2010 CHELTENHAM DAY FOUR TOP TIPS PART ONE

We're just a few hours away from the start of the fourth and final day at the 2010 Cheltenham Festival and, while we're sure to see another run from the living legend Kauto Star, there is still plenty of interesting selections taking off throughout the rest of the day. The opening races offer up plenty of excitement while the post-Gold Cup races are all looking rather interesting. We've had some withdrawals and plenty of price movement, so it is definitely worth surveying the market as punters continue to make their presence felt. 

In the JCB Triumph Hurlde we've seen plenty of movement towards Carlito Brigante, who now trades alongside former favourite Alaivan, at a price of around 4/1. Brigante has taken his last three in style for Gordon Elliott and looks set for a good run here. It will be his first go at Cheltenham, but the late movement seems to indicate confidence. 25/1 Barizan is your value play here and he's been relatively lightly-raced since running 12 at Cheltenham during October and November He seems to like the course and you can't argue with the price. 
The 2010 VOB County Hurdle is totally wide open and it really could be anyone's guess how this one goes. We haven't seen too much movement in the market during the morning so I'm continuing to back 12/1 Rock Noir and I'm also looking at 20/1 Secret Dancer. Dancer seems to like the surface and has been punching above his weight a bit this season and may appreciate the step down in competition. ROck Noir hasn't raced for Jonjo O'Neill since November, but has been undefeated in 5 since finishing second back in November of 2008. He is a big threat with the right trip and I think the price justifies a solid bet on him. 
Quel Esprit has been commanding a solid price in the market for the 2010 Albert Bartlett, but I've got my eyes on Shinrock Paddy in this one as he's won at Cheltenham before and looks to be a solid improver. I don't think there are many in this field who are dramatically better than him, so his 9/1 price is about what we're looking for here. The punters do have respect for Willie Mullins Quel Esprit, but I think he needs a near-perfect trip to pull this one off. Tell Massini is the 4/1 favourite, but I'm not really tripping over myself to back him at that short of a price against a field that can definitely trouble him. Alan King's The Betchworth Kid is worth a  look at 14/1. 
Stay tuned for the second half of our preview coming up shortly!