Cheltenham Countdown: Blazer clearly better than his Betfair Hurdle run suggests

Although plenty of punters who got their fingers burnt on Blazer in last weekend’s Betfair Hurdle, at Newbury, it is far too soon to write off the beaten favourite.

He didn’t enjoy the clearest of passages at an early stage, but it made little difference to the outcome, as he was beaten too far out for it to be a fair reflection of his ability.

While suggestions he is a Grade 1 horse are merely speculative at this stage of his career, I think it’s reasonably safe to assume he is better than his current rating. With that in mind, he remains of interest, and will do so for whatever handicap he turns up in at Cheltenham.