It was business as usual for Grade 1 king Willie Mullins on the first day of Cheltenham Festival, with Douvan, Vroum Vroum Mag and, most impressively, Annie Power all bolting up – the latter in a course record time. Minella Rocco was another favourite to win in what must have…
1pt win Beg To Differ @12/1, 0.5pt EW Morning Assembly @14/1, 0.5pt EW Southfield Theatre @20/1, 14:50 Cheltenham
The market for each of the Grade 1’s on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival all look fairly familiar. Nobody is going to get rich by placing single bets on the Willie Mullins’ favourites, and I for one would rather get stuck in to the exciting big-field handicaps where there’s…
0.5pt each-way Definitly Red @16/1, 16:50 Cheltenham, 15th March
The wait is over, spring has turned up and it’s Champion Hurdle day at Cheltenham Festival. The big race is a curious punting puzzle this year and we’re sitting on a 25/1 each-way ticket on runaway Relkeel Hurdle winner Camping Ground, who it might surprise you to know is the…
Cheltenham Festival 2016
The form is in the book, the cards are finalised (nearly), spring has turned up (late), and it’s one more sleep ’til the 2016 Cheltenham Festival. We’ll be there all four days and promise all of our tips for the day before noon, and if you haven’t followed our ante-post selections…
0.5pt win Jer's Girl @50/1 NRNB, Triumph Hurdle, Cheltenham 18th March
I’ve stuck half a point on JER’S GIRL to win the Triumph Hurdle on Gold Cup day – Friday. She’s a whopping 50/1, and when you consider the favourite, Ivanovich Gorbatov, beat her by just a head on his last start – the Grade 1 juvenile hurdle won by Footpad…
1pt win Art Mauresque @11/2, 1pt win Laser Hawk @10/1, 15:25 Newbury
Paul Nicholls has enjoyed much success in the Greatwood Gold Cup, with four victories in the previous six instalments. His yard also appears to be hitting form at the right time in the season, bouyed by the eye-catching performance of Zubayr last week in the Adonis Hurdle. As a novice ART…
0.75pt each-way Balios @8/1, 14:20 Meydan
Cheltenham Festival is very much front of mind this time of year, though there’s plenty of top-class flat racing occurring in Meydan too, as the Carnival builds up to World Cup night later this month. The prize money on offer in Dubai dwarfs that of Cheltenham, and that’s why plenty of British…
1pt win Jungle Cat @5/1, 13:10 Meydan
Meydan hosts a Group Three trial on Saturday for the Group One Al Quoz Sprint on World Cup night, won last year by everyone’s favourite Sole Power. That success aside, he wasn’t his brilliant best last season and, ironically for a horse that’s never won over the distance, his best…
1pt win Thomas Hobson @16/1, Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, Cheltenham 18th March
You won’t see many Willie Mullins-trained pink-silked Grade-1 runners during Festival week going off double-digit odds, but THOMAS HOBSON looks likely to buck the trend in the Albert Bartlett. Well-fancied stablemates Vautour, Douvan, Djakadam, Min, Limini, Annie Power and Vroum Vroum Mag are all skinny prices for their respective assignments, and…
Cheltenham Festival Ante-Post Update, 1st March
A lot has happened since our last update, and the media clues are in full flow. Let’s get the bad news out the way first, as there’s plenty of good. Simonsig, Killultagh Vic, Faugheen and, most painfully, Ar Mad are all out through injury. Rotten luck, as it can happen to…