It’s the biggest Festival of the year, where punters on both sides of the Irish Sea make the pilgrimage to the heart of the Cotswolds, in the shadow of Cleeve Hill, for four days of unrivalled racing pleasure. Day Two surely can’t match the drama and thrills of day one, but there’s plenty more stars on show on another action-packed card.
Big Race View
Once again we turn to the first race of the day, and a brilliant betting heat between the top two. Final Demand looked imperious at the Dublin Racing Festival, whilst The New Lion asserted his dominance on the novice division by winning the Challow.
My vote goes to Final Demand, on one simple trend. No Challow winner has won at the Cheltenham Festival since Wichita Lineman in 2007. That’s a pretty long absence. Also Final Demand looked head and shoulders above most novice hurdlers and Leopardstown and will look to rely on his stamina getting the better of the others. He’s a three-miler in time and this is a perfect layup in his novice career.
At a big price, Potters Charm disappointed here on Trials Day, but should have been saved for this test however the run will not have done him any harm He’s very speedy but showed his stamina winning over course and distance in December. He’s a Grade One winner too in this field and must be respected.
Big Race Bet: Turners Novice’s Hurdle (Grade One) – Final Demand @ 6/4 (General), Potters Charm e/w @ 14/1 (General)
Excellent at Each-way
It’s hard to really put a finger on a good each-way bet at a price. But one that stuck out was Stellar Story in the Brown Advisory. He won last year’s Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, is a Grade Two winner over fences at Punchestown and was only downed by a neck to Better Days Ahead at Navan previously. Barring the Long Distance Novice Chase, he’s proven to be consistent over fences and can easily run in for a place behind Ballyburn.
Excellent Each-way bet: Brown Advisory Novice’s Chase (Grade One) – Stellar Story e/w @ 12/1 (General)
Handy Handicap Guide
The Coral Cup is probably the messiest and hardest race to predict at the Festival. But following the trends can often find you the winner in such a packed field
Dan Skelton will look to win this for a third year, but I prefer Impose Toi who’s only had the one run, but that’s deemed to be enough for the Henderson team. He’s won at Cheltneham before over two miles and has taken the step up to two-and-a-half miles well, with one win and one third. He wears cheekpieces for the first time, which is a major positive and can see him battle it out at the finish.
Sandor Clegane never set the world alight chasing but his return to hurdling has also been somewhat indifferent. However he’s been running at Grade One and Two level and looks to have longed for a competitive handicap in my opinion. And with the form franked in the G2 Galmoy Hurdle by Thedevilscoachman, he can run very nicely into fourth spot or even better.
Sa Fureur made an unusual move after winning the Foxrock Handicap Chas eat Navan in December. He switched to hurdles for a Premier Handicap Hurdle at Christmas, which he disappointed in. But scroll back through his form and you will see he finished fourth in the Grand Annual last year and has ran in to plenty of talented horses on the way. Notably, the ride of Jack Kennedy. Cannot be discounted
Handy Handicap Bets: Coral Cup (Premier Handicap) – Impose Toi @ 17/2 (William Hill), Sandor Clegane e/w @ 14/1 (William Hill), Sa Fureur e/w @ 25/1 (William Hill, BetVictor)
Selections:
13:20 – Turners Novices’ Hurdle (Grade One) – FINAL DEMAND @ 6/4 (General), Potters Charm e/w @ 14/1 (General)
14:00 – Brown Advisory Novice’s Chase (Grade One) – Ballyburn @ 8/11 (William Hill, Betfred, Boylesports), STELLAR STORY E/W @ 12/1 (General)
14:40 – Coral Cup (Premier Handicap) – Impose Toi @ 17/2 (William Hill), Sandor Clegane e/w @ 14/1 (William Hill), Sa Fureur e/w @ 25/1 (William Hill, BetVictor)
15:20 – Cross Country Chase – Stumptown @ 11/4 (William Hill, BetVictor)
16:00 – Champion Chase (Grade One) – Jonbon @ 10/11 (William Hill), Jonbon/Energumene/Captain Guinness tricast
16:40 – Grand Annual (Premier H’cap) – American Mike @ 12/1 (General), Trapain Law @ 16/1 (William Hill), General Medrano e/w @ 20/1 (William Hill)
17:20 – Champion Bumper (Grade One) – Bambino Fever @ 11/2 (General), Aqua Force e/w @ 14/1 (William Hill), Fortune De Mer e/w @ 20/1 (General)
Best of Luck!
