Cheltenham Festival Day 3 Tips: Teahupoo heads up five selections for Mark Milligan on Thursday

• Mark has five bets on Thursday at Cheltenham

• Teahupoo tough to beat once again in Stayers' Hurdle

• He has four other solid bets, including the progressive Jagwar

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Cheltenham Day 3 Superboost

Last year's Brown Advisory Novices' Chase winner Fact To File is back in action on Thursday looking to make it back-to-back wins at the Cheltenham Festival and Betfair have a very generous Superboost on him to win the Grade 1 Ryanair Chase at 15:20 on Thursday!

You can back him at the super-boosted price of 11/43.75  from 11/82.38 to win the fourth race on the card on Day 3. 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 offer on every day of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival right here.

Racing... Only Bettor. Cheltenham Day 3. Watch Now!

Jack Richards Novice Chase, 14:00, Cheltenham - Back Firefox

Firefox has mixed it with some of the best novices around in his chasing career to date and he can take advantage of dropping into handicap company for the first time limited novices' handicap chase.

Gordon Elliott's charge was one of last season's leading novice hurdlers and made a winning start over fences when taking a maiden at Down Royal in November.

He's been highly tried since then, bumping into the likes of Ile Atlantique and Majborough on his last two starts.

It looks like he's going to fall just short of the top level in this discipline, but there's no reason why he can't develop into a high-class handicapper, and he starts off from a fair looking mark of 150 here.

It's also worth noting that his last two outings have been over shorter trips than this 2m 4f and he should appreciate getting to stretch back out to this longer distance.

Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle, 14:40, Cheltenham - Back Feet Of A Dancer each-way

The Pertemps Final is as competitive as ever, but there's a decent case to be made for Paul Nolan's Feet Of A Dancer, who boasts a similar profile Mrs Milner, who won this race for the same yard in 2021.

This six-year-old mare is a strong traveller - which can prove a big advantage in races such as this - and she ran a fine third when stepping up to 3m for the first time at Leopardstown over Christmas.

That race was also the same one Mrs Milner made the frame in before winning here, and it looks significant that the selection has been put away since then, meaning she'll come into this fresher than most.

This is obviously a fiendish puzzle to solve, but we do have six places on the Sportsbook, and Feet Of A Dancer should give us a good run for our money.

Ryanair Chase, 15:20 Cheltenham - Back Il Est Francais

Il Est Francais does come with a few risks attached given he has bled previously and blown out a couple of times in the past, but if he's on song he'll take plenty of catching from the front in the Ryanair.

The French-trained gelding is a bold jumper who travels with plenty of exuberance, and while he may be better on a flat track over 3m, this trip at Cheltenham should prove right up his alley, particularly as conditions have been more suited to speed than stamina over the first couple of days.

Fact To File is the standard-setter and he's clearly going to prove popular, but he'll need to be right at the top of his game if Il Est Francais gets into a good rhythm on the front end.

Stayers Hurdle, 16:00, Cheltenham - Back Teahupoo

The Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle was won in fine style by Teahupoo last season, and he'll take plenty of beating if turning up in the same sort of form this time around.

He took care of a few of these rivals in the 2024 renewal and there's little reason to think his vanquished foes can turn the tables on this occasion.

Gordon Elliott's eight-year-old has been lightly raced over the last couple of years, with connections seemingly finding out the key to him running well is keeping him fresh.

Indeed, he's only made one start in the 2024/25 season, that coming when finishing second to Lossiemouth over 2m 4f at Fairyhouse in December, with no disgrace in being able to match that one's speed over a trip short of Teahupoo's best.

There's nothing of Lossiemouth's calibre in this field and I'd have the selection shorter than the currently available 2.942/1.

16:40 Cheltenham - Back Jagwar

At first glance, this handicap chase looks really competitive, but delve a little deeper and we can see it contains plenty who hold few secrets from the assessor.

That's not the case with Jagwar, who's been progressive in four chase starts to date and looks to have even more improvement in him.

Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero's six-year-old is built to make a chaser and has already proven much better in this sphere than over hurdles.

Beaten just once in his four outings over fences, Jagwar produced his best effort to date when convincingly taking a novices' handicap chase over this C&D last time, impressing with how powerfully he travelled and looking very assured with his jumping.

I've little doubt he's going to be a 150+ rated chaser in time, so he must surely go close from 139 here against a field of largely exposed performers.

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