Daryl Carter's Tips: 13/8 Chianti can prove his class at Cheltenham

• Every race at Cheltenham given a look over

• Chianti Classico is a class above his rivals

• Baloo 12/113.00 can go well at a price

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Listen to Friday's Racing... Only Bettor!

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12:20 Cheltenham - No bet

This weekend's Cheltenham meeting should prove informative, and there's no waiting around as the first race features what could be a potential mare novice candidate in Nicky Henderson's That's Nice.

Henderson's four-year-old receives her seven-pound sex allowance from the Irish raider Wingmen as she bids to back up her excellent bridle victory at Warwick, where she could have won by a distance.

Nico de Boinville used the race to teach her to settle in behind runners and didn't want to deliver her too early. Maybe that's a warning sign, or he sincerely thought it was a teachable moment. Either way, she beat a subsequent winner in Dan Skelton's 119-rated Hoky Tonk Highway with minimal fuss. She lobbed through the race, giving her hurdles plenty of air, but she could be called the winner a long way from home, and she was given a glowing report from her trainer.

There's lots to like about her. She has scope for much further improvement, and her ability to quicken so readily caught the eye. This race should set up well for her, with Palacio likely to make this a true test from the front. The point-to-point winner is expected to relish the stiff finish at this venue.

Country Mile couldn't peg back Roadlesstravelled at Haydock in tiring conditions, but the winner had the run of the race. Still, an opening rating of 131 looks lofty. I can't be convinced he has run to that level. In turn, Wingmen must be respected and can run to 131 on the evidence of his bumper form, but it may come when going right-handed in this sphere after he jumped out that way at Navan last time.

Wingmen is a nice prospect, so he must be respected, but the mare, That's Nice, gets to vote to come out on top; there's not enough juice in the 5/61.84 to get seriously involved, but at 11/102.11, I'd be keen to take a second look closer to race time.

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12:40 Cheltenham - No Bet

Unsurprisingly, the bookmakers are shirking Paul Nicholls' Caldwell Potter at 8/111.73 as he looked like a useful work in progress at Carlisle on his chase debut. Interestingly, he turns out quickly 12 days later, and this former Grade 1-winning novice hurdler should be hard to beat should he take up the running.

This is a good race, but he is classy, and the move-up in trip is right up his street. His downfall will likely be himself. He was brave early on at Carlisle, but I liked how he started to trust Harry Cobden the further he went. He will have a cut at his obstacles, and this is a tricky track if you're not an assured jumper.

He should score if he settles and doesn't try taking off outside the wings as he did early at Carlisle. Jango Baie is an interesting newcomer to chasing, and Springwell Bay is over his correct distance today. He is a fantastic jumper and a more solid option, but he lacks the quality of the top two in the market who are open to further progression.

Deafening Silence may want more of a stamina test than this on deeper ground, so he is passed over. The firm preference for pure ability is Caldwell Potter, but at 8/111.73 in a strong race, I can leave him alone as I'd probably rather the field running for me at 11/82.38 given I think he has the potential to clatter one.

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13:15 Cheltenham - Back Willmount @ 5/23.50 1pt

It is challenging to bring a strong form case to argue that Willmount - 5/23.50 on the Betfair Sportsbook - is thrown in from this opening rating of 130. However, the percentage call is to take a chance with him, given the promise he offered from a visual perspective last term, and it's worth remembering that he went off 9/43.25 for the Grade 1 Challow Hurdle when he was last seen and stopped quickly having caught the eye.

That can't have been his proper running given how quickly he cut out and he wasn't seen again since then so there must have been an issue. His connections seem to think they have some unfinished business over hurdles, so in a weak enough handicap, he looks worth chancing with the ground in his favour and this track likely to suit.

The six-year-old beat the 140-rated Shannon Royale in his Point-to-Point run, so there is some promise from a collateral handicap perspecitve, and he is so lightly raced and was as short as 12/113.00 for the Supreme Novice Hurdle last year, rightly or wrongly.

It would be disappointing if he did not land the odds here on his seasonal debut. He is a horse that will be prominent in the Betfair Hurdle following this outing should he land the odds, and while it is almost impossible to put a correct price on him, I am happy at 5/23.50 or bigger is acceptable.

Wreckless Eric and Cavern Club - the one-two from 28 days ago at the November meeting - can run well. Valgrand has a big task at the top of this market with a rating of 139, and this is the time for the handicapper to be proven wrong for giving him an outrageous handicapping rise for beating very little.

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13:50 Cheltenham - Back Chianti Classico @ 13/82.63 2pt (NAP)

Chianti Classico - 13/82.63 on the Betfair Sportsbook - may have a lofty rating to contend with, but he is the class act in this field and is impossible to ignore under top weight. In reality, it doesn't matter what the rating by his name says, given he carried top weight to beat a better clutch of horses at Ascot last time, and he is entitled to improve for that outing.

He returns to the scene of his Ultima Handicap win (old course), and today's more galloping track should see him in just as good light. None of these horses have come up against a classy sort like this in their careers, and Kim Bailey's horse is advertising his Gold Cup credentials. He will surely take all the beating when considering the race in that context. Chianti Classico is on an upward curve and his 13/82.63 could look like a gift come race time.

He can at least run up to his rating of 157, and there's a good chance of further progress returned to a left-handed track (he can jump left) with his seasonal return under his belt.

The selection puts three of these out of the handicap, and he couldn't have much more in his favour to defy being top-weight. Our Power is next best and could run into the frame ahead of the reliable The Newest One.

Still, 13/82.63 or bigger is a backable price for the selection which could go off closer to evens.

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14:25 Cheltenham - Back Seddon @ 5/16.00 1pt

The 11-year-old Seddon - 5/16.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - makes plenty of appeals returning to the course and distance that saw him land the Cheltenham Plate two years ago, and since lightly raced in this sphere, he could easily be ready to strike.

The John McConnell horse has only had two outings over fences since that victory in 2023, and he returns to the larger obstacles for the first time since June, having had a spin on the flat in the summer, where he scored twice from three starts. The angle with him is the return to Cheltenham, where he has won twice over obstacles, finished seventh in the 2019 Ballymore Novice Hurdle, and third in a Grade 2 in 2018.

The selection obviously likes this track, and his flat exploits this summer suggest he is in excellent health. At the same time, he caught the eye as recently as May on his penultimate outing over fences in a much deeper race than this but was hampered at a crucial stage in the race (five out).

If he wins another race over fences, then it is almost certainly this one where he will tackle some regressive veterans. Torn And Frayed can go well but the more I watched back the Wariwck run last time the more it looked like two Veterans crossing the line. The same can be said for Dashel Drasher and Eldorado Allen. If the selection is ridden prominently and jumps well he will be hard to beat.

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15:00 Cheltenham - Back No Bet

A fascinating handicap is headed by the former David Pipe horse Iceo Madrik, who comes over from France to repeat the feat of the November meeting race won by fellow French raider Sweet David. He won well at Compiegne last time, and the third had beaten Sweet David by a nose in October, so the form stacks up well. Still, this is a deep race, with Gordon Elliott targeting the contest by enlisting talented claiming jockeys at Coko Beach and Delta Work.

The interesting angle with Coko Beach is that he has switched his headgear for the first time since 2021. He now wears cheekpieces, and he won when the latter were switched out for blinkers three years ago. Carl Millar claims five off his back, and he possibly has excuses behind Stumptown last time out when suffering wounds to his hind legs.

Delta Work gets Rob James on board to claim seven pounds off his back, and the 2024 Grand National second may be finally in a place to land another X Country win with the weight burden eased. He has typically been targeted in the spring, which may be the same story today, but at 11, turning 12, opportunities will be few and far between. He is a class act, and a repeat of his Aintree run will see him land this, having had Coko Beach and Latenightpass well behind.

However, Latenightpass caught the eye moving through the race strongly at Aintree 34 days ago, and he only has one target: to repeat his victory in this race last year. This is a tricky race but the slight preferance is for Latenightpass, although as you can imagine, cases can be made for plenty.

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15:35 Cheltenham - Back Bhaloo @ 12/113.00 1pt e/w

Bhaloo - 12/113.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - is a progressive horse, and he is likely to have the first run on Doyen Quest given how this race will pan out, and he is crying out for this move up to 3m for the first time so he looks worth chancing to turn over the red-hot favourite. The six-year-old is lightly raced and steadily progressive, and the move back to hurdles following a victory at the first time of asking over fences is an opportunist move from Nicky Henderson. I expect they are looking to mind his chase handicap mark with a view to the festival, and this way, they get to test his stamina.

The selection is from the family of the marathon chaser Goonyella, so more is expected now, tackling a trip that requires further stamina for the first time, which is the avenue for further improvement.

Young and progressive from a potent stable and likely to be in the thick of the action from the get-go and well positioned, he looks like a solid each-way option with his favoured good ground for an each-way play.

Dan Skelton's Doyen Quest was good value for more than the five-length winning margin here at the November meeting, and with that, his first crack at three miles, he must be feared with more to come and plenty in his favour. However, the selection is also a progressive horse and he will get the first run.

Back the selection at 8/19.00 or bigger.

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