Cheltenham
4.25pm
The Macon Lugnatic
He has a 6lb penalty in here on account of his two wins last season, so that isn’t ideal, but the race has cut up to just six runners, so we can’t really complain. This will be the first time I have ridden him since he disappointed in a Warwick bumper on New Year’s Eve in 2018, but he proved that form all wrong when winning at Newbury next time and he has gone to a brace of hurdle successes at Doncaster. He beat a good horse in the first of those and defied a 7lb penalty next time, so hopefully he can kick on again in this campaign. Obviously, he has his stamina to prove here as he steps up to 3m for the first time.
5.35pm
I Am Maximus
I said in Friday’s column that Authorized is a sire I love, and I Am Maximus is by him out of a decent 1m winner in France, and he is related to a couple of fairly smart winners on the Flat, too. He definitely shows us ability at home, so let’s hope he can go close to following up the stable’s win in this race last season. But you can run well in these Cheltenham bumpers and finish fourth or fifth, and he meets six winners for a start, without even factoring in the others from top yards.
