Tipping / Graham Cunningham / 12 November 2011 /

Day three of Cheltenham's Open Meeting beckons and it will have to go some to match the first two. RUK analyst Graham Cunningham will be watching from the office after two busy days on track and is looking towards the early races for the best bets of the day.

Talk about like father, like son.
It may have taken a little while, but David Pipe has dominated this Open Meeting exactly like his old man Martin used to, and Saturday's runaway win in the Paddy Power by Great Endeavour crowned a tremendous weekend for Pond House.

The good news for the rest of the training fraternity is that Pipe jnr only has one entry at Cheltenham this Sunday - namely African Broadway - and it comes after the C4 cameras have stopped rolling at 15:30.

Most of the punting interest will centre around the featured Greatwood Hurdle at 15:20, but having done the race in some detail I doubt that I've unearthed anything which isn't readily apparent from a swift look at the Betfair market.

Pateese bolted up at Sandown and looks very nicely in under a penalty, while Moon Dice has been thriving in Ireland and is almost certainly capable of better yet. One or both seem set to play a major role in the finish, while Jack Cool makes more appeal than most as a place lay option given that he hasn't been at his best recently.

The Pipe yard introduced one grey star into the novice chasing division when Grands Crus bolted up on Friday and Paul Nicholls will hoping to do likewise when the exciting Al Ferof makes his debut over fences in the opener at 13:10.

As with Grands Crus, it's largely a case of how well the Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner jumps. A tidy round should see him home with something to spare on Timeform ratings, but he's a galloper as opposed to a quickener and it would come as no surprise to see him trade at odds against coming down the hill here.

Indeed, there could be some mileage in seeking out different angles in search of value here.

Al Ferof's grey stablemate Toubab was rated well below him over hurdles, but I liked the way he jumped and travelled for the vast majority of the way until worn down by Lancetto on his chasing debut here last month and it wouldn't surprise me to see him outrun the market and trade reasonably short at some point if he jumps with the same zest again.

By contrast, I'm keen to be against Lancetto. Granted, he rallied tenaciously having been outpaced coming down the hill by Toubab last time, but conditions have eased since then and I suspect confirmed this top-of-the-ground performer will find things tough trying to give weight to some smart rivals here.

The Shloer Chase at 13:45 depends largely on whether you are a fan of backing a horse on his recent form or his best form.

West With The Wind has been a winning machine for Evan Williams and rates well on the score of recent form after his Limerick win. He'll also catch the eye of the in-running punters given his freewheeling style, but giving weight to Woolcombe Folly and Gauvain won't be easy if they are on their game and the latter gets my vote.

Gauvain would have won me more money than any horse at this year's Festival had he landed the Ryanair Chase. In the event he turned in a dull performance on drying ground that day, but his earlier win in this race and his fine second to the high-class Riverside Theatre in Grade 1 company at Ascot read very well indeed.

Put simply, backing Gauvain looks a potential value call. It looks like he might settle at [4.5] or bigger overnight. And that is a very fair price if he's in the sort of form he showed on this day 12 months ago.

Sunday's Recommended Bets
Lay Lancetto for a place in the 13:10 at Cheltenham
Back Gauvain in the 13:45 at Cheltenham

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