In the end, it all boils down to the same thing. We just want winning tips.
We won’t be writing any detailed race-by-race Cheltenham Festival previews. Other places cover that. We’ve already put out a guide to the trends and stats, along with some thoughts on how much the trends and stats should be applied when narrowing the field. We’ve also lightened the tone a bit with a quiz.
All that remains now is to give you the tips from the professionals. Lydia Hislop, Neil Channing and Rory Delargy were all invited to Betting Emporium’s Cheltenham Festival preview night in central London. The event was smoothly compared by Sean Boyce, and BetConnect is pleased to sponsor the five guest charity tips.
We’ll pay any winnings from the five £50 bets to Dogs on the Streets, a volunteer-run charity dedicated to the welfare of dogs belonging to the UK’s homeless community.
So, without further ado, here is the remaining charity tip:
Sean Boyce: MONALEE (£25 e-w, Gold Cup, Friday)
RESULTS
Neil Channing: RELEGATE (£25 e-w, Pertemps Final, Thursday)
Finished fifth after making late headway from the rear
Rory Delargy: HAPPY DIVA (£25 e-w, Festival Plate, Thursday)
? Finished second at 20/1, netting £125 for Dogs on the Streets! ?
Guest Tip*: NOT ANOTHER MUDDLE (£25 e-w, Festival Plate, Thurs)
Finished unplaced
Lydia Hislop: ASPIRE TOWER (£50 win, Triumph Hurdle, Friday)
Finished second after Goshen’s unfortunate spill at the last
But we’d love you to read on anyway for more detailed opinions. There are, after all, 28 races to get stuck into!
CHELTENHAM – DAY ONE TIPS
In the opening Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (1.30), Neil framed a case for EDWARDSTONE each-way, a horse he felt would settle well and push for a place at a nice price late in the day.
Rory and Lydia both revealed they were opposed to ASTERION FORLONGE, there was a general feeling in the room that SHISHKIN was another to steer clear of at the head of the market, given his tendency to take an early pull.
In the Arkle, Lydia’s selection was CASH BACK, while Rory and Neil both revealed an interest in ESPRIT DU LARGE at double-figure odds.
For the Champion Hurdle, Rory put up EPATANTE. “If Cheltenham is her bag and she’s still improving, she could make the rest look a bit silly. She’s one of the best on official ratings, and bearing in mind her mares’ allowance, she is the stand-out.” His value play is the other Nicky Henderson contender, CALL ME LORD.
Lydia said: “It’s going to be a very strongly run race, and absolute end-to-end gallop. BALLYANDY might be suited to that is I was looking for an over-priced horse.” Neil’s pick is for SHARJAH on good-to-soft ground ot SUPASUNDAE “in a slog.”
Russ Wiseman was unable to make it to the Bleeding Heart restaurant but emailed in to report that HONEYSUCKLE, a horse whose connections he knows well, was in excellent order for her bid at winning the Mares’ Hurdle.
Wait until 9am on Tuesday to get your bets on for the Cheltenham Festival with BetConnect and we’ll find you the best bookie odds available – plus we won’t charge you a penny in commission.
CHELTENHAM – DAY TWO TIPS
Lydia said the Queen Mother Champion Chase was “the race of the week, undoubtedly.” She went on: “CHACUN POUR SOI might be a front-runner and I think he’ll win it. His time performance when beating Min was very strong and he has run well against Altior.”
The entire panel felt negative vibes towards Altior, even though this was 12 hours before Henderson’s revelation that the horse had run into a late setback (though he has since shortened up in the market a bit).
UPDATE: Chacun Pour Soi and Altior both non-runners
Neil Channing turned his attention to the RSA, in which he gave a big shout out to MINELLA INDO while simultaneously dismissing the long-term market leader, Champ. “How could you back him?” he asked of a horse who fell last time out at Cheltenham.
PALLADIUM, a dual winner for Nicky Henderson and 12/1 at the time of writing, was suggested by Lydia for the Fred Winter.
CHELTENHAM DAY THREE TIPS
Paisley Park is the hot favourite for the Stayers’ Hurdle, but Rory revealed he was not minded to back him at short odds given the rider, Aidan Coleman’s, tendency to feel the pressure in big-race situations. Instead, he suggested the likeable 10-year old TOBEFAIR as an each-way option.
Lydia felt dual Festival winner PENHILL might come good with his turn of foot given the evidence of recent outings which have suggested he might be getting back to his form of old. Neil, on the other hand, suggested 25/1 shot RONALD PUMP.
The general consensus was that A PLUS TARD was the one to back in the Ryanair, with ASO of each-way interest if they ground is soft or worse.
CHELTENHAM – DAY FOUR TIPS
By this stage, the hour was late, wine had been consumed and dessert had been served. But we had to gather some thoughts on the Cheltenham Gold Cup itself.
Concentrating on the head of the market, Lydia revealed her enthusiasm for SANTINI, but Rory and Sean said they were not minded to back that horse on potential alone. Last year’s winner AL BOUM PHOTO was Rory’s selection while it was noted that DELTA WORK would enter calculations if the ground dries up.
Somebody put up RAMSES DE TEILLEE for the Albert Bartlett (apologies, the notebook entries get a little muddled at this point), and as for the Triumph nobody had a lot of good things to say about Solo. SIR PSYCHO was mentioned as one that might enjoy the race if the ground was to come up heavy.
* The guest tip was supplied by Harry Maude of Starlizard in the absence of Russ Wiseman.
Wait until 9am on Tuesday to get your bets on for the Cheltenham Festival with BetConnect and we’ll find you the best bookie odds available – plus we won’t charge you a penny in commission.
