Cheltenham Festival Day 1 Tips: Mark Milligan with three to back on the opening day

• Kopek can get the week off to flying start

• Relentless Thomas chaser to land Ultima

• Joseph O'Brien-trained runner the pick of J P's juveniles in handicap hurdle

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Cheltenham Day 1 Superboost

Last year's Supreme Novices' Hurdle winning combination, Henry de Bromhead and Betfair Ambassador Rachael Blackmore, have another good chance of landing the Cheltenham Festival curtain raiser with the lightly raced Workahead.

The 7yo was incredibly impressive when thrashing William Munny - also in this race - at Leopardstown on Boxing Day and for this contest you can back him at the super-boosted price of 1/12.00 (from 4/91.44) to finish in the top five. To take advantage, just click on the odds in the below bet banner to go directly to the pre-loaded betslip.

*Please note. This superboost is provided by the Betfair Sportsbook and not by any of our tipsters or writers.  You can read about all of Betfair's offers on every day of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival right here.

Racing... Only Bettor. Cheltenham Day 1. Watch Now!

Supreme Novices Hurdle, 13:20, Cheltenham - Back Kopek Des Bordes

He's not a big price, but the hugely exciting Kopek Des Bordes looks capable of getting our Festival off to a flying start in the Supreme, which is fittingly named in honour of the late Michael O'Sullivan.

Willie Mullins' five-year-old has looked something out of the ordinary in his three starts to date, one in a bumper and the other two over hurdles.

His most recent win came in the Brave Inca at Leopardstown - a race favoured by the stable when it comes to targeting the Supreme - where he always travelled powerfully before opening right up in the straight and coming home 13 lengths clear of Karniquet.

Kopek Des Borders was much more polished in the jumping department that day than on his previous start and this good-looking son of No Risk At All towered over his rivals in terms of physique.

This is one who's destined to go right to the top and the fact that we can back him at odds-against on the Exchange makes him one of the best bets not just on the day, but probably of the whole Festival.

Those who might be tempted by something each-way at a bigger price could do worse than keep an eye on William Munny, who looks to be coming to hand at the right time and is open to more improvement, though he'll have to go some to get the better of Kopek Des Bordes.

The Ultima, 14:40, Cheltenham - Back Katate Dori each-way

I made the point in last year's column that the Irish have a poor record in the Ultima and they failed to improve on that in 2024. I expect that drought to continue this year, for all they have a couple of solid chances in the shape of Malina Girl and The Short Go.

We have six places available on the Sportsbook, which makes this an appealing betting race from an each-way angle, and I'm siding with the Sam Thomas-trainer Katate Dori.

He's been highly progressive since going chasing, winning three of his last starts, and absolutely hacked up in what had looked a competitive handicap at Kempton last time. The seven-year-old is climbing through the ranks at a rate of knots and even a 12lb hike for that demolition job may not be enough to stop him here.

He raced towards the rear early on that day but once he hit the front five fences from home he proved relentless in front, with nothing able to land a significant blow.

The way he remorselessly ground things out there reminded me a little of Denman - who Sam Thomas was closely associated with throughout his career in the saddle - and, while Katate Dori may not quite scale those heights, he looks capable of mixing it in even better company if continuing on his current trajectory.

The one blip on his recent record is when second at Wincanton, though he didn't jump particularly well there and was much more fluent at Ascot, a clear sign that he's gaining in experience as tackles more races over the bigger obstacles.

The Fred Winter, 16:40, Cheltenham - Back Puturhandstogether each-way

This juvenile handicap hurdle has an open look to it and J P McManus may hold the key as he fields a quartet that includes Beyond Your Dreams, Puturhandstogether and Stencil, who are all prominent in the betting.

The French-trained Stencil is the one that the market has wanted to know the most in the last few days, and he was far from disgraced when finishing second to East India Dock last time, who I fancy will win Friday's Triumph Hurdle.

A repeat of that will see him go very close from what looks a workable mark of 135, but I'm going to side with another of the owner's runners, Puturhandstogether.

Joseph O'Brien know what it takes to come out on top in this race have trained a couple of winners in the past and this flat-bred son of Caravaggio has shaped well on all three starts to date over hurdles.

He won a 20-runner maiden at Cork in December, but it was his most recent effort when second to Collaborative at Fairyhouse that really marks him out as one to be interested in here.

He wasn't unduly punished there, and he should benefit from getting back on a quicker surface bearing in mind his pedigree and the fact he was a winner on the flat on good ground last summer.

If he's in contention at the last, Puturhandstogether could simply outspeed his opposition.

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