Daryl Carter's Tips: 11/4 Appleby and Buick to strike with Newmarket specialist

• Bruno has optimum conditions to run to his best at Cheltenham

• Ottoman Prince to retain his race title

• Our Champ still looks very well handicapped

• Sea Invasion has plenty more to offer yet

13:30 Cheltenham - Back Encanto Bruno @ 5/23.50 2pt win

The lightly raced Irish raider Encanto Bruno - 5/23.50 on the Betfair Sportsbook - looks like a good bet. He missed the Cheltenham Festival due to heavy ground and is now getting his favoured good ground surface for which he is 4-4.

The six-year-old has not been successful on soft ground the last two times at Leopardstown and Fairyhouse (Grade 1). Still, his effort here in October, when routing the opposition on good ground on the bridle in a race that recorded a very good comparative circuit time, is fresh in the mind.

He likes this venue, with form figures of 101, with his only disappointing run in the Champion Bumper on soft ground. He almost certainly has a bright future, and we have not seen the best of him yet, so under these conditions, off the back of a break of 112 days, for which his record fresh reads 110111, he should take some stopping returned to Novice company.

He was far better than the bare result on deep ground at Leopardstown last time when looking as though he was protecting his handicap mark in a prep spin, and that is undoubtedly a contributor to today's price.

Peaky Boy is attractive, but he needs to raise his game to be competitive with the selection. His future may lie further than this, and he may lack the speed to cope with the Irish raider. Still, he is fancied for forecast purposes. This is a good chance for Encanto Bruno to score, and he will have optimal conditions to run to his best. 5/23.50 or bigger is acceptable.

14:05 Cheltenham - Back Sea Invasion @ 5/16.00 1.5pt

Chris Gordon's Sea Invasion - 5/16.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - remains very well treated despite a seven-pound rise for his Plumpton demolition job when a winner for this column last time out. He is entirely unexposed after just five career starts, and he can continue to punish the handicapper for his leniency.

The six-year-old would have gone close to beating Jeriko Du Reponet at Newbury had the handbrake been released, but he strolled home in a five-length third. Jeriko Du Reponet is rated 136, so even allowing for weight-adjusted ratings, he would be 12 lbs better off if they met today. At the same time, he couldn't have been more eye-catching at Kempton on his final qualifying run before bolting up at Plumpton, and even that form has some collateral lines through the second that make his rating look appealing.

He firmly left the impression at Plumpton that he had more to offer, and today, he tackles a stiffer test of stamina, which should prove right up his street, having done his best work late in the day at the Sussex venue. His point-to-point form behind Supreme Novice Hurdle winner Slade Steel may flatter him a touch, but he had no easy task giving that one 5lbs, so it is worth viewing positively for now.

Kamsinas rates a big player on his early-season form, but giving an 18-lb weight to the selection will be no easy task. He holds valid place claims for those looking down the field and is a clear second choice. Spring Note needs to prove her effectiveness away from Newbury, but she should also be considered along with Lallygag in a competitive handicap.

There's still more to come from Sea Invasion off this mark under 120, and he makes the most appeal at 9/25.50 or bigger.

14:40 Cheltenham - Back In Excelsis Deo @ BSP 1.5pt

In Excelsis Deo has been knocking on the door without success in deep company this season, and his eye-catching run in the Cheltenham Plate, where everything that could go wrong did, is too difficult to ignore in this easier race.

He gets the vote having been suited by this step up in trip at the festival and with an unexposed profile over this distance. There's clearly a handicap to be won with him before the season is out, and this new course suits him far better than the old. With the drying ground in his favour, there's a good chance he can finally get off the mark for the year with his sights lowered.

11/43.75 is the absolute basement price you should be taking. Use BSP.

15:00 Newmarket - Back Ottoman Fleet @ 11/43.75 2pt (NAP)

Ottoman Fleet - 11/43.75 on the Betfair Sportsbook - offers good value in a bid to repeat last year's victory in this race, and there's a good chance his powerful connections have targeted it.

The five-year-old remains the form horse in this race and is drawn well in stall eight of ten. He returns to the scene of his career-best efforts with RPR ratings recorded readings of 118, 119, 117, and 103, resulting in defeat just once when second to the smart Alflaila, rated 118.

There doesn't seem to be anything in this race capable of reaching such a rating, and certainly not first time out, so he is the percentage call under William Buick with race fitness on his side, giving him the edge.

He is a very fair price at 11/43.75 or bigger, and I make him a clear favourite for this race, particularly given that this would have been an early-season target and most of his rivals will have had long-term plans in place.

16:25 Cheltenham - Back Some Scope @ BSP 1pt

It's very tough to get away from the claims of Some Scope who bumped into an on-song and well-handicapped Does He Know when second in the Grimthorpe at Doncaster and off just two pounds higher. He must be handicapped to go well.

The six-year-old has improved with each outing this term, and connections have given him plenty of time to recover from that gruelling test in the deep ground last month - it may be that he wants good ground so his effort can be upgraded.

The return to a sounder surface is a plausible positive considering his record with good in the going description currently reads 11011 outside of Maiden or Novice company. He tackles mainly exposed rivals, most of whom are on a recovery mission.

This looks like a good spot for him to return to the winner's enclosure, with this track likely to suit. At 4/15.00 or bigger, he is a very fair bet, but take no less than 11/43.75 and use BSP.

17:00 Cheltenham - Back Our Champ @ 4/15.00 1pt

Our Champ - 4/15.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - bolted up for this column in the Sussex Champion Hurdle at Plumpton last time, and Chris Gordon looks to have played a blinder by switching out Rex Dingle for son Freddie to negotiate five of the seven pounds he rose for that effort.

With today's ground in his favour, he is still handicapped to go very well. He has a brilliant winning effort at this venue under his belt this season, so there's plenty to like about his chances in this Conditional Jockey Handicap.

There are one or two others that catch the eye. Getaway Drumlee, Wild Max, and In This World could have more to offer, but Our Champs' effort in the Betfair Hurdle was mighty against the top middle-distance handicappers, and he is still too well-treated to ignore.

Now Read: Serial Winners Fund: Final charity payout hits £250k