Cheltenham Tips / Andy Constantinou / 13 March 2009 / Leave a comment

Our big meeting tipster has a final pair of punts for the final day of the Cheltenham Festival.

The highs and lows of the Cheltenham Festival for owner, trainer and punter alike can be extreme and Thursday was a real taste of the latter.

My shining hope and biggest single bet of the 2008/2009 NH season was comprehensively beaten yesterday in the World Hurdle with little apparent excuse. Kasbah Bliss seemed to be put in his place readily, his trainer offered little excuse, his much-maligned jockey who didn't do much wrong in my view, felt the horse was flat.

There's possibly some truth in the latter, it's hard to believe Powerstation would have been able to run Inglis Drever as close as KB did the year before but whatever the excuse or not, the horse was well beaten.

Our second bet yesterday never threatened to get involved, having been ridden miles off the pace, under the circumstance to manage a profit on the bet through Three Mirrors' fourth placing was a good result.

So we move onto the final day of the 2009 Festival and although the meeting from a personal betting perspective will end in a low point, I still eagerly await the Gold Cup with anticipation despite no monetary sum on the line. Can Denman bounce back? Can Kauto regain his crown, or will it be one of the younger upstarts in the line up to surprise us all? It's an extremely tough heat to call, gun to head I'd put up Kauto Star but he certainly will not be carrying any of my cash in the race I'll be happy to sit out and enjoy without a bet in hand.

The opener on the card, the Triumph Hurdle, features an open looking betting heat with Walkon currently leading the market at 5.7. To my mind he and his conqueror earlier in the season, Zaynar, have excellent claims. It would however be folly to dismiss the Irish challenge and the ultra impressive Starluck in the race. At the prices I'll be giving this a pre-race swerve but will look to the long striding grey Zaynar to get outpaced in the run but to stay on strongly up the hill to provide a high priced in-running win.

The second race on the card, the County Hurdle, is the first of the two races in which we'll be taking a betting interest in tomorrow. A typically open looking Cheltenham handicap hurdle, Dave's Dream will go off the favourite to follow up his Imperial Cup win, he's fully entitled to his position as market leader. However to follow up in a such a race only six days later, is a big ask, at the price I'm looking for some e/w value. There's one who catches my eye, Sky Hall.

An improving son of Sadlers Hall, he was going well when last seen on the track, in this country at Ascot, before taking a crashing fall three out in a very hot handicap hurdle. He finds himself running off the same mark tomorrow as he did then, 134, and has the assistance of Luke McNiff taking off 7lbs to bring him down effectively to a mark of 127.

Trainer Noel Meade, whose charges have been in excellent form all week, has stated on more than one occasion decent ground is what Sky Hall wants and needs. On tomorrow's going there is every chance he will improve on the decent form he showed to beat Chelsea Harbour earlier in the season and on his narrow defeat to the useful Solwhit two starts back. He looks laid out for this, admittedly like many in the contest, however at the [23.0] he trades at, he rates worth a small wager.

The last race I'll be taking interest in for purposes of this feature, is the finale of the 2009 Cheltenham Festival, the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual. A handicap featuring a number of improving novices who could conceivably be well in, it's the proven class and ability to handle the pace they jump at in this race that I'm siding with. My Petra is burdened with my final bet of this year's Festival.

This mare finished second in the 2008 renewal and runs off a 16lb higher mark tomorrow, to many that would exclude her from calculations however there is deeper evidence to suggest she can win this even off her now much higher rating. Last year she was merely a novice, aged 5, this year she has physically improved, strengthened and her form improved also accordingly. Two runs back, she ran the Ryanair Chase respected also-ran Gwanako to a neck while leaving Miss Mitch behind who was then a runaway winner of a competitive Ascot handicap. Miss Mitch that day beat today's Cheltenham winner, Something Wells with ease.

I expect her to be ridden forcefully by Barry Geraghty, putting her stamina and ability to lie up with a strong pace in a big runner field to full use, attributes which some of her classy looking but still novice rivals such as Pasco, French Opera and Oh Crick have yet to prove they have.

In summary, My Petra has some seriously classy form this year and given I feel we haven't seen the best of the 6yo mare yet, she rates value at [15.0] tomorrow.

Prices Available at time of writing on Betfair

Cheltenham 2.05 Sky Hall 0.75pts E/W (Win 23.0 & Place 5.2)

Cheltenham 5.15 My Petra 1.5pts E/W (Win 15.0 & Place 3.85)

Staked Today: 4.5pts

Running Total: -10.4pts

This will be the final instalment of Cheltenham 09's Daily Festival Duo, I sincerely hope we can finish with a big priced winner to end the meeting but either way many thanks to all for reading and I wish each of you the very best with your punting in the weeks and months ahead.