Matchbook’s Daniel Hussey will be here each day of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival with his final tips and selections.
What an emotional Tuesday at Cheltenham with Constitution Hill and Honeysuckle doing the business back-to-back.
It was just Corach Rambler for this column unfortunately but we roll on to Day 2.
Shout to my colleague Micheál Deasy for his couple of handicap darts today!!
Jazzy Matty gets up to win the Boodles!
Tipped up by the inform @mdeasy85 in our Cheltenham Handicap's Special 👑
SP at Matchbook of 22.0 👀 pic.twitter.com/7n0CNg56no
— Matchbook Betting Exchange (@TeamMatchbook) March 14, 2023
Ballymore
Would love to be putting up Impaire Et Passe at a price here but the Cheltenham Preview Circuit talk has seen it collapse.
Tony Mullins joked on our own preview that “he must have grown wings” over the last couple of weeks and that could be an explanation!
The Mullins camp thinks the world of this horse, and having impressed LTO, expect Paul Townend to get off to a flyer on Wednesday.
Selection: Impaire Et Passe
Brown Advisory
Gerri Colombe is a solid favourite here, having won the Scilly Isles at Sandown very impressively last month.
With question marks over the trip and ground, the Gordon Elliott runner won going away from two decent yardsticks in Balco Coastal and Thunder Rock.
The step up in trip will only be a help and the softer it gets, the shorter he will be.
Selection: Gerri Colombe
Coral Cup
If Langer Dan ran in the Epsom Derby on the Flat, I’d probably come up with a case. So take the next few lines with a pinch of salt!!
An old favourite of mine, he was given too much to do when second in the Martin Pipe behind now Gold Cup fav Galopin Des Champs before being hampered in the same race 12 months ago.
The Racing Post comments ‘Held up in rear, brought down 2nd’ still haunt me.
He did make amends at Aintree. And yes, I was there and did put him up too!!
Dan Skelton came out and said they’d aim him at the Stayers this year, which has gone as predicted with him now 4lb lower and primed for a big run again.
The talk is they’ve gone for the Coral over the Martin Pipe (same distance but different course) to get Harry Skelton riding it and hopefully Dan’s faith in his brother pays off!
Always a minefield of a race but I do also like another one here at a double-figure price.
HMS Seahorse was a well-beaten fourth in the Boodles 12 months ago.
This looks like red-hot form given the runner-up has bolted up in the Liffey Handicap Hurdle, and the winner Brazil a solid yardstick.
The step up to this trip seemed to suit at Navan and he will be primed for a big run here.
Selection: Langer Dan (NAP), HMS Seahorse
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Champion Chase
Really liked Gentleman Du Mee here but he ultimately wasn’t declared for the race.
Editeur Du Gite is a horse who hasn’t got the credit for his win against the top two in the market in the rearranged Clarence House.
Tom Cannon probably got outdone tracking Energumene over EDG and duly paid for it in the last 100 yards.
However, the Old Course should suit Gary Moore’s horse more here and I think he’s overpriced at around 6.8 at the time of writing.
Selection: Editeur Du Gite
Cross Country
The ground is key here with soft suiting Delta Work vs good for Galvin.
I like Delta at the prices with additional watering (see Matt’s article here).
While some may argue the ground may be overplayed here, Lisa O’Neill did say on our Cheltenham preview that when she rides Galvin, he doesn’t move as well through soft ground.
That’s enough for me to go with last year’s winner.
Selection: Delta Work
Grand Annual
Andy Dufrense is a horse I backed for the Supreme a few years ago!
Despite not living up to his early hype, he ran a very good second in this race last year.
He’s off the same mark this year so expect him to put in another bold showing.
Selection: Andy Dufresne
Champion Bumper
One of my favourite Matt Tombs’ Cheltenham Trends is how the highest BHA-rated horses in this race tend to be under-bet.
That horse this year is a Dream To Share who danced in at the DRF, beating a well-fancied Willie Mullins Bumper horse Fact To File.
With JP now the owner, expect him to go very close.
Encanto Bruno doesn’t have sexy connections, hence his price holding up here
He won the Cheltenham November Bumper with ease and has been put away with the Spring festivals in mind.
Selections: A Dream To Share, Encanto Bruno
Cheltenham Day 2 Final Selections:
- 13:30 Impaire Et Passe
- 14:10 Gerri Colombe
- 14:50 Langer Dan (NAP), HMS Seahorse
- 15:30 Editeur Du Gite
- 16:10 Delta Work
- 16:50 Andy Dufresne
- 17:30 A Dream To Share, Encanto Bruno
Matchbook Double: Langer Dan & A Dream To Share
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