Fastorslow, Galopin Des Champs and Gerri Colombe

Cheltenham Festival tips: Our experts' views on the day four action

By Sporting Life

Horse Racing

Mon March 11, 2024 · 2y ago

Our expert panel tackle some of the key questions following the five-day confirmations for Cheltenham's Friday card.

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What is the best bet in this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup?

Ben Linfoot: I think Galopin Des Champs is the best horse in the race but this looks a deeper Gold Cup than last year to my eyes and I’m happy to have a go at him each-way. Gerri Colombe was beaten 24 lengths by the favourite at Christmas but I think the two are much closer in ability than that result suggests as Galopin was suited by being on the pace in a steadily-run race while Gerri Colombe tried to make up ground on the worst part of the track. Gordon Elliott’s horse has looked a strong Gold Cup contender since he was a novice and the Savills Chase has not changed my view on that. This stamina test is exactly what he wants and he looks a good each-way bet at double-figure odds.

David Ord: If Galopin Des Champs is at his best, he’ll win – but he’s short and I like the look of Bravemansgame at 8/1 in the betting without the favourite. It’s 1/5 the odds 1,2,3 and he was the one who gave the Mullins star most to think about last year. He’s been around seven pounds below that level in three starts this term but Paul Nicholls, a master at peaking a staying chaser on the final day of the Festival, is confident he’s back there now. If he is I don’t think you’ll kick him out the first four.

Matt Brocklebank: As is often the case with the Gold Cup, the market is extremely mature at this stage and it’s hard to argue anything is vastly over-priced. Even Grand National winner Corach Rambler has tightened up in the betting in recent days and is no bigger than 20/1. If there’s a midweek deluge of rain then perhaps Nassalam or Jungle Boogie could come into the equation at 50/1, but I’m happy to sit tight for now and see how the ground and the final field are looking on Thursday.

John Ingles: With Galopin des Champs very short, Gerri Colombe makes the most appeal each-way. He admittedly got a thumping off the favourite in the Savills Chase but arguably raced on worse ground than the winner at Leopardstown and that’s still just the second defeat of his life. Kept fresh since by Gordon Elliott, Gerri Colombe has had less racing over fences than Galopin des Champs and he’s given the impression in the past that he’s crying out for this sort of test.

Sir Gino looked the real deal on Trials Day, but can he repel the Irish challenge in the JCB Triumph?

David Ord: On that evidence the answer would look to be yes, but you’d want to see Nicky Henderson have a winner or two first if you were going in to back him at odds-on. If the master of Seven Barrows hasn’t had a winner by Friday, he’d be odds-against any way but a safer play could be Kargese. Yes, they finished in a bunch in the Spring Hurdle and a case has been made for just about every horse in behind reversing the form, but she went to the front on the bridle going to the last there, clearly has plenty of talent, and gets the mares’ allowance too.

Matt Brocklebank: This is the big question for punters on Friday as it could be a bloodbath for the Brits if Sir Gino doesn’t deliver. Confidence can’t be that high given Nicky Henderson’s stable form in general (at the time of writing anyway) and Willie Mullins sends half a dozen fascinating horses including Majborough, who looks to have tons of potential. Joseph O’Brien’s Nurburgring is the one I like at the prices and he could be the each-way play of the day at 14/1.

Ben Linfoot: Well, you’d want to see Nicky Henderson’s horses run well earlier in the week for starters and even then he’s up against a posse of potential improvers from Ireland. His prohibitive odds are perfectly understandable considering what he did on Trials Day, but with limited evidence on show I would think I’ll be punting on possible improvement from elsewhere against him at the likely prices.

John Ingles: He certainly sets a high standard already and will be very hard to beat if improving some more. Willie Mullins clearly has plenty of options but, on the face of it, doesn’t have an outstanding juvenile given how closely grouped they finished at the Dublin Racing Festival. However, I think we’ll see a different finishing order among the Mullins brigade this time and if there’s one that could take a big step forward it’s Majborough who was third that day. That was his first start for the yard after coming from France, and it sounds like he might be ridden more patiently this time.

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Is anything being underestimated in the markets for the Albert Bartlett or the Mares’ Chase?

Matt Brocklebank: Captain Teague still looks a bit big at 10/1 and 11/1 in places for the Albert Bartlett. We’ve been here before with Paul Nicholls’ Challow winners who haven’t kicked on in the spring – the likes of Bravemansgame and Stage Star not meeting the standard towards the end of their novice hurdle campaigns – but I think three miles is a great move for this horse and there’s no question he’s got the attitude for this sort of battle. His Champion Bumper form from last year isn’t to be sniffed at either, given he was just a length and a quarter behind runner-up Fact To File in third.

Ben Linfoot: It’s not too long since you wanted a highly-experienced hurdler in the Albert Bartlett and while that hasn’t been the case with the last couple of winners it was always a stat that made since given the demands of a gruelling three-mile novice hurdle at Cheltenham. With that in mind Search For Glory might be underestimated at 25/1 as he’s had nine hurdles runs and even ran in the Albert Bartlett last year when pulled up. He looks a stronger and improved model this time around after beating Harvard Guy in the Grade 3 Mercedes Benz at Clonmel last time out and if he turns up in the Albert Bartlett again he can outrun his odds.

David Ord: I sense Limerick Lace has a real shot of upsetting Dinoblue in the Mares’ Chase. I really don’t think the favourite is crying out for this step up to two-and-a-half miles while the selection stays even further. She’s had a good season, routing her fields at Clonmel and Doncaster and in between gave Coko Beach a race-and-a-half in the ever-competitive Troytown Chase. She’s five pounds adrift of Dinoblue on Timeform ratings but this race looks a more natural fit for her.

John Ingles: Looking at some of the long-priced winners, that’s certainly been the case in the Albert Bartlett in the past so I’ll concentrate on that race. Croke Park is 25/1 in places but much shorter elsewhere and if you put a line through his last run he could be very interesting stepping up to three miles for the first time. He was well on top when beating three others of Gordon Elliott’s in a Grade 3 novice at Navan in very testing conditions over two and a half miles earlier in the season and as a winning pointer/chasing type, we surely haven’t seen the best from him yet.

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And where is the pin likely to end up when it comes to the County Hurdle this year?

David Ord: I think Bailystok can go close for the….yep Mullins team. He’s having only his fourth start in a handicap and was yet to be asked anything resembling a question when brought down two out in a red-hot race at the Dublin Racing Festival last time. There’s been money for him in the build-up, the set up of this contest should be ideal for him and he’s capable of making a bold show from a mark of 139 if his confidence hasn’t been affected by the mishap last time.

Matt Brocklebank: Such a tough race to approach without knowing the final field, who rides what or the exact state of the ground. If he gets into the race then So Scottish looks set to run a huge race as he’s really well treated based on the pick of his efforts over fences last season (and the year before), while Gary Moore’s Hansard and the Willie Mullins-trained novice Westport Cove are others on a rather lengthy shortlist. It’s just that kind of race!

John Ingles: Big weights haven’t stopped the likes of Get Me Out of Here, Arctic Fire and Petit Mouchoir winning or going close in the past and Pied Piper has presumably been laid out for another attempt after a cracking effort to go down narrowly under 11-13 last year. He’s running off just a 2lb higher mark this time and clearly wasn’t suited by the very different scenario of a four-runner Morgiana Hurdle when trying to take on State Man when last seen. Big-field handicaps like this are much more Pied Piper’s cup of tea as he showed on the Flat too last year when runner-up in the Cesarewitch.

Ben Linfoot: I had two on my radar and neither have appeared in the six-day declarations so it’s back to the drawing board on this one.

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