Cheltenham tips - Wednesday's best bets and Newsboy's 1-2-3 for every race
Willie Mullins will be hoping to add the Queen Mother Champion Chase after dominating Day One of the Cheltenham Festival.
The opening day of the Festival belonged to Mullins, who won the Arkle, the Champion Hurdle and the Mares' Hurdle. El Fabiolo is his leading light in Wednesday's showpiece race and looks set to go off as a strong odds-on favourite in absence of Energumene who won this race in each of the last two years.
That gets underway at a revised time of 4pm and is one of six races after the Glenfarclas Cross-Country Chase was abandoned following the rainfall of recent days - it won't take place this year.
Wednesday could also see history made, with Mullins closing in on becoming the first trainer to earn 100 wins at the Festival. Newsboy, AKA David Yates, gives his race-by-race tips for day two of the Cheltenham Festival..
1.45 GALLAGHER NOVICES’ HURDLE
NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 BALLYBURN, 2 HANDSTANDS, 3 ILE ATLANTIQUE.
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Ballyburn, having established himself as Willie Mullins best novice hurdler this season, will go off at short odds - but is hard to get away from. Unbeaten in two bumpers at Punchestown, the point-to-point winner was outsprinted by Firefox when making his obstacles debut in a two-mile maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse in December.
But Ballyburn thumped seven rivals by 25 lengths and more in a similar event over two and a half miles at Leopardstown over Christmas, before reverting to the minimum trip at the Dublin Racing Festival in Foxrock last month.
Paul Townend’s partner went off the 10-11 favourite for the Tattersalls Ireland 50th Derby Sale Novice Hurdle and gave a brutal display, galloping on mercilessly from the second-last flight to humble Slade Steel by seven lengths.
Mullins’ decision to move back up in distance rather than stay at two miles for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is the right one, and his opponents are likely to find Ballyburn in unyielding mood once more.
Handstands , Ile Atlantique and Jingko Blue are all going-places rookies who are taken to fight it out for the podium places.
Willie Mullins-trained Ballyburn will be the favourite in the opening race on Wednesday (PA)2.30 BROWN ADVISORY NOVICES’ CHASE
NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 STAY AWAY FAY, 2 FACT TO FILE, 3 AMERICAN MIKE.
Stay Away Fay looks sure to go well in his quest for a second Cheltenham Festival success.
The Paul Nicholls-trained son of Shantou, who relished the soft ground to lift the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle 12 months ago, got the job done as the 5-6 favourite for a novice chase at Exeter in November, and doubled up at Grade 2 level at Sandown Park in December with a length-and-a-half margin from Giovinco.
My selection lost his unbeaten record over the larger obstacles when stepping into open company for the Grade 2 Cotswold Chase on Cheltenham’s Trials Day card at the end of January, going under by three and a half lengths to Capodanno, with The Real Whacker splitting the pair.
That defeat shouldn’t be held against Stay Away Fay - the front pair are contenders for Grade 1 honours in the second half of the week - and, now fitted with cheekpieces, tHarry Cobden’s mount should relish this test.
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Fact To File , a warm order after recording a good time in finishing alone for the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Novice Chase at Leopardstown last month, is feared, ahead of Monty’s Star and American Mike .
3.15 CORAL CUP
NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 BUILT BY BALLYMORE, 2 DODDIETHEGREAT, 3 BRAZIL.
Built by Ballymore is an improving hurdler who looks up to making a winning start in the handicap sphere.
There wasn’t much to write home about in the son of Flemensfirth’s first two attempts over hurdles - they resulted in down-the-field finishes at Leopardstown and Naas.
But my selection made it third time lucky in emphatic style with a 12-length margin in a Limerick maiden hurdle over Christmas.
And Built By Ballymore went in by the same margin in a novice event at Punchestown a month later.
More is needed from a rating of 139, but it will be a surprise if trainer Martin Brassil can’t burnish this six-year-old’s raw talent for a good while yet.
The application of cheekpieces is the right move for a horse who can race lethargically, and Built By Ballymore can ease the pain of An Epic Song’s narrow defeat for the same connections 12 months ago.
Threats come from every corner in a wide-open Coral Cup, with Doddiethegreat , Ballyadam , Brazil and last year’s winner Langer Dan just four horses capable of having a say.
4.00 BETWAY QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION CHASE
NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 EDWARDSTONE, 2 EL FABIOLO, 3 CAPTAIN GUINNESS
Edwardstone needs to continue his career refurb to figure - but can do just that.
A four-and-a-half-length supremacy in the Arkle Challenge Trophy of two years ago appeared the springboard to great things for the Alan King-trained 10-year-old. Edwardstone reappeared last season with a nine-length victory in the Grade 1 Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown Park nine months later - but then things went awry.
A mid-race unseat as the 2-5 favourite for the Grade 2 Desert Orchid Chase won by Editeur Du Gite at Kempton Park that Christmas was followed by a head defeat to the same rival in the top-level Clarence House Chase at Cheltenham in January 2023.
Edwardstone: Newsboy's fancy in the Queen Mother Champion Chase (Getty Images)Edwardstone came home a tailed-off last of five finishers in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at last season’s Cheltenham Festival and had no excuses with seconds to Jonbon in the Grade 2 Shloer Chase at Cheltenham and back at Sandown when defending his Tingle Creek Chase title on his first two outings this winter.
A move up to two and a half miles at Kempton Park in mid-January didn’t work but Edwardstone roarded back to form with an all-the-way, 40-length humbling of Funambule Sivola in Newbury’s Grade 2 Game Spirit Chase last time out.
The form of that race is vulnerable to close inspection - Boothill and Amarillo Sky set out but didn’t finish - but Edwardstone is given the chance to build on it and atone for his no-show last March.
El Fabiolo has earned his red-hot favourite’s status but won’t always get away with taking the odd liberty at his fences.
4.50 JOHNNY HENDERSON GRAND ANNUAL CHASE
NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 SOLNESS, 2 MADARA, 3 MASKADA.
Solness is capable of giving a good account of himself at rewarding odds.
To get his head in front today, Joseph O’Brien’s six-year-old must reverse Leopardstown running with Madara and Path D’Oroux , who finished ahead of him in the two-mile, one-furlong handicap chase at the Dublin Racing Festival.
But there are reasons for thinking Solness, who was beaten six and a half lengths by the winner, can gain his revenge. For a start, JJ Slevin’s partner enjoys an 8lb swing with the winner, and is 4lb better off with the runner-up.
A mistake at the fifth-last didn’t help the usually sound-jumping gelding’s cause, but Solness, who had raced on the wide outside for most of the way, came home well and still has more to give on his ninth attempt over fences.
Maskada won this race 12 months ago and can’t be dismissed from 8lb higher in the weights, while Sa Fureur and Dancing On My Own also merit a second look.
5.30 WEATHERBYS CHAMPION BUMPER
NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 JASMIN DE VAUX, 2 JALON D’OUDAIRIES, 3 TEESHAN.
Jasmin De Vaux has plenty going for him as he seeks to extend Willie Mullins’ record in the race to 13.
Stuart Crawford trained the five-year-old when he had his sole start on the point-to-point at Loughanmore in Co Antrim last April.
Jasmin De Vaux won by five lengths that day, and had moved to Closutton - and into the ‘double green’ ownership of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede - when contesting a 12-runner bumper at Naas at the end of January.
Punters who backed Patrick Mullins’ mount into 4-11 barely had an anxious moment as Jasmin De Vaux came home a yawning 15 lengths to the good of His Nibs, impressing the clock watchers with his finishing effort.
Mullins jnr has opted to keep the partnership intact - he has the choice of nine stablemates - and, with any amount of progress to come on his second outing under Rules, Jasmin De Vaux is expected to vindicate that choice.
Jalon D’Oudairies , impressive in landing bumpers at Fairyhouse and Leopardstown, has a significant ‘up’ side, as have You Oughta Know , Romeo Coolio and Teeshan .
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