Ultima Handicap Chase Predictions, Betting Tips & Odds (Cheltenham 2022 - DAY 1)
- Written by Simon Bettarini
The Grade 3 Ultima Handicap Chase is run over 3 miles and one furlong. The race is open to 5 year olds and over, and involves 20 fences. It is the first big handicap of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival meeting and will as always be an ultra competitive race. The 2021 renewal saw Vintage Clouds winning the Ultima Chase on his fifth attempt at the race in 2021, at odds of 28/1. Don't miss our Ultima Handicap Chase race preview with free predictions, tips, betting trends, best odds, free bets and no deposit bonuses on the 2022 Cheltenham Festival.
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ULTIMA HANDICAP CHASE BETTING PREVIEW
Formerly the William Hill Handicap Chase, the Ultima Handicap Chase is run over 3 miles at Cheltenham and there are 20 fences for the field to jump around the old course at Prestbury Park. It's a Grade 3 handicap chase, for horses aged five and upwards, where many of the top handicappers come together, producing a thrilling race. The prize fund is £110,000.
Many horses will arrive looking well handicapped making it very hard to predict the winner. Furthermore, some of the previous winners have carried big weights to victory.
We take a closer look at this year's Ultima Handicap Steeple Chase and try to determine which horse is likely to prevail.
Who will win the Ultima Handicap Chase 2022?FLOUEUR managed to beat Frontal Assault, who is the favourite for the Kim Muir Handicap Chase, despite jumping very poorly. He made another bad mistake at the final fence of the Grand National trial last time out, but with a fine third-place finish in the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle at last year's Cheltenham Festival to his name, if he can put it all together he could go very close.
11-year-old DEATH DUTY, who Gordon Elliott claimed was his best-handicapped horse at the Cheltenham Festival when the weights were announced, is the ante-post favourite. Form and connections justify favouritism.
DOES HE KNOW ran 5th to Bob Olinger in last year’s Ballymore Hurdle last year. He kicked off his chasing career winning at Chepstow and here in the Autumn before a decent 4 1/4L second to Threeunderthrufive here in November.
CORACH RAMBLER could be worth an interest for Lucinda Russell. He had just four starts over fences, but he’s won two of them which includes one over course and distance at the December Meeting when beating Eva’s Oskar. The way Corach Rambler pulled away from his nearest rival up the hill strongly suggests he had more in the locker and he looks more than capable of overcoming a 6lb higher mark at the feature meeting. He finished fourth when last seen at Warwick in the Classic Chase.
Trainer David Pipe - who has a good record in this event - could rely upon his only sole entry, GERICAULT ROQUE. Although yet to win in four starts over fences, he’s placed in all of them, including when runner-up in the Classic Chase at Warwick when last seen. This six-year-old surely has more to come.
Emmet Mullins' NOBLE YEATS finished a credible runner up to the smart Ahoy Senor at Wetherby in the grade two Towton Novices’ Chase last time out and looks able to reproduce that performance here at the Festival.
FANTASTIKAS is rapidly improving. He easily won on seasonal debut in a small handicap, gave Threeunderthurfive a race at Doncaster, ran a hugely notable Dipper Novices’ Chase race behind L’Homme Presse, and finally won at Lingfield Park over 3m.
Dark horses?
TEA CLIPPER looked very impressive on his chase debut and then he’s disappointed in Grade 2 company at Newbury and in the Kauto Star at Kempton.
Gary Moore's FULL BACK won well on his second and third starts over fences. He landed at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day and jumped relatively well and only got 4lbs for that to go up to a mark of 139. He was then second behind Yala Enki in the Portman Cup at Taunton.
BEN DUNDEE ran an absolute cracker in the Paddy Power at Christmas when he finished runner up to School Boy Hours. He is worth an each-way shout.
RAPPER will be looking for his third win in a row. After reappearing with a run over hurdles in the autumn, he finished a good second to Jeremys Pass in a handicap chase at Ascot on Coral Hurdle day. He then cruised to a three-length success at Catterick before running down El Paso Wood to score under top-weight at Wincanton in February.
Veterans FRODON and LOSTINTRANSLATION are other two good opptions for each way bets.
At the moment, the most backed horses are the following:
All the bookmakers we recommend are offering No Runner No Bet on every Cheltenham Festival race.
ULTIMA HANDICAP CHASE TRENDS
- Only 2 of the last 26 favourites won
- Only 1 of the last 22 winners were the top weight
- The last 10 winners finished in the first 6 on their last start, with three winning their previous start.
- 9 of the last 10 winners wore headgear
- The last 10 winner were all trained in Britain
- 11 of the last 12 winners had at least 5 previous runs over at least 3 miles
- 11 of the last 12 winners had a rating of 132 or higher
ULTIMA HANDICAP CHASE PREDICTIONS
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ULTIMA HANDICAP CHASE FAQs
What is the distance of the Ultima Handicap Chase?
The Ultima Handicap Chase is run on a distance of 3 miles and 1 furlong
How many obstacles are jumped in the Ultima Handicap Chase?
There are 20 fences to jump for the Ultima Handicap Chase runners
What time is the Ultima Handicap Chase?
The Ultima Handicap Chase is the 3rd race run on Day 1 of the Cheltenham Festival. That falls on Tuesday March 15, 2022 and the official starting time is 2:50pm.
What is the prize money for the Ultima Handicap Chase?
The total prize money on offer for the Ultima Festival Chase at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival will be £110,000.
Who won the Ultima Handicap Chase last year?
Last year's renewal was won by Vintage Clouds at SP of 28/1, trained by Sue Smith and ridden by Ryan Mania.
What weights are carried for the Ultima Handicap Chase?
10st - 11st 12lb (handicap).
Who is the leading jockey in the Ultima Handicap Chase?
Tom Scudamore is more successful than any other jockey in the race in recent times, with three winners since 2008 (all for trainer David Pipe) and four places overall. Robert Thornton also has thre wins, but the most recent came courtesy of Fort Lightning in 2004.
Who is the leading trainer in the Ultima Handicap Chase?
With 3 winners and 6 places each overall, David Pipe and Jonjo O'Neill have the best record in the race.
