13:30 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle
Impaire Et Passe 7/4 has been a huge talking horse of late. Everyone seems to mention him at the moment and, while I’m sure there’s more to come from him, he’s a very short price now.
GOOD LAND 11/4 is rock-solid against him for a place. He travels well and will race close to the pace. He finds plenty for pressure too, which I always like, and that confidence has been increased by stablemate Marine Nationale's victory in the Supreme on Tuesday.
14:10 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase
The Brown Advisory is a tough race to call. Gerri Colombe 13/8 will run well but, again, he’s very short in the betting and I’d be looking to find something against him.
SIR GERHARD 9/2 has plenty of class and I think the trip will help him too, but he has only had one run over fences so is inexperienced in this sphere.
14.50 Coral Cup
It’s never easy to find the winners of these really big fields. Run For Oscar 15/2 must have a great chance with cheekpieces on.
But CAMPROND 15/2 is the main danger, in my opinion.
He ran well in the race last year and has been given a huge chance by the handicapper as he’s been dropped 9lb for two runs. For context, it would usually take a horse between four and six runs to drop that many.
HMS Seahorse 17/2is a horse I really like, too. He ran well in the Boodles last year, but I just wonder if he’s a little exposed off the back of his victory last time.
15.30 Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase
The feature race is the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase and I’m really looking forward to this.
I’m siding with EDWARDSTONE 13/8 who was able to breeze into the race last time out and that impressed me. He came up a little bit short on the day but take nothing away from the ride that the winner Editeur Du Gite got – it was superb.
I don’t think they’ll be as spread out this time around and Alan King could be picking up his first Champion Chase since 2007.
16:10 Cross Country Chase
The Cross Country is not my usual betting race, but I think DELTA WORK 6/5 is very good and loves the ground so, on that, is the one to beat.
16:50 Grand Annual Challenge Cup
I’m very keen on ANDY DUFRESNE 6/1 in the Grand Annual. He was runner up last year and has had a very quiet campaign this year, suggesting that this has been the target all along.
Mark Walsh had the choice of a couple to ride and that includes Dinoblue 5/1, but he has stuck with Andy Dufresne and that could be telling.
17:30 Champion Bumper
The Bumper is such an open race. I’ve said it on the recent Cheltenham Preview on Betway’s YouTube, but I think Willie’s best bumper horse is Ballyburn and he’s not running – so I ask the question: can he win it with a horse that isn’t his best?
Obviously he can – he’s got plenty of horses running who have shown a good level so far – but I’m going to side with QUEENS GAMBLE 20/1 to sneak into a place. She was very impressive at Cheltenham at the back end of last year and, although she was beaten last time, she returns to Cheltenham again and that’s going to be a plus.
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