CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL RACECARD – DAY 4 – FRIDAY 15th MARCH
The feature race on Day 4 and the culmination of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival is The Boodles Gold Cup, and what a race we have in prospect this time around.
The Blue Riband has seen some amazing performances down the years. Who can forget the mighty Arkle, and modern-day great Kauto Star. And who can forget the embrace between ex-jockey Terry Biddlecombe and his partner Henrietta Knight after Best Mate, another triple-winning Gold Cup hero came to prominence?
It’s an interesting day and one that in the past has produced some very big-priced winners, an ideal scenario for placing a Heinz or Lucky 63 on six races or going for the jackpot and placing a Super Heinz on seven races.
- 13:30 The JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1)
- 14:10 The County Handicap Hurdle Race (Premier Handicap)
- 14:50 The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle Race (Grade 1)
- 15:30 The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase (Grade 1)
- 16:10 The St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Steeple Chase
- 16:50 The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Steeple Chase (Grade 2)
- 17:30 Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle
Just writing the names of these horses gets me tingling with excitement about what is to come at the Cotswold theatre of dreams,.But let’s shift from nostalgia to numbers, and get stuck into the form for this Cheltenham Festival Preview Day 4 analysis.
13:30 THE Jcb Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1)
The first race of the day is The Triumph Hurdle, and if you checked out our 2024 Cheltenham Festival Preview page, you would have seen that we earmarked three horses at the end of January that were well fancied in the betting.
This is the race for four-year-olds and it is an important trial for the next year’s, Champion Hurdle. Lossiemouth won this last year and she’ll have already run in the Champion Hurdle or Mares Hurdle earlier in the week.
Once the final declarations are posted online, our tipping expert Richard Smith will be analysing the race to try and pinpoint a couple of value picks.
RACE ANALYSIS & SELECTIONS
FORM PICK (Below are our 2023 selections. 2024 selections will be posted on Wednesday 13th March)
Willie Mullins is mob handed here with Blood Destiny 6/4, Lossiemouth 7/4, and Gala Marceau 4/1 the top three in the betting.
But I like one at double-figure odds and that is the unbeaten ZENTA 12/1 EW who has won her sole start in a Grade 3 first time up and looks to have more to come. She gets a handy 7lbs from the boys here and fits into the “Could be anything” category and looks a bit of value as an each-way play.
14:10 The County Handicap Hurdle Race (Premier Handicap)
The second race of the day is The County Hurdle, one of the most competitive handicap hurdles of the week. Run over two miles, it is a speed test and always attracts a large field of runners.
Over the past few seasons, we have seen a couple of favourites successful, but more often than not, punters should be looking for double-figure prices. On our 2024 Cheltenham Festival Preview page, you would have seen that we earmarked three horses at the end of January that were well fancied in the betting.
Once the final declarations are published, we’ll be taking a deep dive into the form with our expert Richard Smith. He’ll be looking for some value each-way picks that might hit the frame, and he’ll try and point you in the direction of a combination tricast.
RACE ANALYSIS & SELECTIONS
FORM PICK (Below are our 2023 selections. 2024 selections will be posted on Wednesday 13th March)
A fascinating entry, and SHARJAH 8/1 EW has had his recent form with State Man nicely franked by that ones run in the Champion Hurdle. Mullins is no stranger to putting his top-class horses in selective handicaps as he did with Arctic Fire a few years ago. Sharjah is in here off 155 which is a tough ask, yet he has probably run above that mark the last two times, and the handicapper has given him a real chance.
At a much bigger price, our second selection is HIGHWAY ONE O TWO 33/1 EW. This one finished a fine third behind Constitution Hill and Epatante in the Christmas Hurdle from a mark of 143 and probably ran right to that mark. Next time out he went to Newbury for the Betfair Hurdle where he was 16 lengths behind Acunrisque and he gave that rival 5 lbs and is now getting 4lb’s. Taking into account the 7 lb claimer on board and these two should dead heat.
The other big positives are his best form has been left-handed and over two and half miles.
14:50 THE Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
The appetiser before the main event is the staying hurdle for novice hurdlers and in past years has been for slightly lower-grade runners rated in the 140s.
This is a race that has definitely thrown up its fair share of shocks over the years, so looking for an unexposed and big-priced runner can pay dividends.
Our 2024 Cheltenham Festival Preview page earmarked three horses that were well fancied in the betting at the beginning of February, and once the final declarations are posted online, Richard Smith, our tipping expert will be looking to point you in the direction of a couple of each way plays for the race.
RACE ANALYSIS & SELECTIONS
FORM PICK (Below are our 2023 selections. 2024 selections will be posted on Wednesday 13th March)
This looks a very good renewal of this race, and the two we like against the field are Rock My Way 20/1 and Seabank Bistro 18/1.
It was a tough call to pick between the two but the narrow vote goes to SEABANK BISTRO 18/1 EW who won last time out after a couple of fine placed efforts over two miles and five furlongs. He looks a stayer, so it was to his credit that he managed to finish fourth in last season’s Champion Bumper, form which is top quality.
15:30 THE Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup STEEPLE Chase (Grade 1)
So we are final here, The feature of the week, The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup and what a race we have in prospect. And just to whet your appetite, you can relive last year’s race which was won in scintillating style by Galopin Des Champs.
We still do not know if the reigning champ will make it to the race, but if he does, then he should be the one to beat.
Once the final declarations are published we’ll get our expert Richard Smith to do a full analysis of each runner and give you his top picks for the race.
RACE ANALYSIS & SELECTIONS
FORM PICK (Below are our 2023 selections. 2024 selections will be posted on Wednesday 13th March)
This is one of the best Gold Cups for many years and it really centres around a couple of horses, and they are the pretender to the crown Galopin Des Champs and the reigning champion A Plus Tard.
Quite simply, if A Plus Tard shows up anywhere within 5 lbs of his rating then he will be tough to beat. However, his run in the Betfair Chase was abysmal, and we have not seen him since, so he gets a swerve based on those two points.
The selection is the Grand National winner NOBLE YEATS 8/1 WIN who has gone on from his Aintree victory to prove himself a high-class chaser over regulation fences. His run last time in the Cotswold Chase here at Cheltenham was an exceptional trial and he only really got going late on, and the extra two furlongs here are ideal.
16:10 The St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Steeple Chase
It’s the turn of the amateur riders to take the spotlight for the St James Place-sponsored hunter chase, where we are once again likely to see hunter chase stalwarts Billaway and Winged Leader take their chance.
But they will not have it all their own way this year with some younger horses now coming through the ranks to lay down the gauntlet
Once we have the final declarations published, then we will be asking our expert Richard Smith (Who picked the second last year) to try and pinpoint a couple of key contenders for this year’s race.
RACE ANALYSIS & SELECTIONS
FORM PICK (Below are our 2023 selections. 2024 selections will be posted on Wednesday 13th March)
We have a super field for the Hunters Chase and plenty in with chances, including last years first and third Billaway 8/1 and Mighty Stowaway 50/1
However, this is a stronger renewal and the horse that sticks out like a sore thumb is the high-class CHRIS’S DREAM 10/1 EW who is the highest-rated runner in the field and has won both starts in this sphere.
He was unlucky a couple of times in the Grand National and really should have too much class for these.
For punters looking for a big-priced outsider, then Not That Fuisse 33/1 looks interesting. Ratings say he cannot win but his late running style will bode well here as they often go too fast early in this race.
16:50 The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Steeple Chase (Grade 2)
The penultimate race of the day is the mares chase which is sponsored by Paddy Power and is a very new addition to the Cheltenham Festival having been run two times.
Trainer Willie Mullins saddled the winner on the first two occasions this race was run, with both horses being the second favourite. Last year saw Colm Murphy’s Impervious justify favouritism, so this is a race for the shorter-priced horses
Once we have the final declarations, hopefully, our expert Richard Smith will be able to pinpoint this year’s winner.
RACE ANALYSIS & SELECTIONS
FORM PICK (Below are our 2023 selections. 2024 selections will be posted on Wednesday 13th March)
A very tight race based on the ratings and we have six horses all rated between 148 – 151.
The selection is JEREMY’S FLAME 6/1 WIN who has won three of her last four starts, with the only defeat coming against the boys when being well held in the Paddy Rewards Club Chase against the likes of Blue Lord, Chacun Pour Soi and Wednesday’s Champion Chase runner up Captain Guinness.
17:30 THE Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle
The final race of the day and the race to close out the 2024 Cheltenham Festival is the race for conditional jockeys and it is the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockey’s Handicap Hurdle named after the legendary champion trainer Martin Pipe.
Pipe now supports his son David who took over the mantle at the Pond House stables and they will certainly be trying their best to win the race.
It’s a highly competitive race, and once declarations have been published on the Wednesday before the race, our expert horse racing tipster Richard Smith will be combing the form with a fine tooth comb to try and bag you the winner.
RACE ANALYSIS & SELECTIONS
FORM PICK (Below are our 2023 selections. 2024 selections will be posted on Wednesday 13th March)
There is no doubt that Cool Survivor 5/1 deserves to be at the head of the betting here and he holds a very strong chance and looks feasibly handicapped.
However, we like a couple of longshots here and those are Al Fleuron and Innatendue (currently a reserve)
The form of AL FLEURON 25/1 EW stands close inspection. He goes here from a rating of 135 which is 2 lbs lower than when finishing 7th of 23 in this same race last year, and he recently warmed up for this with a nice 4th of 19 at Punchestown. His run style means he needs luck in running but he will undoubtedly be one of those that will be finishing his race off strong and there is no doubt this looks to have been the plan.
The second horse we like is INNATENDUE 66/1 EW (Bigger prices in places). In here off a mark of 125, and that could be lenient. He was second in a Grade 2 novice event back in April of last year and ran well again in the Scottish Triumph Hurdle when runner up again. He has finished reasonably close up in a couple of handicaps in Ireland but the step up in trip could bring about significant improvement and he looks interesting for Tony Martin.
CONCLUSION
Today is all about the Gold Cup and it looks to be a fascinating race and one of the best Gold Cups we have seen for many years. Can Galopin Des Champs do it again? Could Bravemansgame peg back last years deficit, or will Fastorslow inflict a third defeat against the favourite.
Whatever happens, it looks an exciting race.