Oli Bell Diary: Brain Power is Champion Cheltenham bet

Saturday

Nicky Henderson was a brilliant guest on The Opening Show. He was a great sport to get his leg on the table and show off his pink socks, but also – as you come to expect from Nicky – he was so informative. 

I got the impression from him that Altior is one of the best horses he has ever trained. Also reading between the lines, on soft ground at the Cheltenham Festival, Buveur D’Air would be hard to beat in the Champion Hurdle. 

However, if the ground is better he thinks Brain Power – currently 7/1 with Sky Bet – could go close. 

I’ve been sweet on the six-year-old for some time now and nothing Nicky said on the show would put me off my opinion that he’s an excellent bet. 

Brain Power worked brilliantly in his gallop at Kempton Park after the show and I was surprised his odds weren’t cut after that workout.

Off camera, Nicky said to keep an eye on his Domperignon Du Lys and Divin Bere in the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices Hurdle. 

We learned the sad news last week that Fred Winter’s widow Di had passed away. Nicky was both a jockey and then assistant trainer to Mr Winter and in the light of recent news it would be fitting if he saddled the winner of the race that carries the great man’s name.

Nicky really did have a mixed afternoon. 

After Brain Power’s gallop, Triumph Hurdle hope Charli Parcs came down in the BetBright Genius Adonis Juvenile Hurdle when he was arguably just coming into the race having been on and off the bridle. 

A little over an hour later, the Henderson team were celebrating after River Wylde won the Sky Bet Dovecote Novices Hurdle. He’s now of more interest to me for Aintree and the Grand National Festival in April rather than Cheltenham as he’s an up-and-down horse. 

It goes without saying that it will be incredibly tough for Nicky to be without Barry Geraghty for the Festival as his former stable jockey suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung when kicked by a following horse after his fall from Charli Parcs. 

It’s obviously really disappointing for Barry to be missing the Festival. He’ll be in a lot of pain physically but JP McManus’s number one would also have been going to Prestbury Park thinking that he had as good a book of rides as he’ll ever have. 

It’s a fascinating and great opportunity for other jockeys to seize the moment – and I reckon Wayne Hutchinson could be the biggest benefactor.

You would like to think that Noel Fehily would ride Unowhatimeanharry in the Stayers Hurdle because of his link with trainer Harry Fry. Richard Johnson should get Defi Du Seuil in the Triumph Hurdle thanks to his relationship with Phillip Hobbs. Mark Walsh is likely to take Jezki, but who rides Buveur D’Air? 

If Noel lands that, does Wayne get Yanworth? I’m really looking forward to seeing how it pans out.

I wish Barry all the very best for a swift recovery. If it’s any consolation, at least he won’t be accosted by Matt Chapman in a car park for a good while.

It was a horrible weekend for injuries, with George Baker in intensive care following a tumble at St Moritz. 

There will be people throwing things at the television in the coming weeks and calling jockeys every name under the sun when their bets don’t come in. But they’re all really brave and you can never forget that. Yes, they make mistakes – they’re human - but they put their bodies on the line every time they get in the saddle.

On a positive note, James Best at Kempton and Ruby Walsh at Fairyhouse put in two of the best rides you’ll ever see on Saturday.

I was actually laughing watching Ruby on Pleasant Company, he was that masterful. 

From very early on it was like watching a genius at work. He never asked the horse to do too much, he knew exactly what was happening ahead of him and he waited until the perfect moment to pounce while still never forcing the horse.

James thoroughly deserved his win on 25/1 shot Pilgrims Bay in the BetBright Handicap Chase. He’s an underrated jockey and hopefully he will get more opportunities now. 

You could hear him shouting and screaming when the crossed the line and you never really appreciate that emotion – it was great to be down at the finish as he celebrated.

Admittedly, I haven’t had great success with my weekly tips of late. But one bet I did land came on Saturday when Yeovil Town drew at Notts County. Hayley Turner is a County fan and every time they play the Glovers we’ll have a bet between us. I’m yet to pay out and Yeovil not losing was enough for me.

Sunday

Sunday may be meant for rest – but I was at work. I spent much of the day in Leeds at Sky Bet and Sporting Life Towers where we did some filming looking at the best horses to run the Sky Bet Supreme Hurdle since 2000. 

With the likes of Best Mate, Sprinter Sacre, Cue Card and Binocular, there are some fantastic horses in there and the film will be out soon.

I made it back in time to watch England v Italy in the Six Nations rugby, which was enthralling. A lot has been made of Eddie Jones and Matt Dawson’s comments but it was compelling to see a group of players and coaches think outside the box to completely scupper England’s mindset and game plan. 

That’s what sport is all about – you’ve got to outwit your opponents and find a way to beat them in a contest when maybe you don’t quite match up on paper. 

As a sporting event, from start to finish it was an enthralling watch. Italy’s approach came totally from leftfield. The ref mic showed how the England players were equally as confused, with James Haskell asking the ref countless times what the rules were before the pundits at half time explained it. Once England’s coaches had had time to explain it as well to the players, they responded. 

It was the perfect demonstration of what good coaching is about – Connor O’Shea came at England like they never expected before Eddie Jones reacted. It was another ugly win for England, even if the scoreline suggested otherwise, but I wouldn’t read into it too much – come Scotland, England will be ready.

Would I want to watch rugby like that every week? No. Was it brilliant in isolation? Most definitely.

I did, every now and then, channel hop to see how Southampton were getting on against Manchester United in the League Cup final. 

Saints’ fan Ed Chamberlin had been going on about the game for weeks, he was so excited – and rightly so. I thought the best team lost at Wembley and if Southampton keep playing like that it won’t be long before they’re back at that stadium. It was open and exciting, but I did feel sorry for Saints’ fans, even if the result did mean Ed wasn’t gloating this week.

Manny Pacquiao announcing a bout with Amir Khan on April 23 certainly got me – and six other mates – excited. 

I will be on a friends stag do in Vegas at the time so we’re praying that it will be there. If anyone reading this has any say in agreeing a venue for the fight, please keep in mind seven probably quite drunk (and likely poor) men who want to watch it live. 

And if anyone has any recommendations for things to do in Vegas, let me know!

Thankfully no envelopes are needed to announce the winner of the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup, so we won’t have an Oscars-style gaffe. But it was interesting to see the exchange money come for Thistlecrack after trainer Colin Tizzard ��� a man I met with on Monday – revealed he planned a second scan on the superstar’s injured tendon.

Monday

Five things I learned about Colin Tizzard this week:

1. He could’ve been a footballer for Bristol Rovers, but missed the trial as he had to ride out.

2. He vice-captained a cricket team led by a certain IT Botham.

3. His son and assistant trainer Joe is named after legendary West Indies and Somerset fast bowler Joel Garner.

4. Thistlecrack definitely will not run in this year’s Gold Cup!

Willie Mullins invited the media into his living room ahead of Cheltenham and the vibes coming out of Ireland are that Djakadam is looking as good as ever. Vroum Vroum Mag will go for the Mares’ Hurdle, while Limini is 50-50 for the Champion Hurdle and Yorkhill will head for the JLT Novices’ Chase.

Leicester City beat Liverpool 3-1 in the Premier League in their first game without Claudio Ranieri – a man I previously said they’d be crazy to sack. 

A lot of people better placed than me have talked about the reaction of the players on the back of the sacking. The bounce factor could play a big part so it might be an idea to take them on against Hull. 

Tuesday

The Cheltenham previews continue at a pace in Ireland, with the media visiting Gordon Elliott and Henry De Bromhead. It will be interesting to see what came out of these, along with the weights announced for the Festival handicap races.

Watching Brighton and Hove Albion against Newcastle United while keeping an eye on Yeovil v Mansfield was a good way to spend the evening. 

Both matches looked to be heading for draws before the late drama on the South Coast. Yeovil did record their second successive goalless draw. Its exciting being a fan of theirs.  

The rest of the week…

While we freeze and temperatures dip (again), England’s cricketers will feel the Caribbean heat when they take on the West Indies in Friday’s first One Day International. 

We struggled against the President’s XI, who included the man mountain that is Rahkeem Cornwall – someone that proves that perhaps shape and size doesn’t matter in professional sport!  But that warm-up game will count for little on Friday.

I can’t wait for the talking to stop in London on Saturday when David Haye and Tony Bellew finally step in the ring. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the build-up as it’s pretty clear there’s a genuine hatred between them – they’re not just trash talking for the sake. A boxing expert I know reliably informs me Haye should win, so backing victory by knockout could be the way to go.

Andrew Thornton is our guest on The Opening Show, with the afternoon broadcast live on ITV’s main channel for the first time since New Years Day. 

It will be great to showcase live action from Doncaster. As well as all that – the Sporting Life’s great leader Dave Ord will be joining us to go through the newspapers. 

We have two fascinating features planned to air this weekend. The first is Victoria Pendleton at Greatwood, an amazing racing charity that does so much brilliant work with horses and has the Greatwood Race Weekend at Newbury this Saturday. 

We’ll also be showing the second part of our visit to Frankel at Juddmonte Farms. The insight and access we have had has been incredible and after seeing the start of the foaling process, we will follow that this weekend.

Finally, it’s another week and another massive clash at Huish Park. Former Glovers’ left back and coach Nathan Jones brings his promotion-chasing Luton Town to Somerset and from what I can gather he’s not leaving a stone unturned in a meticulous preparation. Another tough afternoon awaits…

Bet of the week

It can only be The Last Samuri for me at Doncaster in the BetBright Grimthorpe Handicap Chase. He is currently a 9/2 chance with SkyBet.

Kim Bailey’s horses are flying and he ran a blinder at Aintree before Christmas. This weekend should put him on point for the Randox Health Grand National and he’s the one I’d want to be on.