At the time of writing, jump racing’s Olympics has not yet kicked off, so let’s just assume I’m about to have a perfect first day ahead of my Cheltenham Festival 2025 Day 2 Tips.
I’m kidding, of course, but these are my finalised fancies for the second day of the Cheltenham Festival, a day that sees Jonbon, The New Lion, Ballyburn, and, most importantly, Roi Mage strut their stuff.
Just quickly, the ground is going to be very interesting. In my head, I had been working on nice, good to soft spring ground, but bits and pieces of rain (and watering) could well change that. I’m hopeful it’ll be close to this, but things can change.
Let’s dive in.
Cheltenham Festival 2025 Day 2 Tips
Turners Novices’ Hurdle (1:20, Wednesday) – The New Lion @ 15/8 with BetVictor– 2pt Win
I think The New Lion will be too good for his rivals in the Turners, and I don’t think he price is bad at all.
Firstly, I see Potters Charm as the each-way danger in this contest. He’s a general price of 10/1 currently, but I’m happy to let it ride out with my 7/1 ante-post tip. He was put up in this column as a 1pt win, so if he obliges, happy days.
As for The New Lion, I really believe he is the one to beat, and a lot of his form reads favourably. He beat Belliano on debut at Chepstow who has won two since.
The six-year-old by Kayf Tara then smashed Califet En Vol, a subsequent Sidney Banks winner, in a novice hurdle at Newbury before he won in the Grade 1 Challow Novices’ Hurdle superbly well.
I don’t get the ‘Challow winners have a bad Cheltenham record’ argument. It’s a differently run race each year with different horses who go on to face different opponents in a different race at Cheltenham.
I’m not sure how well adapted Final Demand will be to a potentially fast-paced Turners, and the same goes for The Yellow Clay, so The New Lion gets my vote.
Turners Novices’ Hurdle (1:20, Wednesday) – Potters Charm @ 7/1 (ante-post bet)
As mentioned, I have a super shrewd ante-post bet on Potters Charm at 7/1 for the Turners. He’s currently 14/1. A job well done.
To read my write-up, click here.
Coral Cup (2:40 Wednesday) – Be Aware @ 9/1 (ante-post bet)
I’ll keep this short and sweet, Be Aware is my Coral Cup fancy, and he’s probably one of my stronger handicap bets of the week.
He’s a mixture of 5/1 and 4/1 now, so I won’t be topping up, but this column has a nice bit of 9/1 in the satchel ahead of the Coral Cup.
For my full reasoning on him, click here.
Let’s hope he obliges and isn’t another value loser.
Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (3:20, Wednesday) – Galvin @ 4/1 with William Hill – 1pt Win
In the Cross Country Chase, I’ve come around to the idea that Galvin will be too good, and he’s even getting weight from Stumptown here!
There’s no Delta Work for him to run into here, and there’s also no Minella Indo or I Am Maximus for him to take on either, so this looks like one of his easiest assignments in a while.
In the 2023 Cross Country Chase when second to Delta Work, he travelled powerfully around the fresh ground of the cross-country course but probably didn’t enjoy stepping onto the used course proper.
Funnily enough, he jumped the last obstacle quicker than Delta Work that day but was just done on the ground up the hill.
Having looked back through his form, I was reminded of how well he goes when he is fresh. He’s won off breaks including 154, 119, 144, and 211 days, so this 144-day break shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
The ground debate is a bit up in the air in my mind. It’s probably not going to be as quick as it was once predicted, but there is good in the description already on the cross-country course, so I imagine the surface will be fine.
He’s one I’m willing to back at the head of the market.
Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (3:20, Wednesday) – Roi Mage @ 25/1 with William Hill (5 places) – 0.5pt EW
Cliff horses: they’re great fun, aren’t they? Roi Mage certainly fits that bill, but it’s easy to fancy him in the Cross Country Chase for Patrick Griffin and James Reveley.
In his limited experience around the Cheltenham cross-country course, he lobbed along under Patrick Mullins off 149 on Trials Day in 2023 before just getting the 20th fence all wrong.
He’s subsequently finished seventh in Corach Rambler’s Grand National and ninth in I Am Maximus’ Grand National off 149 and 147 respectively.
A rating of 145 therefore gives him a nice chance in this handicap challenge, especially when you look at his success in the Grand Cross at Craon last year.
He beat Sweet David by seven lengths that day; Sweet David went on to defy a mark of 140 in the cross country race at the Cheltenham November meeting.
He won at Compiegne in November 2023 off a 209-day break and he won at the same course in September 2021 off a 127-day break.
Coming into this race fresh is no issue, so he’s worth covering each way at a smaller stake.
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase (4:40, Wednesday) – My Mate Mozzie @ 13/2 with Betfred – 1pt Win
I’m annoyed that My Mate Mozzie has come for some support in the Grand Annual as he looked like a lovely price at 14/1 ante-post.
Alas, I will still back him for the Grand Annual as I think he is the one here who is less exposed and is well-weighted.
Gavin Cromwell has always said he prefers nice spring ground, something he has a chance of getting this week, and he isn’t that exposed in handicaps.
It’s easy to forget that he finished a staying-on second in the 2023 Racing Post Novice Chase to Found A Fifty on yielding ground, and Found A Fifty’s form with Solness, Senecia, Il Etait Temps, Master Chewy, and Pinkerton has worked out nicely.
My Mate Mozzie finished third in Zarak The Brave’s Galway Hurdle and he was third in the 2024 renewal to the runaway Nurburgring.
He’s bolted up over the course and distance before when the ground was good, and his first run for 125 days at the Dublin Racing Festival was promising.
He’s been targeted towards this race all season, and he’s certainly going to be hard on the bridle turning for home. After that, his chance is in the hands of the gods.
He’s my main fancy in the race.
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase (4:40, Wednesday) – JPR One @ 10/1 with William Hill (5 places) – 1pt EW
My Mate Mozzie may be my number one hope, but I can see JPR One outrunning his odds if the ground stays on the nice side.
He’s 7lbs higher than his last winning mark, but he beat a subsequent two-time Grade 2 winner that day (Djelo) and he won fairly comfortably.
His form as a novice chaser also looks good, especially when he beat Matata and Master Chewy at Lingfield on soft ground in the Lightning Novices’ Chase.
His run behind Jonbon at Sandown in December was also pretty good on undesirable ground, and I’m hoping his Game Spirit effort (which also came on soft) just blew the cobwebs off nicely.
He’s not chucked in off 156, but he’s classy in the correct conditions and he could be one that people may forget. The more of this predicted rain that lands in Gloucestershire, the worse his chance gets.
Weatherbys Champion Bumper (5:20, Wednesday) – Kalypso’chance @ 13/2 with William Hill (3 places) – 1pt EW
I get the impression that Kalypso’chance is quite a nice horse, and he’d be my idea of the Champion Bumper winner.
Yes, taking on ‘Willie’s in the bumper’ comes with its risks, but they aren’t the most convincing market leaders for a Champion Bumper I’ve ever seen. Gameofinches looks like a fine beast for the future and I do think Copacabana is priced accordingly just because W P Mullins trains him.
They are nice horses, no doubt, but I’m happy to take them on with a fairly solid Gordon Elliott-trained runner instead.
Kalypso’chance bolted up at Punchestown on rules debut before showing a really nice turn of foot at Navan despite his apparent greenness. Heads Up, the runner-up, was an impressive bumper winner himself and he finished second to the subsequent Grade 2 DRF bumper winner Colcannon at Galway in October.
I do have a small worry about nice ground. He’s by Masked Marvel, the sire of Teahupoo, Maskada, Predators Gold, and a host of soft ground-loving horses, but it won’t be rattling quick, so that should be fine.
Nice spring ground should be fine, and he looks like a speedy horse, so maybe he could actually appreciate a bit of a bounce in the surface.
Gigginstown don’t tend to send many to the Champion Bumper, but when they do, it’s for a reason. Jalon d’Oudairies finished third last year and Abacadabras was fourth to Envoi Allen in 2019.
He’s my main Champion Bumper horse, especially with Kaylan now no longer going to the contest.
Three-fold acca – The New Lion (1:20), Ballyburn (2:00) & Jonbon (4:00) @ 11/1 with BetVictor – 1pt Win
This is a first for the column and don’t think this is something that will be staying, but I’m pretty happy with the price of the three-fold accumulator for The New Lion in the Turners, Ballyburn in the Brown Advisory, and Jonbon in the Champion Chase.
My case for The New Lion has already been advertised, but why am I chucking in Ballyburn and Jonbon for a three-fold acca?
Look, firstly, I’m not usually one for these short-priced Cheltenham accas that get passed around on Racing X like a bottle of vodka at a house party.
It’s not usually my style as I like to either find an angle against them or to avoid the race completely.
However, my love for Jonbon is well-documented, and I think his price of 10/11 with BetVictor in the Champion Chase is more than acceptable. If he didn’t take the fourth-last fence home to Lambourn with him during the 2024 Clarence House, he’d be 4/6 for this race.
As for Ballyburn, I’ve just come around to him over the last few days. He’s 6/5 with BetVictor, and that’s fine for a horse who was clearly the best hurdler last season.
I think Ballyburn has a class edge over his rivals, he’s ground versatile, and his last run when beating Croke Park at Leopardstown was obviously nice on the eye.
10.5/1 is the price of the treble on William Hill. Sure, why not? 1pt on at that price won’t hurt. Of course, if it goes down after one leg, the egg will indeed be on my face.
