Cheltenham Festival Day 3 - Part 1

Here is our first of three part guide to all the action Thursday as the thrills and spills of the Cheltenham Festival continues into day three.

The opening race of Thursday is the Jewson Novices’ Chase that is being run for just the third time. Trends are tough to find as the race has just been ran twice but both winners were Irish. In addition a number of the placed horses over the first two years have had previous runs at the Festival. Another factor to note is that the top three last year all arrived on the back of a victory in their previous race.

The market is headed by the short-priced favourite Dynaste. The David Pipe runner has won the last three including an impressive victory over Hadrian’s Approach at Kempton last time out on Boxing Day. The horse also won three races ago in November and ran at the Festival in the ladbrokes World Hurdle last year. It looks tough to take this horse on though at the time of writing the horse was no better than 7/4 which is not a price I will be rushing to get involved with.

Aupcharlie and Captain Conan are both expected to go well, the former from the Willie Mullins yard which has had such a good festival so far and the latter from the Nicky Henderson yard. Module also has to be respected after two recent wins. At bigger prices I like the each-way chances of Third Intention from the Colin Tizzard yard. The Horse has yet to win in five Chase races though two seconds and three thirds suggest an ultra-dependable consistent sort. In addition the horse has ran a number of times at the course and with some good top speed figures looks value at double figures in the EW market.

The second race of the afternoon is the Pertemps Final (Listed Handicap Hurdle) which gets underway at 14:05. The market is headed by Sam Winner from the Paul Nicholls yard with Ruby Walsh expected to be on board. The Nicholls runner saw off Peddlers Cross at Kempton in January on last appearance and has also won two times at the course. Last time out though he was a faller at the course. Also on the negative side he is only six-years-old and just one of the last nine winners of this has been that age. Next in the betting is the Jonjo O’Neill runner Shutthefrontdoor. Not only is the horse seeking a fourth successive victory but a sixth from seven career runs. Although lacking in Cheltenham experience the horse comes from a team (O’Neill/McManus) who have combined to win this race twice together and have also won once more seperately.

Close House is another I like the look of and at the bigger price of the three it is he who gets my vote in this race. At the time of writing this horse was available at around 10/1 and that looks good odds from a trainer (David Pipe) who has a good record in this race with two wins in the last three years. The horse looked good in winning at Wincanton on Boxing Day and was not disgraced in coming fourth at the Festival in the Neptune.

At an even bigger price I like the look of Captain Sunshine in the each-way market. The horse is capable of throwing in some stinkers but over Hurdles has two wins and three seconds from ten starts. Last time out the Emma Lavelle runner looked decent when coming second to Master of the Sea at Newbury.

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BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Close House EW in the Pertemps Final (14:05)
SILVER: Third Intention EW in the Jewson Novices’ (13:30)
BRONZE: Captain Sunshine EW in the Pertemps Final (14:05)

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13/03/2013     © Frixo 2024