Cheltenham Festival Novices' Chase Antepost Tips: Kevin Blake's duo of bets up to 8/1

• Majborough the class act in Arkle

• Elliott can go close with Croke Park in Brown Advisory

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Changes to Novice Chase programme welcomed

The novice chases at the Cheltenham Festival have delivered many memorable moments and clashes over the years. The programme of novice chases has undergone more than its share of change in the last 20 years, most of it in terms of expansion rather than refinement. However, it became very clear in recent years that the novice chase programme had become much to diluted. Three Grade 1 novice chases, a Grade 2 novice chase and an ever-increasing tendency for unexposed novices to succeed in open handicap chases at the meeting had led to many of the Graded races suffering from a chronic lack of depth.

As much as we hooped and hollered, it seemed as though the powers would never act, but we finally got there last year when wholesale changes to the novice chase programme were announced. The mid-range Grade 1 and the National Hunt Chase were both converted into novices' handicaps and the rules were altered to oblige any potential runners in open handicap chases at the meeting to have four runs rather than three. These were all very welcome changes in the best interests of more competitive races.

Indeed, when one looks at the novice chase landscape, it is really good that the changes came when they did, as even with the greatly tightened programme, depth levels are not nearly what one would like to at the showcase meeting for the sport. Had the changes not been made, the division would look absolutely threadbare.

Majborough to prove a class above his Arkle rivals

The My Pension Expert Arkle Challenge Trophy was setting up to deliver one of the clashes of the Festival between Majborough and Sir Gino, but unfortunately it won't happen as Sir Gino has been ruled out for the season. That leaves Majborough very much looking to hold all the aces in the race.

Remarkably, the son of Martinborough also benefited from the late withdrawal of Sir Gino from the Cheltenham Festival last year when winning the Triumph Hurdle. Always considered a chaser in the making, he has wasted no time making a big impression over the larger obstacles this season. He made one of the most impressive chasing debuts of the season at Fairyhouse in December, hammering his smart stablemates Tullyhill and Asian Master by many lengths having exhibited a low and aggressive jumping style.

While he didn't impress everyone when winning the Irish Arkle at the Dublin Racing Festival by nine lengths, I was more impressed than most. Having shown aggression and speed through the air in his jumping at Fairyhouse, at Leopardstown he showed an ability to adjust when on too long of a stride. Many interpreted him getting a bit tight and brushing through the top of a few fences as a negative, but I would consider it positively. It demonstrated an ability to use his brain and make effective adjustments at speed to keep himself safe and not lose notable ground. That is an ability that not all two-mile chasers have, with the current example that springs to mind being El Fabiolo. It will stand to Majborough and reduce the likelihood of a big mistake or worse which is never too far away for two-mile chasers that attack their fences.

There are some lovely horses in opposition to Majborough in the Arkle, but I don't believe any are in his class. He may well end up being one of the shorter-priced favourites of the week and that won't be to everyone's taste, but I really do struggle to see him being beaten.

Croke Park to serve it up to Ballyburn

The Brown Advisory Novices' Chase has a more competitive look to it, but it is again dominated by Willie Mullins with Ballyburn and Dancing City heading the market. Ballyburn has always had a bit of the x-factor about him and duly delivered at this meeting last year when winning the Gallagher Novices' Hurdle in what was the middle leg of three Grade 1 wins in novice hurdles.

Expectations were sky high for his novice chasing campaign this season, but it hasn't been without some disappointment. An impressive winning chasing debut saw him pitched in against Sir Gino in a Grade 2 novice chase over two miles at Kempton in December, but that test of speed seemed to catch him out on the jumping front, as he was big and reachy in the early stages of the race that put him on the backfoot which he never really recovered from.

That reversal convinced his connections that longer trips would be more to his taste, and he duly returned to winning ways in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival. He put in a more assured round of jumping that day and impressed with the strength of his finishing effort over the longer trip. That performance makes him the standard setter in the division, but the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase will represent a much deeper test of stamina that will be a question mark for him in my mind.

His stablemate Dancing City won't have any doubts on the stamina front, but whether the form of his two starts over fences warrants him being as short in the market as he is can be questioned.

The one I like the most against Ballyburn is the one that he vanquished on his latest start at Leopardstown, the Gordon Elliott-trained Croke Park.

The seven-year-old had already won two Grade 1 novice chases before meeting Ballyburn and while it was a fair-and-square defeat, the hope is that the story could be different over the much longer trip of the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase. He is a dour stayer that looks made for the race and while he might not have as much class as Ballyburn, if he can drag him into deep water, he might well be able to drown him. At his current price, he makes particular appeal as a win and place bet.

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