CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL DAY TWO PREVIEW TIPS AND SELECTIONS PART TWO

The three final races of the day at the 2010 Cheltenham Festival bring plenty of exciting wagering opportunities to the forefront- especially those looking to back mid-pack favourites and improvers. While you’re at it, be sure to cash in your Bet £20 Get £60 promo from William Hill if you want to accelerate your spending power for the festival. My suggestion is to take your Bet £20 and toss that on Master Minded (it qualifies as the bet only has to be at 1/5 or better to unlock the free cash) and then push your £60 on Kauto Star in the final, or take a chance and make a big push Wednesday afternoon.

The Coral Cup is a really tough one in my book, with no discernable favourite and plenty of horses looking to play the spoiler. One thing you are getting from this one is absolutely top-quality value with Quantitativeeasing being the favoured jumper at 6/1. He’s a lightly-raced 5 year-old gelding who is 1112 career-wise all on hurdles. Tony McCoy had a very solid opening day and he could continue that with Nicky Henderson’s talented chestnut charge. Deutschland is the 2nd favourite and his form is too patchy for me. His steps up to graded level haven’t been particularly impressive and, frankly, he looked at his best in spring of last year. His 2009/10 form hasn’t been fantastic and the value just isn’t there for me. If you’re looking for an outside bet, why not try the long-shot City Theatre- a Jonjo O’Neill-trained six year-old who is owned by JP McManus? His form for the year is 74131 and he looks an improver. I love the 20/1 price.
The Fred Winter is another interesting one with no discernable key favourite. Notus De La Tour and Sanctuaire are the current betting favourites at 5/1 or 6/1 depending on who you’re wagering with. Paul Nicholls and Ruby Walsh are teaming up on Sanctuaire and he gets my vote here. He’s lightly-raced and scored a nice victory at Taunton over a field of 13 in late February. I think the conditions on the ground play to his strengths and will be tough to catch. I also like the looks of AP McCoy on top of Open Day. He’s had a few runs this year and has three wins on the season with one from Sandown that was particularly impressive. Open Day trades at 11.0. Watch out for the Irish invader Ned of the Hill who has some quality to form to match his 21/1 price tag.
In the Weatherbys Champion Bumper, we have a massive field set to contest this one and there isn’t a huge amount of form to work with on some of these options. The majority of the field is all weighted at 11-5 and I like Al Ferof (Ruby Walsh & Paul Nicholls) at 9/1 while Drumbaloo at 8/1 brings undefeated form into the equation. What you’re looking for here is horses that can handle the ground and know how to win races consistently. I think a quality driver is key on this one and that’s why I’m veering towards Ruby here. AP is on top of Made in Time, who trades at 25/1. He came a solid second in a Class 1 race at Newbury in mid-February so that may be enough to sway some punters- especially at that great price. I think he’s a good each-way selection, but I think Ruby’s got this one.