Cheltenham Festival Tips: Daryl Carter's Cheltenham Day 3 tips include a 33/1 NAP

• Conflated is a huge price and rates NAP material on day three

• Firefox is the class act in the Jack Richards

• Langer Dan and Bob Olinger get confident Stayers Hurdle votes

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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.

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

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13:20 Cheltenham - Maughreen

Any of these could take a big step forward, but I was devilishly impressed with Maughreen.

However, jockey bookings have been enough to put me off going in again on her, and I am happy to sit this race out.

*Maughreen was advised at 5/16.00 on the Cheltenham Focus Column.

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14:00 Cheltenham - Back Firefox @ 8/19.00 2pt

The class act in this field is Firefox - 8/19.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - who was the best of these as novice hurdlers and has done little wrong over fences this season, bar his latest flop at Leopardstown.

That is worth forgiving, considering he did the same before an excellent run in the Supreme Novices last term. He is unexposed on this trip, and back in the handling of Jack Kennedy for the first time since Punchestown last year, he is a tasty price.

He has been narrowly close to landing Grade 1 chases this term, and today represents a big drop in grade. He offered plenty of promise in a couple of starts this season, and I expect him to care for these mainly handicappers in good style.

He will relish the ground conditions, and a mark of 150 is not beyond him as, on the bare form, he should have at least five in hand of the handicapper.

Springwell Bay was excellent at the trials meeting, but going up nine pounds for that couldn't have been the plan if they were attempting to land a handicap. I expect Firefox's connections are disappointed that he is now in a handicap, but he can gain a deserved victory with all of his form stacking up this term.

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14:40 Cheltenham - Back Will The Wise @ 5/16.00 1pt

This is not a deep race, and the horse I think will take plenty of stopping is Gavin Cromwell's Will The Wise--5/16.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook. The six-year-old won his Pertemps Qualifier in the mud 18 days ago in an easy style, and connections left him in the Albert Bartlett until the final minute. Their comments following his win were, " We will see what the handicapper does" regarding his final destination. It's safe to assume they are happy with a low 134 rating up 11lbs as it would take a high 140's horse to win the Albert Bartlett this year.

He has finished behind Supreme hopeful Irancy over 2m this season, as well as Turner's favourites Final Demand and The Yellow Clay, but he will be seen to best effect now over three miles. He has abundant stamina, and his bumper form at Punchestown and his easy point-to-point victory make him of serious interest.

A rare novice in open handicap company at this year's festival, he makes stacks of appeal. 

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15:20 Cheltenham - Back Il Est Francais @ 3/14.00 1pt

Plenty want to knock Il Est Francias--3/14.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook--but he will get his ground, and this drop back in distance is another massive positive. He arrives following an excellent second in the King George at Kempton, when, had his rider been more aggressive at the last, he may have won the race.

Still, that's a blessing, as he is full of speed and power. He must go well at a favourable price on the front end of this gallop in a race in which being prominent has been beneficial.

He is a brilliant jumper and has a high cruising speed. I expect him to prove tough to catch, and he can land this. Fact To File is the obvious favourite, but dropping back in trip on a right-handed track would see more favourable conditions. Still, he is respected but will have to catch Il Est Francais.

*Il Est Francais was advised on 12/113.00 on the Cheltenham Focus column. For those looking for cover, Protektorat and Jungle Boogie are worthy considerations.

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16:00 Cheltenham - Back Langer Dan @ 12/113.00 1pt

Langer Dan - 12/113.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - comes good in the spring, and a little like 2023 winner Sire Du Berlais, he shows nothing during the winter. However, he has turned it on at this festival the last two times, landing the Coral Cup, and his Aintree form following that is good enough to play a hand in this race with the move up in distance no issue.

On his day, he is a class act, and I hope Harry Skelton can pull a rabbit out of a hat with a quiet ride smuggled into the race before showing his smart turn of foot. They don't tend to go hard in this race, and that could favour the speedier horses.

*Langer Dan was advised 2pt win at 33/134.00 on the Cheltenham Focus Column.

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16:00 Cheltenham - Back Bob Olinger @ 20/121.00 1pt e/w

The other I am sticking with is Bob Olinger - 20/121.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - who has excellent claims on any piece of Cheltenham form. Its interesting connections allow him to take his chance, considering they have the long-time ante-post favourite for this.

Still, Bob Olinger is another classy performer. He has a 3-3 record at Cheltenham, including a 2m4f heavy-ground victory in fine style on his last visit. He relishes the tempo of British racing and has always been strong at the finish when coming to Britain.

This distance is acceptable for him, and he can reverse recent form with Home By The Lee. He will be fully wound up here for a seasonal best effort, and considering he has recorded an RPR of 165 at this track, he must be regarded as a cracking E/W bet.

The more I look at this race, the more I fancy him.

*Bob Olinger was advised at 25/126.00 on the Cheltenham Focus Column.

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16:40 Cheltenham - Back Conflated @ 33/134.00 1pt e/w (NAP)

Older horses have a good recent record in this race, and Conflated - 33/134.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - is handily weighted if he can bounce back to any sort of form. He wasn't given too hard of a time at Leopardstown when held up at the rear of the field in the DRF Grade 1 Irish Gold Cup, but he travelled enthusiastically despite removing the cheek-pieces.

Under Rob James' claim, he is effectively running from a rating of 150 today, negotiating top weight and is down into a handicap. The last time he ran in a handicap in Britain was under James from a rating of 166 in the X Country chase in November. Still, it was only this time last year that he was third in the Grade 1 Ryanair, and now he tackles a handicap with the cheekpieces reapplied, and this is not a deep contest.

He has a good record at Cheltenham, and I expect a big performance from this classy veteran.

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17:20 Cheltenham - Back Johnnywho @ 4/15.00 2pt

There's little doubt in my mind that Johnnywho - 4/15.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - has been set up for this race all season, and the classy novice hurdler on his best day is surely better than this rating of 140.
He has shown himself to be better than a handicapper in spits and spats, but this season has all looked to be geared around a staying handicap chase following a promising, easy debut victory.

He was eased right down at Windsor last time when only a few lengths off the winner at the last, so he was far better than the bare result, but that was all a means to an end.

This is his big day, and one suspects he will show a new side to himself at this trip for which he is bred and unexposed.

Derek O'Connor is a massively positive jockey booking in this Amateur Handicap, and he gets back on him for the first time since he rode him to a 13-length success in his point-to-point in 2021.

He is the class act in this race and should take plenty of stopping.

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Now Read: More Horse Racing Tips Here.

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