ITV Horse Racing Antepost Tips: McCoy just what the Doc ordered for Cheltenham

• First Cheltenham Saturday of the season coming up on ITV

• Mulholland and Snowden two trainers to side with for weekend

• Alan Dudman has three antepost ITV tips at 8/19.00, 5/16.00 and 14/115.00 

Cheltenham, 13:10, Novices' Limited Handicap Chase - Back Double Powerful @ 8/19.00

Saturday's spectacular on ITV includes a massive 10 races on the box, as Cheltenham returns for the season opener to the delight of jumps massive. We are back on the road to Cheltenham! Or is it the path to Prestbury or footpath to the festival?! You get the drift.

We open Saturday's card with a Novices' Limited Handicap Chase and a potential Irish challenger sans Willie (Mullins), but De Bromhead, Mullins (Emmet), McConnell and Donoghue have entries.

One of last season's biggest disappointments is entered too for a potential fencing debut in the shape of Minella Missile. THe horse showed a ton of promise as a hurdler but went winless last term and is a 25/126.00 shot here.

Double Powerful is of great interest for trainer Neil Mulholland, and the "lesser" trainers will have to be forward in the early months as they will have no chance come winter and proper soft ground when the going and tides change. He is 8/19.00 here and also holds an entry in the novice chase later on the card at 16:05 which is over 3m1f.

In terms of trip, this looks the better spot so we will see.

Mulholland was forward last term for sure, and Double Powerful was forward himself last term as he won in October on his first start of the season and reeled off four on the spin - including the Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle at the Paddy Power November meeting at Cheltenham.

So he has course form, form on good to soft and doesn't mind it either softer or sounder and would be on a fair mark of 134 for a debut chase outing.

Cheltenham, 14:20, 3m1f Handicap Chase - Back Lisnamult Lad @ 5/16.00

This looks one of the tougher but no doubt more popular punting races with some older and wiser heads in the race at entries stage that wouldn't look out of place in a veterans' contest.

Lisnamult Lad holds an entry in the Pertemps Qualifier too in the 14:55 which again, makes these markets a bit tricky, but he is a 5/16.00 shot for this one and he has Cheltenham winning form much like our first selection.

Lisnamult Lad is another who is likely to have his ideal conditions with good ground and good to soft form in the book aplenty and he opened last campaign with a win at the October meeting when taking the novices' event over 2m4f.

It was a bold victory too that day - jumping great out in front. He likes to make the running and after that Cheltenham October win, he ran in the Troytown and was leading halfway until falling six out, and from that point his season somewhat tailed off before bouncing back to form with a superb second in the Topham at Aintree - a race where he was hampered too in the closing stages behind Gentleman De Mee.

He goes well fresh and it says something that he was an 11/112.00 chance in the Troytown last term.

Cheltenham, 14:55, 3m Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle - Back Doc McCoy E/W @ 14/115.00

Similar to the angle with Neil Mulholland, another trainer who tends to be forward is Jamie Snowden and his Doc McCoy is the 14/115.00 tip for the wide-open Pertemps Qualifier.

The seven-year-old has a good strike-rate over hurdles with five wins from 11 outings so far, and like many from the Snowden yard, is capable of leading and going from the front.

With the ground on the decent side, although Cheltenham have watered plenty since August, I am fairly sure Doc McCoy will be at his best away from winter ground, so these dry weeks will be the time to strike.

He is fit too with a recent win at Warwick over 2m5f. He didn't beat much there but duly won by 13L against some substandard opponents, but he is improving and shouldn't have an issue with the step up in trip.

Unfortunately it's another double entry for the weekend with Aintree's Sunday Conditionals' race pencilled in too - I imagine waiting on the ground for both.

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