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From now until Cheltenham I will be offering my thoughts on the best of the weekends action. My 'Guide To The Weekend' will be free to view on the front page in the section below and will be available every week from late Friday afternoon.

SUNDAY 5th FEBRUARY – PUNCHESTOWN

TIED COTTAGE CHASE – GRADE 2

The Tied Cottage Chase acted as the Champion Chase prep run for both Big Zeb and Sizing Europe in 2011 and does so again here in what is clearly, barring major accidents, a two horse race. The betting for the festival in March has Sizing Europe trading at a best priced 9/4, whilst Big Zeb is still available with several firms at 4/1.

Sizing Europe is the reigning champion having beaten his great rival by a relatively comfortable five lengths in the main event last season. If we take that performance at face value there is very little reason why that form should be reversed in 2012 and one can understand their respective places in the Champion Chase market at this moment in time. Nonetheless, as always, there is more to it than that and, although Henry De Bromhead’s stable star has won at the last two Cheltenham Festivals; it is fair to say that he has also failed to deliver on one or two occasions. Notably, when easily brushed aside in this race last year by both Big Zeb and Golden Silver. Furthermore, he missed the 2009 festival and previously found nothing up the hill when finishing tailed off as the 2/1 favourite for the 2008 Champion Hurdle.

Big Zeb also has an excellent record over the last two Cheltenham festivals and can also boast very strong form at Punchestown in each of his latest four appearances at the track. He is an incredibly consistent horse and has only finished out of the first two once in 17 completed starts over fences. Any blips in the record of Sizing Europe have, as often as not, been down to his connections running him over a trip beyond his best; however, he has met defeat in each of his last four starts at Punchestown and, on balance, Big Zeb is the more likely of the two to run his race and come out on top in the Tied Cottage Chase once again. At his current odds of 4/5 Colm Murphy’s charge may not be a betting proposition today but there must be a strong possibility that the 4/1 available on Big Zeb for the festival in March will have disappeared by just after 3pm on Sunday.

Read Andy Gibson's features taken from the Racing Post