroute Captain Chris to the Arkle.
With both horses owned by Diane Whatley it would seem somewhat likely that the pair will be split up and run in separate races, but that may not be the way that the trainer is looking. Hobbs has stated that despite the fact that the horses hold other entries at the festival, the Jewson Novices' Chase is the most likely target for the duo and those looking to bet on Cheltenham 2011 should remember this.
Richard Johnson is the stable jockey to Philip Hobbs and it will be hugely interesting to see which of the pair that he chooses to ride as this will no doubt have a big impact on the Cheltenham racing betting.
Noble Prince was runner-up to Realt Dubh in the Irish version of the Arkle Chase, which was run at Leopardstown in February. The Paul Nolan trained runner was prominent in the betting for the two-mile race and it is interesting that his shrewd trainer has opted to target this race. Noble Prince did have plenty of staying form as a hurdler though and it would be no surprise were he to improve again to provide the major test to the Hobbs trained duo.
