THE excitement is building daily and much as trainers are focussed on making their final preparations for their runners at The Festival, the culinary team are in full flow, headed up by award-winning chef Tom Parry.
This is a massive role that Tom has with all the team, with planning and preparation in place since the end of the 2019 Cheltenham Festival. There will be over 3,000 people working on a daily basis in hospitality at The Festival and this has seen another successful recruitment and management drive by the Jockey Club Catering Jobs team.
In the meantime I’ll be at Newbury on Saturday for the Greatwood Charity Raceday. I have supported Greatwood for over twenty years and please make sure you make a bid in their charity online auction where there are so many great prizes kindly donated.
See my Five Ante-Post Cheltenham Selections, with Five Long Shots to follow.
Cheers and can’t wait!
The Wine Tipster
13.30 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle 2m Grade 1
Whilst it’s hard to knock the claims of Shishkin, who has looked impressive in his last two starts, the Irish pair of Abacadabras and ASTERION FORLONGE have arguably achieved more and the latter makes plenty of appeal at this stage, with the ground looking all the more likely to start on the soft side. Willie Mullins’ 6-year-old won comfortably ahead of a classy field in the Grade 1 Pharma Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Festival with a galloping display that saw him come right away in the closing stages. He’ll want further in time, but this test looks sure to suit at present, and gives every impression that there is so much more improvement to come.
Unibet 9/2 win
17.30 National Hunt Challenge Cup Amateur Riders’ Novices’ Chase 3m 5f
Colin Tizzard made it clear after COPPERHEAD had won at Ascot that his preferred option is the National Hunt Challenge Cup, with his six-year-old also figuring high in the betting in the RSA. Copperhead has been in my Cheltenham notebook since winning impressively at Wincanton last December, ahead of following up very comfortably at Newbury at their Challow meeting. Ground conditions were very testing at Ascot earlier this month, where Copperhead won by seventeen lengths, which might have been a little flattering, however his price of 6/1 seemed mighty generous on the day.
He is a natural over fences, travels smoothly, looks sure to get this trip and has a great chance of achieving a Cheltenham success.
Unibet 5/1 win
13.30 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle 2m 5f Grade 1
Envoi Allen has been all the rage for this for some while and his claims are crystal clear, but he’s not as far clear on the figures as the betting makes out he is, and the old racing saying tells us that you should never be scared of one horse. THYME HILL was just over 2l behind Envoi Allen in last year’s Champion Bumper but was doing all his best work at the finish and it was always on the cards he’d be best at this sort of trip. Something of a forgotten horse, he’s already got a defeat of Tolworth winner Fiddlerontheroof under his belt and has plenty of Cheltenham experience too, winning here in November. With the current weather forecast it looks much more likely that Thyme Hill will line up on soft ground in the Ballymore than on the Friday in the Albert Bartlett, which would need to be quick going. In the Ballymore he has a cracking chance.
Unibet 12/1 each way – great price
14.50 Ryanair Chase 2m 4f Grade 1
With every day that goes by, this is looking like a race that could fall apart a bit, and if connections go this route with A PLUS TARD (which looks very likely, rather than the Champion Chase) then he can prove one of the Irish bankers of the week. One of the easiest winners of the Close Brothers we’ve seen in recent times at last year’s Festival, he’s gone from strength to strength since then and his defeat of Chacun Pour Soi at Leopardstown over Christmas has been well and truly franked since. He looks rock solid here.
Unibet 9/4 win
13.30 Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (Grade 1) 3m 2f
In what looks the most open Gold Cup for years, it may pay to forgive LOSTINTRANSLATION his poor effort in the King George, as he looked a real star in the making before that, and he never looked happy for a minute at Kempton. There are possible excuses, not least the fact he made a small noise and has had his wind tinkered with since, but since finishing second to Defi Du Seuil in last year’s JLT he’s done nothing but improve, and the way he ground down the thorough stayer Bristol De Mai in the Betfair Chase indicates he won’t have a problem staying this trip. Will go there a fresh horse, which after the winter we’ve had, with bad ground everywhere, will be no bad thing, and he can show his true colours on the big stage.
Unibet 13/2 each way
Prices subject to change
