The second day of the Cheltenham Festival serves up Grade 1s the Turners Novices’ Hurdle (1.20), the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (3.00) and the Queen Mother Champion Chase (4.00).
All have well-backed market leaders in The New Lion, Ballyburn and Jonbon, while Dan Skelton has the favourite Be Aware in the Coral Cup (2.40), but it’s Gavin Cromwell that has the day’s most backable jolly.
Cheltenham Wednesday best bets
Nap: 3.20 – Stumptown to win @ 5/2
NB: 2.40 – Impose Toi to win @ 9/1
Longshot: 4.40 – Western Zephyr to win @ 28/1 (each-way)
Bet on the latest horse racing odds at Betzone
Cromwell raider can defy weight rise to repeat smooth C&D success
The Cross Country Chase (3.20) will be contested as a handicap for the first time since 2015 at this year’s Festival and there will be punters looking beyond STUMPTOWN for that reason.
Gavin Cromwell’s eight-year-old was slapped with an 8lb rise by the handicapper for his victory over course and distance and the November meeting.
Yet, the memory of him floating past his rivals up the straight on that occasion, with jockey Keith Donoghue motionless in the saddle is hard to shake. He’s more than capable of defying the rise.
Stumptown carries top weight but that’s largely irrelevant as they hunt round much of the course’s 31 fences. It won’t have time to take its toll on the short rush to the line once they turn onto the main course.
Nap: 3.20 – Stumptown to win @ 5/2
Henderson hurdle can Impose himself to land yard another Coral Cup
Dan Skelton has taken the last two runnings of the Coral Cup (2.40) with Langer Dan and he has the favourite for this year’s running in the shape of the lightly-raced Be Aware.
However Skelton has taken an interesting approach to plotting his shortest priced representative, who has finished second by a length or less in four of his last five starts over hurdles, prior to finishing a 17-length third after making a mistake at the penultimate hurdle last time out.
IMPOSE TOI holds more appealing claims for another trainer with a great record in the race, Nicky Henderson. There’s a strong sense that this course scorer still has something in hand over the handicapper after winning four of his eight career outings over timber.
Victorious in a £22k handicap hurdle on his seasonal bow in November, that run was supposed to tee him up for the abandoned Lanzarote Hurdle ahead of a bid to land a fifth win in the race for his trainer.
While a recent prep run would have been ideal, missing that Kempton race preserves a mark of 141 he could remain some way ahead of. Henderson’s last two Coral Cup winners, Dame De Compagnie and William Henry both scored having last raced in the previous calendar year.
NB: 2.40 – Impose Toi to win @ 9/1
Return to exactly two miles could see Zephyr make bold bid at a price
The Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase (4.40) has seen enough turn-ups in recent times to make it an obvious race to eye up for our longshot.
Solar Impulse (28/1), Croco Bay (66/1), Global Citizen (20/1) and Maskada (22/1) have all struck inside the last 10 runnings and WESTERN ZEPHYR could join their ranks at a big each-way price.
The race is a real speed test since switching to the Old Course four years ago, which should be ideal for a confirmed front runner that’s won five of his 10 outings over exactly two miles.
His most recent win came on his seasonal debut, which he followed up with an interesting 11 lengths second to the Grade 1 Arkle Chase bound L’Eau Du Sud over course and distance in November.
A poor run since is best ignored due to an early mistake and he can outrun his odds in a race which has been won by horses that have been prominent throughout in each of its four Old Course renewals.
Longshot: 4.40 – Western Zephyr to win @ 28/1 (each-way)
