Daily Placepots / Jamie Lynch / 15 March 2011 /

When you're alone and life is making you lonely you can always go - to Cheltenham. Rubbish. Who goes to Cheltenham on their own for God's sake, apart from my mate pickpocket Eddie. A more enjoyable and lawful way of profiting from Cheltenham is to sit at home in front of the telly, get the beers out and do this placepot:

13.30 - Conundrum number 1: rely only on Cue Card or take out some insurance? The temptation is to go 'all in' with Cue Card, who wouldn't have been out of place in the Champion Hurdle and has upwards of half a stone in hand of his rivals on Timeform ratings, but if everything went as expected at Cheltenham the Festival dividend wouldn't average a whopping £3,500, and the prospect of a sinking feeling at 13.36pm that a life-changing bet is already down doesn't bear thinking about. Therefore, it makes sense to include another one, and that one should be Al Ferof. He hasn't hit the same heights as yet over hurdles, but Al Ferof was a clear second to Cue Card in last year's Champion Bumper, and the confidence-boosting wins he's enjoyed at Taunton and Newbury the last twice will have set him up perfectly for this big assignment.

14.05 - Who amongst us hasn't done something daft at least once, and besides his daft departure at Huntingdon earlier in the season, there's no knocking Medermit, who has shown everything you'd want to see in an Arkle contender. Though he may not have the class nor potential of some, Realt Dubh has more chasing experience than most in the field, and that fact, coupled with his high cruising speed and accurate jumping, should get him far in what's always a high-pressure race.

14.40 - There are lots in here you just can't fancy, and the best policy is to side with those who look like they've been lined up for the race, chief amongst them Great Endeavour and Bensalem. Great Endeavour is still getting better, running a belter behind Ryanair favourite Poquelin in December, since when he's been kept fresh, while Bensalem has likewise been kept under wraps this season, but two starts over hurdles have suggested that he retains all of the ability that looked like winning him this very race last year before falling two out.

15.20 - Regards the Champion Hurdle, the key piece of form could be last year's Surpeme at the Festival, which was won by Menorah, with Dunguib in third and Oscar Whisky fourth. Dunguib has clearly had his problems since, out only once this season (routine win), whereas Menorah and Oscar Whisky have gone from strength to strength, and both have the potential to pull out more still, so they'll do for us.

16.00 - Some call it a spectacle, others call it entertaining, but so far as placepots go the Cross Country Chase is a plain nightmare. With over-the-hill horses going over hills, form counts for nothing compared to luck and a sense of direction, and it's in hope rather than expectation that we're going in with L'Ami, Sizing Australia and Maljimar, all three of whom know their way around here.

16.40 - This may end up biting us in the backside, banking in the last leg on a fragile horse who hasn't raced for almost a year, but the main point is that Quevega probably only needs to be 80% to win this for a third year running, and probably only 60% to make the first three. It's obviously a risk, but every Cheltenham race is a risk, and, whatever happens today, we'll be back tomorrow for another crack.

Selections: 48 lines

13.30: 1,2
14.05: 6,7
14.40: 4,8
15.20: 6,8
16.00: 2,8,16
16.40: 3

Click here to make your placepot selections on Betfair

Get the Timeform Jury's tips for every Channel 4 race at the Cheltenham Festival this week with Timeform TV Focus. Click HERE to find out more.

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