This looks a Good Time to back Jonny March 15, 2023 THERE aren’t many trickier puzzles to solve during the four days of the Cheltenham Festival than the Pertemps Network Final (2.10pm). The way the qualification system for this race works means you often get horses that we haven’t seen anything like the best of yet this season. And this year’s renewal looks particularly trappy with [...]
EP: 188 Cheltenham Festival – Thursday March 14, 2023 The Stayers’ Hurdle is the Thursday feature at Cheltenham. We can also look forward to seeing Shishkin in the Ryanair Chase after his convincing Ascot victory last month. Today we hear from Chris Giles, co-owner of Il Ridoto who will be looking for a big run from the six year old in the Magners Plate. [...]
Cheltenham Thursday: The Punter Summary Podcast March 14, 2023 Hear all of City AM racing editor Bill Esdaile’s Festival tips in a short, summary episode of ‘The Punter Podcast’ alongside Chris Barnett. The full preview is also available on the City AM website. The Punter ‘The Punter’ has been City AM’s dedicated sports betting section for over a decade with a primary focus on [...]
King and Edward to rule the roost in Queen Mother March 14, 2023 THERE might only be seven runners in this year’s Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase (3.30pm), but it’s a race that’s deep in quality. And while we might not have a horse of the calibre of Sprinter Sacre or Moscow Flyer in here, the fact we don’t almost makes it a more intriguing puzzle to solve. The [...]
Connell’s Good Land won’t let rivals Passe in Ballymore test March 14, 2023 YOU HAVE to go back six years to find the last Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (1.30pm) winner trained on these shores and this year’s race really does highlight the overwhelming strength of the Irish battalions that travel to Cheltenham. Ireland have five of the top six in the betting, with Willie Mullins accounting for four of [...]
Sir Gerhard set to give Colombe a Real Whack March 14, 2023 THIS year’s Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (2.10pm) looks a competitive heat, with cases to be made for over half the 11-strong field. I’m largely in agreement with the market regarding the first three up the Cheltenham hill, if in a slightly different order. In my opinion, current second-favourite SIR GERHARD is a class above the rest and if [...]
Be Bold in your Endeavours and back Camprond March 14, 2023 YOU DO not get many harder races to find the winner of than the 26-runner Coral Cup (2:50pm). The last two were 50/1 and 33/1 and there have only been two single-figure priced winners in the past decade. You cannot rule anything out, but I must admit that I do find it hard to ignore [...]
Delta can make easy Work of rivals to win second Glenfarclas March 14, 2023 NOBODY who witnessed the aftermath of last year’s Glenfarclas Chase (4.10pm) will ever forget the image of both DELTA WORK and runner-up Tiger Roll being led into the iconic winners’ enclosure together. Both warriors had given their all in a titanic battle up Cheltenham’s famous hill with Delta Work just being that bit more suited to conditions [...]
Thyme feels White for a Sublime Grand Annual Chase March 14, 2023 BOTH Dinoblue and last year’s runner-up Andy Dufresne have clear and obvious claims in today’s Grand Annual (4:50pm). The latter runs off the same mark as last year, while Dinoblue makes just his fourth start over fences and looks ominously well-handicapped. None of this has been lost on the bookies, though, with the two sharing [...]
Pachisi set to dig Deep and Stride forth March 14, 2023 ALL EYES will once again be on reigning Champion Jockey Zac Purton when he has his card marked in eight of the nine races on the mid-week card at Happy Valley. It hasn’t been easy for bettors in the territory over the past week, with numerous short-priced favourites beaten at both the Valley and Sha [...]