The Cross Country Chase has a tough task in following the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham but there is still plenty of value and the chance for an upset for the betting customer.

The current favourite for the race is a horse called Garde Champetre. This horse has winning experience of running in this race before, is in very good form and seems in very good shape. The best price for a win is 5/1 with Victor Chandler and Stan James.

The second favourite for the race is a French horse called L’ami. L’ami has a very strong and impressive style over long distance fence races. The horse has had a solid career in National Hunt racing to date and will be looking for a first win in this race. The best price is with Stan James at 13/2.

Lacdoudal is another impressive French horse. The runs for this horse have been over varying distances but the horse still has a very good winning percentage rate. The horse is 8/1 to win the race in a few places and could be a good each way option as a number of placed finishes have followed wins.

Arabella Boy has to be the best outside bet for this race at 14/1 with Bet365. The horse has very rarely tasted defeat but the wins have come in lower quality races. The going and the pace could be a little too tough for this horse to handle but this is another very good each way option.

Double Dizzy is the rank outsider for this race at a best price of 33/1 in a few places. Double Dizzy has run a lot of races and has experience over this sort of distance. However, the pace will be too intense but mistakes from other horses at fences could increase Dizzy’s chance of a place finish

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Enda Bolger is responsible for five of the 16 runners as he seeks to continue his dominance of the Glenfarclas Handicap Chase at Cheltenham today.

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The County Limerick trainer has won four of the five runnings of the cross-country event and both Garde Champetre, successful the last two seasons, and 2007 winner Heads Onthe Ground are among his and owner J P McManus’s quintet.

Garde Champetre is a five-time winner over the unique circuit and led a one-two-three for connections last year when beating L’Ami and Drombeag. Freneys Well completes the team.

“They are all in good nick. They travelled over grand, we’re delighted with them and the ground will suit us. They like the dry ground,” said Bolger.

“Garde Champetre did it last season with top weight so there’s no reason why he can’t do it again, but there’s Monkerhostin there this time and a couple of Irish horses in there too.

“L’Ami actually ran better than Garde Champetre in their hurdle prep races. He was only beaten nine lengths by Rite Of Passage so JT (McNamara) definitely wouldn’t swap him at this stage.

“It would be great to win it again.”

Fellow Irish trainer Henry de Bromhead hopes to break Bolger’s monopoly with Sizing Australia, who has finished second and third behind Garde Champetre over the course and distance twice already this season.

“Sizing Australia is in good form. I’m very pleased with him and I’m looking forward to running him,” said the County Waterford handler.

“Obviously Enda’s got a real stranglehold on the race so we’ll try to do our best and see how we get on.”

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• Back Sizing Australia to win @ 5/1 with Stan James

The Cross Country Handicap Chase was introduced to the Cheltenham Festival after its expansion to a four day meeting back in 2005.

Spotthedifference became a real stalwart of the race up to his retirement in 2007 and since then, it has been Garde Champetre who has regularly emerged as the one to beat.

Enda Bolger’s charge has been successful on his last four outings over course and distance, including when he landed this race at the Festival last year.

This season he has beaten Heads Onthe Ground and Sizing Australia at the Open and December meetings under hefty weights and it looks extremely unlikely that he will be turned over this March.

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The 11 year-old warmed up with a spin over hurdles at Punchestown on Feb 17, an exercise taken out by connections purely to get their star in shape – ‘match fit’ if you like. He is a clear 2/1 favourite to claim a second Cheltenham triumph but that price is serious value.

He has form over all of the other likely contenders, of which, Sizing Australia is the only one who could cause a potential problem if he is eased at the weights.

A 7/1 shot, the 8 year-old, trained by Henry De Bromhead, is good each way value. He is a really genuine sort who enjoys his racing and tends to make the frame on the worst of days.

When beaten by Garde Champetre in December he was only a fraction away and should get close to him again. That day, he was receiving a massive 22lbs from the winner so he may well be handed another pound or so from the handicapper. His chances of getting past his rival however are still slim.

Elsewhere, Nick Williams Maljimar (9/1) has solid form around Cheltenham and could make the frame. He has placed on many occasions at Cheltenham before, including when an impressive second behind Wichita Lineman in the William Hill Trophy at last year’s Festival.

Beaten three lengths third by Garde Champetre last time out, he could also be a beneficiary of an ease in the weights in challenge to the favourite, so he could well make the frame.

Garde Champetre, Sizing Australia and Maljimar was the 1-2-3 in the last race over the course at Cheltenham and it is difficult to see beyond a similar outcome in a months time.