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Cheltenham Day Three: All 10 races previewed!

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Jack Houghton runs through Thursday's mega day of racing at Cheltenham

Out of the disappointment of Wednesday's abandonment comes probably the best two days of jump racing we'll see in our lifetime, with 19 top-quality races shoe-horned into two days. I've previewed Wednesday's races before, but have reprinted them below for your ease of use and will do so again tomorrow.

National Hunt Chase

Very few of these look to have the ability to trouble the judge in an idiosyncratic event. Only five seem to have any chance - Sandhurst, Rimsky, Over The Creek, Ornais and Ice Tea - and I'll back them all to varying stakes, with the majority of my money on Ornais and Over The Creek.

Royal and SunAlliance Chase

Assuming Tidal Bay is a non-runner (and given the delay, is there a chance they'll run him?), this race is particularly difficult to decipher, given that 75 per cent of the field have all posted top-flight speed ratings that put any of them in with a shout. One that I think will struggle however is Air Force One. He only won a soft race at Fontwell and was unable to beat Albertas Run when receiving weight from that rival at Ascot. On level weights here, in a fast run race, he will need to improve to get close. I'll be laying him for a place at any price up to [2.5].

Starzaan is an interesting runner at his current price of [11.0], winning his two chase starts to date (albeit relatively minor affairs) and managing a respectable seventh in the World Hurdle here in 2006, and I'll be having a small win and place bet on him.

Jewson Novices' Chase

Not for the first or last time this week, I think Ruby Walsh has picked the wrong horse to ride in Dear Villez. Although winning well in his last two chase starts, they were both soft races in small fields, and it is a very different test he is faced with now. What's more, he's yet to post a really convincing speed rating, and so I will be laying him for a place at any price up to [2.4].

Mr Strachan is a big price, currently available at [11.0], given his close form with the likes of Tidal Bay, Kruguyrova, Tidal Bay and Ornais, and I'll be backing him to win and place.

Queen Mother Champion Chase

For starters, it's hard to see why Master Minded is the current favourite for this. He unseated first time out in this country at Exeter, only beat a mediocre field at Sandown next time, and although beating Voy Por Ustedes at Newbury, he received six pounds from that rival and was given a very easy lead. Furthermore, he seems to have been campaigned over longer trips in France and it's not clear that two miles will be his best distance.

With that much against him I have to look elsewhere, and whilst respecting the chances of both Voy Por Ustedes and Twist Magic, the best piece of form on offer, from both a speed and handicap point of view, is Tamarinbleu's win at Ascot, where he beat Twist Magic by 12 lengths. I'll be having a maximum on him in the win and place markets (assuming, that is, he runs here and not in the Ryanair Chase where he's a massive bet if switching). I also think Mansony is overpriced at around [27.0] based on his defeat of Nickname at Leopardstown, and if his price holds up, he is also worth a small interest to win and place.

Ryanair Chase

I wouldn't back Mossbank at his current price with someone else's money. I just can't understand why he is favourite. Presumably people are reading his close second to Denman in the Lexus literally. The reality - that he was flattered in an incredibly slow race that turned into a sprint - should be obvious when looking at the balance of his form, which shows a solid Grade Two performer who is always slightly out of his depth at the top level. I will lay him heavily at any price up to [4.3].

The Listener and Our Vic have easily the best form on offer. The former will be interesting going down in trip, particularly if he can get a soft lead, and the latter should respond well to first-time blinkers. At bigger prices I also like Racing Demon and Billyvoddan, who have both posted big speed figures in the past.

It seems strange to back four horses in a nine horse race, but along with my big lay of Mossbank, that's what I'll be doing. As long as the Irish horse gets beaten I'll make a profit in the race, and anything else will be a bonus.

Ladbrokes World Hurdle

I've purposely stayed clear of giving in-running advice in these previews. It's hard enough to predict running patterns in weak races, but at the Festival, it's near-on impossible. Horses rarely get soft leads and it's hard to decipher whether a horse if off the bridle because it's dossing, or because it just can't go with the pace. So the two staples of identifying in-running betting opportunities are out of the window.

But there's one horse this week that I'll make an exception for: Inglis Drever. In my eyes the best staying hurdler of recent years, he has won the two World Hurdles he has ran in so far at an SP of [6.0]. However, in his first victory he traded at [28.0] in-running, and in his second, [17.0]. This is a horse who always seems to struggle coming down the hill, and yet always finds plenty turning for home.

I'd rather Hardy Eustace wasn't in the race, but even so, Inglis Drever is my banker of the meeting. I'll be splitting my stake and having half of it on him pre-race at around [2.3]. The other half I'm going to put on in-running when the tapes go up at various prices from [5.0] up to [20.0], hoping the bets will get matched before he comes back on the bridle and collects his third title.

Racing Post Plate

Don't Push It will be hard to beat in this and I will be having a maximum win bet on him at [4.4]. He was going well when an unlucky faller in the Arkle last year and his run prior to that, at Chepstow, is by far the best piece of clock form available in the field. After disappointing at Aintree last year, his chase handicap mark has been preserved for this race, with only one outing over hurdles so far this season.

Little else should be able to get competitive, although I will be having a small saver on Palarshan, who is back at a feasible weight and is a previous Festival winner. If people don't fancy the favourite, Palarshan represents a value each-way bet.

Pertemps Final

Despite a field of 24 runners, only four have the time performances in the book to win. And given the large prices available, I'll be splitting my stake four ways and backing Wild Cane Ridge, Mobaasher, Miko De Beauchene and Buena Vista.

Fulke Walwyn Handicap Chase

I can't understand this race, no matter how long I look at it, and can find little of interest from a betting viewpoint to have a strong opinion about. The needy and greedy might want to throw a few quid each-way at Run For Paddy and Innox, both down the weights from headier days and available at massive prices, but I'll probably leave the race alone.

The Bumper

A race I normally do well in, I can't make any sense of it this year, and suggest that if you've had a good day at this stage, just sit back and enjoy the spectacle. On the other hand, if you've had a shocker, even more reason to sit back - and sit on your hands - because this isn't the race in which to be trying to recoup losses.

A lot has been said about Zaarito - and the form is certainly there to see - but the [5.2] currently available seems a little short when there is so much potential talent elsewhere.