2026 Thyestes Chase Ante-Post Tip

This used to be a race in which smaller yards had a fighting chance of landing a big pot but these days, bigger yards mostly dominate. Yes, Martin Brassil won it in in 2022 but that was with Longhouse Poet for the Mulryans so it wasn’t really a ‘fairytale’ win. The last properly small trainer to take this prize was Liam Burke with My Murphy in 2016 and those that have been following me from the very start might remember backing him.

As a tipster who somewhat specialises in spotting horses with winning potential from so called lesser yards, the way Irish racing has gone in the last ten years has not made my job easy. For example, in last year’s renewal 14 of the 18 runners were trained by Mullins, Elliott, Cromwell and De Bromhead.

Big Four

This year, the big four are responsible for 23 of the 32 remaining entries and the chances are, one of them will win it. Flying the flag for the smaller operations is Terence O’Brien with Answer To Kayf. He landed the Troytown Chase on heavy ground at Navan in fine style back in November off 141 and if it comes up testing at Gowran on Thursday, he should go well again.

However, he’s only 10/1 and there isn’t much juice in those odds. Jordans is another interesting runner for Joseph O’Brien. We backed him in the Pertemps Qualifier at Leopardstown where he landed the place money for us in fifth but missed qualifying for the final at Cheltenham. He now reverts to fences and I think he is better than a 150 chaser, but I’m not sure the son of Coastal Path wants really soft ground.

Relish Conditions

One horse that looks certain to relish the likely testing conditions is Tom Gibney’s 2024 Irish Grand National hero Intense Raffles. Less than a year ago, on his last start at 3m plus on properly soft ground, Intense Raffles got to within 0.75l of Nick Rockett at Fairyhouse when conceding 3lb. That rival is now rated 169 after his Aintree heroics.

Three of Intense Raffle’s four runs since that excellent effort have come on good to soft ground and unsurprisingly, he hasn’t fared well. He pulled up at Aintree, was beaten 19l in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury and then pulled up in the Welsh National at Chepstow in December.

After those efforts, it is no surprise he is chalked up at 33/1 here but with rain forecast and the ground currently described as soft at Gowran, he should have his optimum conditions for the first time in almost a year.

Right-Handed

Another cause for optimism is that Tom Gibney’s charge is returning to a right-handed track. His career form figures at 3m plus on left-handed tracks read P8P. Going right-handed, he has amassed form figures of 112.

He admittedly remains 11lb higher than when winning the Irish National but that run at Fairyhouse last February suggests that he should be well capable of being competitive off his current rating of 151. Intense Raffles also likes to race close to the early pace, which is often a plus in this race and if he gets away well at the start and gets into a prominent position early, he can outrun his generous looking odds of 33/1.

2026 Thyestes Chase Ante-Post Tip: Intense Raffles e/w @ 33/1

-DaveStevos

Perratt’s Stable Star Worth A Poke At Newcastle

Unfortunately, we were narrowly denied a nice place with our NAP Ike Sport last weekend. There’s three days of live racing on ITV this weekend starting with the opening day of the Windsor Million meeting tomorrow (as well as All Weather Champs Trials at Newcastle). I’ll be covering the live ITV Saturday and Sunday cards for TXMarkets but I do like one horse at tasty odds that might be worth backing e/w at Newcastle tomorrow.

Linda Perratt is a trainer that I’ve followed for a long time. When I started focusing on finding big priced e/w bets she was one of the first trainers that came to my attention but she usually plies her trade at a much lower level than this.

Stable Star

She runs her stable star here, The Caltonian, and I think this horse is hugely overpriced at odds of 28/1. By Swiss Spirit, this 7yo was beaten just over 4l in this race last year, but he was running off a mark of 93. He is back to try again off 88, and the last time he ran off that mark over C&D, he won (Kieran O’Neill was on board that day too).

The Caltonian’s last two runs, both at this venue, have suggested his turn is near. He was beaten just 2l when not getting a clear run over C&D in November. He was 0.5l behind Heavenly Heather that day, conceding 11lbs. He gets 1lb from that rival here and yet he is 28s and Heavenly Heather is 14s.

The Caltonian finished sixth over 5f here last time, running on well late in the day. The step back up to 6f is a big plus, he’ll surely be trying his best and if he settles early and gets the gaps in the final furlong, The Caltonian can run into the money here at odds of 28/1.

2026 Newcastle Friday Tip: The Caltonian e/w @ 28/1 (4 places) NAP

-DaveStevos

2026 Cheltenham Ante-Post E/W Lucky 15

After all the exciting action over the Festive Season, I have set my sights on the Cheltenham Festival. I like the look of four horses at big odds e/w, get my 2026 Cheltenham ante-post e/w lucky 15 tips below.

Arkle Chase – Irish Panther e/w @ 20/1

I mentioned in my festive e/w lucky 15 preview that Irish Panther was one of my original selections but by the time of publication, he had shortened into single figure odds. Eddie Harty’s charge ran an absolute cracker after drifting back out to 12s and was narrowly denied by Romeo Coolio, currently around 8/1 for this race.

At Leopardstown, Irish Panther jumped and travelled supremely well, just like he did when winning on his chase debut at Naas. Clearly, he is a far better chaser than hurdler and only for a very slight stumble after jumping the last, I think he would have held on to beat the fast finishing Romeo Coolio.

Some might argue that he didn’t quite see out the trip and that the hill at Cheltenham will find him out stamina wise. I don’t buy that. I think he saw out the distance perfectly well and he finished over 12l ahead of a Grade 2 novice chase winner in July Flower.

Connections have already said that they are considering going straight to the Arkle, so barring injury, he should be a runner. I think odds of 20/1 are a bit of an insult considering how well he ran in Dublin and he is the first of our four 2026 Cheltenham ante-post selections.

Champion Chase – Solness e/w @ 25/1

Another horse that impressed at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting was Solness. We backed this horse when he won at 28/1 at last year’s meeting and he went on and followed up at the DRF in February. Unfortunately, he could only manage a poor fourth in this race last March, but he’s going to have a very different preparation this year.

When Solness finished down the field at Galway in July 2024, he was returning from a three-month break. Incredibly, he was kept on the go all through the autumn, the winter and then into the spring, running in the Champion Chase on what was effectively his ninth run on the spin without a break of 50 days or more. Surely, that played a part in his below par performance (and his lesser effort at Punchestown a month later).

This time, Solness has had a 292 day break and will likely have his third run of the season in the Champion Chase. He returned to action with a win at Leopardstown, holding off the late surge of Marine Nationale, who did really well to get so close after his early blunder.  You’d have to fancy Barry Connell’s charge to reverse that form but Solness finished over 3l clear of Majborough, an erratic jumper who is 7/1 for this, yet the sure footed Solness can be backed at 25s.

This race is almost certain to cut up considerably, and it would be no surprise if less than eight turned up in March. 25/1 about Solness with three places on offer sounds alright to me and he is our second 2026 Cheltenham ante-post selection.

Pertemps Handicap Hurdle – Electric Mason e/w @ 16/1

Our third selection is (yet) another horse we have backed this year. We were on Electric Mason at huge odds when he found just one too good in a qualifier for this race at Cheltenham on his seasonal reappearance. The horse that beat him, Ma Shantou, won again off 9lb higher at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day.

Electric Mason rocked up to Haydock on his next start and we were on him again at 14s. Off a 4lb higher mark he went one place better, jumping well and holding off the late challenge of Hartington to score by a neck.

He got hit with a 7lb rise for that and afterwards, his trainer Chris Gordon stated all roads led to the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham in March. This horse goes well fresh so I concur with that plan and I think he has the potential to rate higher than his current mark of 139. Hopefully he gets there in one piece.

Gold Cup – I Am Maximus e/w @ 33/1

With Galopin Des Champs seemingly on the decline and the reigning champion Inothewayurthinkin bang out of sorts, this is the most open looking Gold Cup we’ve had for quite a while. Our Christmas winner Affordale Fury announced his arrival at the top table in the Savills but it is the horse who finished second behind him that I think could be set for a big run at Cheltenham in March.

I Am Maximus is a horse that owes us nothing. We were on ante-post at 25s when he won the 2024 Grand National and he pitched up in that race again last April and ran another cracker off a mark of 167, finding just Nick Rockett too good.

Lightly Raced

Many will point to this horse’s age as a negative. Yes, there is no denying he’s no spring chicken at the age of ten but since his Irish Grand National win in April 2023, he’s probably only run on his merits five times so he is a fresher horse than his age suggests.

My view is that connections have realised that he will struggle to win another National off his rating of 170 (no shame in that) and after a pipe opener in the John Durkan, they decided to unleash the beast in the Savills. He beat all comers bar Affordale Fury and over another furlong and a half (the Gold Cup Trip), he probably would have stayed on best to win.

His only previous run at Cheltenham came in the 2023 Brown Advisory (3m) and he got outpaced before staying on into fourth. I Am Maximus acts on any ground, an obvious plus when betting ante-post, and he was given an official entry today. At 33s, I think he is capable of a huge run.