'One of the most exciting novice chasers around at the moment' - Romeo Coolio target at Cheltenham?

The Cheltenham Festival is fast approaching and plans for all the potential runners will be finalised over the coming weeks.

One horse whose Cheltenham engagement isn’t fully decided is the Gordon Elliott-trained Romeo Coolio

One of the most exciting novice chasers around at the moment, there are multiple options open to him. He has three separate entries, so we’re going to take a look at the pros and cons of each.

Arkle Novices’ Chase

Pros:

He won the Grade 1 Racing Post Novice Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas and that race has produced a couple of Arkle winners in the last decade or so. It took him a while to get going, but he finished strongly to score by half-a-length.

Sticking to novice company could be a good idea for now as his ideal trip is 2m4f, but the only option over that trip is the Ryanair Chase. Three miles, especially at Cheltenham, could be a bridge too far for the time being, although he has won a point-to-point over that trip.

Cons:

The most significant con is that two-miles is plenty sharp enough for him these days. It looked like he just about got away with it last time out and a return to longer trips will surely see him to best effect.

The level of competition in this race looks particularly strong, with the unbeaten chaser Lulamba looking exceptional over fences so far, and last year’s Supreme winner Kopek Des Bordes impressing on his first start over the larger obstacles.

Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase

Pros:

It’s quite possible that the step up to three miles will be more suitable for Romeo Coolio, especially as he won his sole point-to-point over three miles. He had no trouble seeing out the trip that day and the ground was soft.

Final Demand could prove hard to beat but he also needs to prove his stamina for the trip, having not run over three miles under Rules yet. Romeo Coolio would be, at worst, the second-best horse in the race and might even be good enough to win it.

Cons:

There are risks attached to the step up in trip and his trainer sees him as an out-and-out 2m4f horse, so it’s possible that his high cruising speed could be wasted over the longer distance. Perhaps it’s best to wait a year or two to try three miles.

Ryanair Chase

Pros:

This race is run over the gelding’s ideal trip and since the Grade 1 2m4f novice chase was cut last year, the only novice option over that trip is a handicap. He’s also potentially good enough to run well in open company.

It’s probably the most open renewal for a while and Fact To File looks a lot more vulnerable than last year. Most of the horses prominent in the betting for the Ryanair Chase are less likely to line up and Romeo Coolio would be a live contender.

Cons:

Elliott isn’t keen on running novices in open company and you can understand why. Experience is a big advantage, especially when jumping fences in big races at high speeds. This race is an unlikely target with that in mind, rightly or wrongly.

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