Betting Strategy / Neil Munro / 11 March 2010 / Leave a comment

Neil Munro salutes an in-running stalwart, dusts off his Harris and thumbs the form books as he selects the horses which will offer the best trading opportunities at Prestbury Park next week.

"Dunguib will determine for many whether they have a good Cheltenham or one to forget when he runs in the very first race of the meeting."

Before I look at some Cheltenham plays for next week, I must mention the retirement of an in-running favourite. Boundless Prospect was due to race for the last time at Southwell earlier in the week but had to miss his farewell run due to taking a knock on his hind leg.

Boundless won 18 times in his 101 starts including seven on the fibresand at Southwell. He became a favourite for in-running backers as he was so often held out the back, outpaced at times, getting pushed along, before coming into the home straight and out staying his rivals. Amongst his wins at Southwell, he traded at [100.00] and [200.00] in-running despite having gone off a single figure starting price each time. He has been given a good new home and I wish him a very happy retirement (yes, I know horses can't read).

Now onto the small matter of the Cheltenham Festival. Excitement is building, tension is mounting, my tweed jacket has been dusted down (even though I will be at Betfair Towers for the full four days - you have to make an effort) and the form books have been very well thumbed. But of course as an in-running player you are not necessarily trying to find the winner, you are just trying to locate some horses that will afford us a trading opportunity. Here are some ideas for the first two days.

Tuesday

Supreme Novices' Hurdle - Dunguib

This horse will determine for many whether they have a good Cheltenham or one to forget and it comes in the very first race of the meeting. By the last few furlongs I hope to be green on both sides. I do have questions about Dunguib's jumping, although many believe it will improve for the likely pace that this race will be run at. And I don't like the inexperience of his jockey so I am more than willing to lay pre-race around the evens mark and then look to back in-running at around [3.20] to obtain (hopefully) a winning position on the whole field.

Arkle Trophy Chase - Captain Cee Bee

When looking through the make-up of the Arkle, Captain Cee Bee looks to be one of the stronger travelling types and likely to trade under his starting price in-running. With the slight worry about his jumping, I am more than happy to back him pre-race and look to lay out at around evens in-running for just the stake with the hope that he goes on to power up the hill as he did when defeating Binocular back in 2008.

William Hill Trophy - The Package

I know that The Package won well at Cheltenham in December but most of the fancied opposition that day made errors. Prior to the win he had shown a tendency to find less than expected at the business end of a race. I am more than happy to take the horse on in-running with the hope that he finds less than expected. To give an idea he has traded odds-on six times in 14 defeats so I will be looking at marks of [1.87] and [1.35].

Wednesday

Neptune Investment Novices' Hurdle - Rite Of Passage

I know it is very easy to pick holes in Rite Of Passage's form but the one thing that I admire about him is that he jumps well and travels smoothly. He is unbeaten over hurdles but has been targeted at this race as connections don't believe they can beat Dunguib. I will be looking to back him pre-race, hopefully around the 3/1 mark and look to lay out my stake around the evens mark in-running.

RSA Chase - Long Run

Nicky Henderson has the two at the head of the market and he has been bullish about both of them. Punchestowns' is a horse I have a lot of time for but I do have question marks about Long Run's jumping. With plenty of worthy opposition in the race I am happy to try and take him on in-running at around a mark of [2.10].

Tags: Cheltenham Festival betting, Dunguib, Horseracing betting, in-running betting, Long Run, Neil Munro, the Supreme Novices Hurdle betting