The road to the Festival starts now. We begin at the home of jumps racing for the prestigious Trials Day, where plenty of clues will be laid out for many of the graded contests. Plus there’s some Northern Trails up at Doncaster where the feature handicap of the day is the Great Yorkshire Chase. Let’s dive into it.
Cheltenham
Roko Redemption
1:50 – Betfair Exchange Handicap Chase (Premier H’cap) – Iroko @ 9/2 (General)
There’s plenty to like about Iroko’s chances and he should suit this trip over the fences. He was a former winner over the Martin Pipe and has been seen staying further. But this looks ideal. He can recover after being very unlucky falling at Ascot just before Christmas. This rates an exciting opportunity to possibly to put him in the Ryanair, or the Plate if he’s not successful.
Imperial Saint is possibly the most likeable horse going this season. Three wins from four starts has seen him skyrocket up the rankings and he’s won in imperious style too. On Boxing Day, he recorded that third victory at Aintree for the third time. There may be an argument that he prefers flat tracks to more undulating ones like Cheltenham, but he’s a relentless galloper which will suit him on the New Course. 5/1 (Unibet).
Lay Down The Law
3:35 – Cleeve Hurdle (Grade Two) – Ga Law @ 9/1 (BetVictor)
This looks to be the most competitive Cleeve Hurdle in recent years. Both Crambo and Strong Leader, Grade One winners in their own right, have a poor record at Cheltenham. Ga Law is more likely to be seen over fences and ran a great race in the Paddy Power Gold Cup. This run will protect his handicap mark and will be feared now tackling hurdles.
Potter Trials
4:10 – AIS Novice’s Hurdle (Grade Two) – Potters Charm @ 5/6 (Unibet)
Potters Charm is possibly the most exciting novice hurdler in Britain at the moment and will rival any Irish raider at the Festival. For now, he returns to a track where he’s won at twice this season over both two and two-and-a-half miles. Now a Grade One winner over two miles, he steps back up in trip in what should be a successful trial.
Wade Out is quite exciting as a novice hurdler. He should be respected from the Olly Murphy stable and has won twice this season, placing second at Ascot. This is a big step up in trip and grade but will give it a good crack. Possible pace angle as well, given the fact he set a slow pace at Lingfield previously and may make it difficult for the rest. 14/1 (General).
Doncaster
Forward Showing
3:15 – Great Yorkshire Handicap Chase (Premier H’cap) – Forward Plan @ 11/2 (BetVictor, Betfred)
Forward Plan has a great record at this track with one win and two placings at Doncaster in three outings here. He just lost by a nose in last year’s contest and is back to a similar mark with a claiming jockey taking 10 pounds off. He races consistently in these sorts of handicaps and will not be far away once more.
Each-way value falls the way of Idalko Bihoue. He’s lightly raced and hasn’t found a win since Cheltenham in November 2023. He has fallen sharply in the handicap and races off an attractive mark. The ground a Doncaster very rarely turns soft and if he’s got plenty of gallop in him he may need it, as the final fences up the homestraight may be missed out due to low sun. 12/1 (BetVictor).
Tightenourbelts seeks a hat-trick and is up in grade today. Last time he was very impressive at Ludlow beating Neon Moon by 13L. Looks to be in the form of his life and looks to relish this trip, plus is relatively unexposed too with only three starts over three miles and two wins. More than an each-way shot. 14/1 (General).
The Very Best of Luck!
