1.30pm JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1)
With the unfortunate news of short-priced favourite Sir Gino not running in the Triumph, that makes the race a much more wide-open contest to kick start the fourth and final day of the Festival, and with the first six at the head of the market, it looks like the prize will be going to Ireland once again.
Storm Heart is the one I would be siding with now, and although he was beaten by Kargese last time out, Storm Heart would have learned a whole lot from that run given it was just his second ever run over obstacles. The Willie Mullins runner was a very easy 22-length winner on hurdle debut at Punchestown before then going on to line up in the Grade 1 Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown where he was only beaten by a length.
Paul Townend has chosen to ride Storm Heart here, and he currently has the highest official rating in the contest of 140. I think there is plenty more to come from this flat recruit, and he is in the perfect place to keep on improving. This could be the start of a very good day for the team at Closutton, who have Galopin Des Champs in the feature contest later on in the day.
Another Willie Mullins horse that I like the look of at a decent price is Bunting, who was a decent enough flat horse in France before getting purchased by Tony Bloom, who does have a very good relationship with Willie Mullins.
He was a very decent winner on hurdle debut at Limerick, and that form has some winning substance in behind. He was then pitched straight into Grade 1 company on just his 2nd ever start over hurdles when lining up in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival, in which he came a pretty decent 4th, only beaten by 2 and a quarter lengths.
He was hanging badly in the closing stages that day, therefore I would fully expect him to have learned a lot from that run, and him trying to settle would have been worked on at home. I still think there is more to come from this horse, and he could run a big race this afternoon.
- Selection - Storm Heart TO WIN (10/3) & Bunting EW (7/1)
2.10pm BetMGM County Handicap Hurdle
I am not sure what has happened with my ante-post County Hurdle pick in the market, as he has seemingly lost a leg or Willie has forgotten to put him on the boat to bring him over here. Westport Cove was 14/1 when I picked him, but he is now as big as 40/1 in most places. That still doesn't put me off, and he will be the selection for me here.
His UK handicap mark of 139 does seem fair enough, and given he posted a Racing Post Rating of 138 when coming 2nd in the Munster Hurdle back in January, I think he could take another step forward here this afternoon.
A winner on his debut bumper, he was then pitched straight into the Champion Bumper on just his 2nd ever career run, before going on to then start his hurdle campaign. A ready winner on his first run over hurdles, he has since run in some decent contests, including when pitched into a Grade 1 on his 2nd ever run over hurdles, so again that might speak for something.
Although beaten by 12 lengths in a Listed contest last time out, he probably lacked the toe of the first 3 finishers, who look to be very nice 2-mile types, with plenty of speed. Dropping down in class to handicap company, I feel if he has put that greenness behind him, he will run a very good race in the County Hurdle. And given Willie Mullins's recent record in the contest, he likes to win with pretty much any of his horses that line up.
- Selection - Westport Cove (40/1)
2.50pm Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle (Grade 1)
My ante-post selection unfortunately wasn't declared in the end after disappointing at the Dublin Racing Festival, so I am now all in on another runner here. There has no doubt been much discussion between Harry Fry and Gidleigh Park's connections, as they probably have one of, if not the best UK novice hurdler on their hands.
He had just one run in a Bumper, which was at Chepstow and was an easy victory by 6 lengths, before going on to then run in three hurdle contests this season, which have all resulted in victories.
The first one was a 7 and a half length winner at Exeter (form has been franked with Range winning since), before going on to then win by 9 lengths at Newbury (with Fire Flyer in behind, form has been franked) but probably his best run to date was when he stepped up in class last time.
That was in the Grade 2 Classic Novices Hurdle over 2m4f at Cheltenham, where he probably didn't jump with that much fluency, but he clearly has a massive engine that he had to utilise last time when battling on all the way up the Cheltenham Hill, with Lucky Place in 2nd (who has since placed in the Coral Cup).
Harry Fry and connections have decided to step Gidleigh Park up in trip for the Albert Bartlett, which means he will have to run over 3 miles here, but given the manner that he won over this course last time would suggest the step up in trip will suit him very much.
He is a great big horse who could become a stand out chaser next season, but he has shown winning form this season over hurdles. I just think the 3-mile trip will suit him a little better than Reading Tommy Wrong, who will no doubt be a firm favourite for the Willie Mullins camp.
- Selection - Gidleigh Park EW (9/2)
3.30pm Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase
Shishkin was one of two ante-post selections in the race for me, and if he was to line up in full working order, I fully believe he would have run a huge race this afternoon.
However, that just leaves one ante-post selection for me in the shape of L'Homme Presse who is now the best of the British for the Gold Cup this season. He was an awesome winner of the 2022 Brown Advisory Chase at a mud flying Cheltenham, with Ahoy Senor in behind that day, so the softer the better for the Venetia Williams horse.
I feel he is very much creeping under the radar for the Gold Cup, and it was awesome to see him back and firing on all cylinders for his first run of the season when winning at Lingfield, with a certain Protektorat in behind that day who has since won the Ryanair Chase yesterday.
Look at it how you want to, but that is a very good piece of form to head into this race with, and although he was beaten in the Ascot Chase last time out, that was over an inadequate trip in good to soft conditions, which ultimately do not suit this horse. At the time it did seem like a strange decision to have L'Homme Presse run at Ascot just 27 days ago, as he was firmly put in his place by Pic D'orhy, however it could be a good thing in preparation for the Gold Cup today, as it would have just got him in tip top shape for this and might have removed any element of the bounce factor after being off the track for so long before the Lingfield run.
He has course form, and will love any mud that might be flying around, so conditions are firmly in his favour this afternoon. It will be great to see him up against some of the best 3-mile chasers racing has to offer, and it will be good to see how he fares against them this afternoon. I can't stress enough how conditions are very much in favour of Venetia Williams's horse here today.
Ultimately we might just see another Galopin Des Champs demolition job in the Gold Cup as he is probably the best horse in the race, but he will have to prove he has the stamina on the very soft ground around Cheltenham.
Also look at what El Fabiolo did in the Champion Chase, no horse around Cheltenham is a "dead cert". Either way, if Galopin Des Champs was to underperform here, L'Homme Presse will be there come the finish, plugging on well like he does.
- Selection - L'Homme Presse EW (10/1)
4.10pm St. James's Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters Chase
I actually really enjoy this contest, as it gives the guys on the point to point or amateur scene a chance to land "their Gold Cup" and a Cheltenham Festival win in the process. However it can be a very hard race to predict who is going to win it, as in the last 4 years there have been two 66/1 winners of the contest.
With that in mind, I don't think there will be one at a big price like that winning it this year, and I think there have been one or two who have been campaigned this season with this contest in mind. Although I really enjoy watching this race, I don't really have too much of a strong opinion on it, so I won't go into too much detail, although I think Its On The Line is the one to side with here.
The huge thing to note here heading into this contest is the horse has since been purchased by the powerhouse JP McManus just last week, so you would like to think the horse will be lined up and ready to go for this come 4.10pm. He has pretty much beaten all of the runners in this field previously, and did run a very creditable 2nd in the Fox Hunters last season, only beaten by a little under 2 lengths.
This season he has beaten Ferns Lock at Down Royal, and did beat Billaway last time out. He only just does enough by the looks of things, and just loves to gallop on at the same speed, which was shown last season when he was staying on well up the Cheltenham Hill.
I think he will go one better here, and I am struggling to see how the Ferns Lock and Billaway will beat him at a track that will very much suit his strengths. I think Emmet Mullins has campaigned this horse brilliantly and he will be more than ready to go for this later on today.
- Selection - It's One The Line TO WIN (5/4)
4.50pm Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase (Grade 2)
The youngest race in the Cheltenham Festival calendar, I think this race once again will go the way of Willie Mullins. I am not going to talk about this race too much, therefore what I will lead with is Dinoblue dots up in this.
She is by far the best mare in the field, and the rating of 160 clearly shows that. She has won 5 out of her 9 runs over fences, which includes progressing through the ranks to ultimately win a Grade 1 at Leopardstown over the Christmas period before going on to come a decent, albeit a remote 2nd behind El Fabiolo in the Grade 1 Dublin Chase last time.
I think she is still improving, which could be bad news for the rest of the field here. The fact she is only a 7yo still is scary, and she can easily land this contest before maybe going onto bigger and better things next season. She tackles this trip for the very first time over fences (ran over 2m4f once over Hurdles) but as we have seen with a few Willie Mullins horses, a step up in trip might bring more out of them, just look at Lossiemouth in the Mares Hurdle.
- Selection - Dinoblue TO WIN (15/8)
5.30pm Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle
The last contest of the Cheltenham Festival, let's hope we can finish the week with a nice winner here and I think we will. The type you want to look for in this contest is a potential graded horse in a handicap as a few nice types have won this contest in the part, none more so than Galopin Des Champs who could easily be a 2x Gold Cup winner this afternoon.
With that in mind, Waterford Whispers for Champion Chase winning trainer Henry De Bromhead, in what is a very nice ride for Mike O'Connor. Waterford Whispers has only run over hurdles 4 times, which includes 2 wins and a very decent, career best 2nd in a competitive Handicap Hurdle at Leopardstown last time out.
He is very unexposed, lightly raced and could improve wonders to land a contest of this nature before progressing onto bigger and better things next season and beyond. The current mark of 133 could underestimate him here, and he will show that in the lucky last later on this afternoon.
- Selection - Waterford Whispers TO WIN (3/1)
All prices are from Planet Sport Bet and are subject to change
All previews and tip provided by @ Jake Russell