Fairyhouse Sunday Tip

We landed a superb 28/1 winner with The Glen Rovers on Good Friday. It was an outstanding ride by Sean D Bowen and a top-class display of target training by Lucy Wadham. I am backing one horse at Fairyhouse on Sunday, hopefully she fares better at the start than she did at Cheltenham and also better than Soldierstown fared at the start at Fairyhouse on Saturday.

We backed Amen Kate at Cheltenham in the Grade 2 mares’ novice and she lost all chance at the start. It was a bit of a joke really but even though she was over 20l behind the leaders at one stage, she travelled into the race smoothly and two out, it looked like she might play a part in the finish.

However, the energy she expended getting into contention eventually took its toll on the Cheltenham hill and she faded out of it in the home straight.

Already a winner at Listed level, on the right handed track at Thurles, this daughter of Flemensfirth is bred to be a smart horse. Her dam, Augusta Kate, won this Grade 1 at this meeting in 2017 and her grand-dam, Feathard Lady, won the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle at Sandown in 2005.

Jack Kennedy, who was on board at Cheltenham, maintains the partnership and that has to be viewed as a plus. Yielding to soft ground should be absolutely fine for her and I’m convinced that if Amen Kate was given a fair shake at the start at Cheltenham, she’d have been in the frame and she wouldn’t be a 28/1 shot today. At those odds, she has to be worth backing each way.

I’ll be back with a preview for Monday’s card on the TXMarkets blog tomorrow.

Fairyhouse Saturday Tip: Amen Kate e/w @ 28/1 NAP

-DaveStevos

2026 Newcastle A/W Championships Preview & Tip

Last weekend we landed just one place with the very well backed Far From Dandy. Apart from his fine run, it was a bit of a disaster so hopefully we can bounce back on a busy Easter weekend. I’m not going to have a Saturday preview for TXMarkets but I will cover Fairyhouse’s Monday card for them and I may also have something for Sunday on my own blog. I have just two bets for Friday and they both run at Newcastle.

2.25 – Fillies’ And Mares’ Championship (Class 2)

A substantial purse of £150k for this contest with over 70 LARGE going to the winner. Plenty of horses will have been targeted at this race given the prize money and off a mark of 76, I am going to take a chance on the Richard Spencer trained Shallow.

She is by her owner’s sire Rajasinghe, a stallion who has a propensity for producing hardy handicappers. This filly was third in this race last year, beaten by just a length off a mark of 80. She had a very similar prep last season, running three races over 6f before running so well and Spencer has stuck to the same blueprint.

Shallow has admittedly yet to win over 6f but two of her best runs in the most valuable races she has contested have been over 7f, here last year and in a £100k handicap at York where she was a fine fourth off 82, beaten 3.5l for the win.

Her latest outing at Kempton over 6f had prep run written all over it and Saffie Osborne, who rode in that 7f York race, returns to the plate. The assessor dropped Shallow 1lb for that last effort and she returns to try and go two places better than last year off a 4lb lower mark. Her tendency to race keenly often costs her late in races but if Saffie can get her to settle better, she should be on the premises here at odds of 18/1.

2026 Newcastle A/W Championships Tip: Shallow e/w @ 18/1 (4 places)

4.10 – AW Easter Classic Middle Distance Handicap (Class 2)

An even bigger purse of £175k here with a whopping £90k going to the victor. The one I am going to take a chance on at a big price is The Glen Rovers. Trained by Lucy Wadham, who is better known for producing winners over jumps, he’ll be ridden by Sean D Bowen (not the jumps jockey).

A son of Dark Angel, this 7yo has won five of his eleven starts. He only made his debut in an AW bumper as a 4yo but he has proven himself to be a useful performer on the Flat. He won on his handicap debut over this C&D off a lowly mark of 63 in July 2024 and he was kept on the go until last February, notching up four more wins, culminating in a neck win off 85 in the AW Champs trial at Lingfield.

Wadham gave him a well deserved break after that last gasp win and he returned to action in November off a mark of 92. A big unit, he probably needed that run, and the same sentiment applies to his next run at Kempton too as he was given an 86 day break after his comeback.

Last time at Chelmsford was also most likely a prep run as he was ridden close to the pace. He is a hold up sort who is best coming off a strong gallop and he is more than likely going to get that here. He stays further than 1m2f, which is an asset given the stiff nature of the Newcastle track and he is now just 3lb above his last win. Hopefully they go hard and fast from the start here and if they do, The Glen Rovers can stay on late to hit the frame at odds of 28/1.

2026 Newcastle A/W Championships Tip: The Glen Rovers e/w @ 28/1 (4 places) NAP

-DaveStevos

2026 Spring E/W Double

It’s that time of year again, although you wouldn’t know it from the weather. The Lincoln Handicap and the Grand National are coming up soon and Dave Stevos has found two horses at big prices for a 2026 Spring E/W Double (plus two small e/w singles). He landed a 25/1 winner at Naas on Sunday, find out who he is backing below.

Saturday March 28 Doncaster – Lincoln Handicap

I must admit, this is a race I don’t have a brilliant record in. Things have to change at some point though surely! Hopefully it’s this year.

Long time followers might remember me tipping up a horse trained by Geoffrey Harker in this race (twice in fact), Scottish Summit. Unfortunately, he never landed a blow in either of those renewals but I think his 5yo son of Muhaarar, Dashing Darcey, may be able to produce a big run for the Yorkshire based trainer this year.

Formerly trained by Roger Varian, this horse has won three of his fourteen starts (two on the AW). His last win came for Varian off 86 in a Haydock handicap (1m, good) in June 2024 and on his last two starts for that stable he was placed in mile handicaps on soft ground at Haydock and Goodwood off 92, so we know he is ground versatile.

Harker shot for the stars straight away with Dashing Darcey after shelling out 110,000gns for him at the 2024 Tattersalls Autumn horses in training sales. His first start came in last year’s renewal of this race and he got absolutely zero luck in running.

Dropped Out

David Allan dropped him out, as he is always ridden, and as the pace lifted he was initially tapped for toe. However, it looked like he had come back onto the bridle at around the 2f pole but just as he was beginning to creep into the race, he was badly baulked, Allan had to snatch up and that was race over.

On his next start he was narrowly denied off 91 at Haydock and then after a modest 7f run at York in June, he was put away for the season and gelded.

He races off the same mark off which he went close at Haydock here, David Allan is back on board and I’m hoping Harker has him ready to rock for his seasonal reappearance. He needs two horses to come out to get a run (which should happen), and if he does sneak in and avoids traffic problems, Dashing Darcey is capable of running on late for place money at least at odds of 66/1.

2026 Spring E/W Double Tip: Dashing Darcey e/w @ 66/1 (4 places 1/4 odds)

Saturday April 11 Aintree – Grand National

I have already tipped up High Class Hero for this race at 50/1 (read why here). Since I put him up, he has been pulled up at Naas but just like at Gowran in the Thyestes that was on testing ground, so I’d be willing to forgive him that run. He’s out to as big as 80s in a place now but if the ground comes up good at Aintree, I can see him producing a much better effort.

However, for this double, I am going to go with another horse that has had excuses for poor runs on his last two starts. We have backed Jordans a number of times over the past two seasons and he has yet to let us down.

We were on e/w at massive odds when he chased home Impaire Et Passe in the Faugheen Chase at Limerick (19.5f, yld-sft) in December 2024 and again when he was runner up behind Caldwell Potter at Aintree in a Grade 1 novice chase (3m, gd-sft) at last year’s National meeting. This season, we backed him e/w for five places in the Pertemps Qualifier (3m, gd-yld) at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting and while Keith Donoghue got his calculations wrong and missed out on qualifying for the final, he did stay on late to land the place money for us in fifth.

Nice Ground

That was the last time Jordans got a bit of nice ground. He has run twice over fences since, pulling up on heavy at Gowran and outpaced over an inadequate 2m5f at Leopardstown on soft.

I think the fact that Joseph O’Brien swerved Cheltenham with this son of Coastal Path is notable, as is the fact that he ran so well behind Caldwell Potter at Aintree a year ago. That rival is rated 155 over fences and Jordans gets in here off 150 so theoretically, he could be on a competitive mark (even with the usual Irish tax). He’ll also have a lovely racing weight of 10st 8lbs, once the top weights declare.

If it comes up soft or heavy, Jordans is probably goosed but if it doesn’t and there’s good in the description, as I have said before, I think this is a horse with Grade 1 ability. He hasn’t been properly ‘off’ once yet this year, hopefully he gets his ground and shows what he is capable of at Aintree. At 40/1, Jordans is the each way selection.

2026 Spring E/W Double Tip: Jordans e/w @ 40/1 (4 places 1/4 odds)

-DaveStevos

2026 Grand National Ante-Post Tip

Our ante-post bet on Beauport for last year’s Grand National didn’t go very well but we did find I Am Maximus at 25/1 in 2025 so hopefully, we can repeat the trick with our 2026 Grand National ante-post tip.

Seven of the last nine Grand National winners have been Irish trained. Lucinda Russell is the only UK trainer that has managed to break the Irish spell of dominance, with One For Arthur in 2017 and Corach Rambler in 2023.

Willie Mullins had the 1-2-3-5 last year. He also won it in 2025 and this year, he is responsible for 14 of the 78 entries. The bookies reckon that the home team has a good chance of getting back in the winner’s enclosure in 2026, with Iroko the current 7/1 fav for Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero.

Yes, he ran well in it last year when he was also sent off the fav, but he’s 5lb higher now and there isn’t much value in his current odds.

The most hyped Mullins horse since the weights have been published is the Scottish National winner Captain Cody. He won that off 140 and he’s 12lb higher for Aintree and if he wins the Bobbyjo on Saturday, he will likely shorten further.

However, the Mullins’ horse that might represent a bit of each way value at 50/1 is last season’s Bet365 Gold Cup third, High Class Hero.

Sticky Jumps

Only for a couple of sticky jumps at the third and second last fences at Sandown, this son of Sulamani (who sired the 2016 National winner Ruler Of The World) would have finished a lot closer than the 4.5l he was beaten by Resplendent Grey, to whom he was conceding 6lb. That rival also holds an entry for the 2026 Grand National and off level weights this time, I would fancy High Class Hero to close that gap markedly, once he jumps better.

This season, High Class Hero made a pleasing return to action over an inadequate trip of 2m5f at Punchestown in November. He was then sent off at 10/1 for the Thyestes Chase at Gowran but I’m not sure the absolutely bottomless ground was to his liking and he was pulled up before the second last fence.

Yes, he has won on testing ground over shorter but his form figures on yielding to soft or quicker read 1211223 and on the balance of probabilities, it will more than likely be good to soft in April.

High Class Hero has yet to race left-handed over the bigger obstacles but he has won two of his three previous starts going that way round, a bumper and a novice hurdle at Listowel, so he should be fine at Aintree. He’s only 5lb higher than when running so well in the Bet365 Gold Cup last year and if he puts in a half-decent round of jumping, High Class Hero is capable of hitting the frame in the 2026 Grand National at odds of 50/1.

2026 Grand National Ante-Post Tip: High Class Hero e/w @ 50/1

-DaveStevos

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.

2025 Navan & Cheltenham Sunday Preview

It was hard to find the motivation to pen this preview. Saturday’s selections all ran absolute stinkers again and confidence is at an all time low. Maybe it’s time I found a new profession… There will be no NAP or NB again on Sunday, keep stakes to a minimum until there are signs that things are turning around. My 2025 Navan & Cheltenham Sunday preview is below.

1.57 Navan – Tara Handicap Hurdle (130 = 11st 12lb)

First of all, I want to apologise in advance to the connections of my fancy in this valuable handicap hurdle, the locally trained Theflyingbee. Finbar Hand’s mare did me a favour by winning for the spotlights at Downpatrick in June. Running off a mark of 114, she relished the easy ground and scored by 1l in a 2m3f mares’ handicap hurdle.

The daughter of Morozov was hit with a 6lb rise for that victory and her two runs since came over an unsuitable trip on good ground at Bellewstown in June and in a Flat maiden at the Curragh later that month, again on unsuitable ground.

This mare has been freshened up since that Curragh run and I am hoping she returns in the same sort of form as she did after a similar break last December. After 93 days off she ran a cracker here (2m4f, yld-sft) off 115 to finish 6l behind the then 115 rated Glen Kiln. That horse is now rated 143 and is just 12/1 for the Grade 1 Morgiana Hurdle next weekend.

Theflyingbee pulled 4.75l clear of Boston Rover in third that day and that rival is now rated 134 over fences. Hand’s mare has had just two handicap runs on soft ground, returning form figures of 21, so she is relatively unexposed in these conditions and she will surely be trying her best on her home patch. At odds of 28/1, Theflyingbee is the each way selection.

2025 Navan & Cheltenham Sunday Tip: Theflyingbee e/w @ 28/1 (6 places)

2.32 Navan – Troytown Handicap Chase (Grade 3)

This is a speculative one but in the hope that the return to Navan and to testing ground sparks a revival, I’m going to throw a bit of loose change on Prince Palace at massive odds.

Pat Fahy’s charge likes it at this venue and he also likes soft ground. He’s run here on three previous occasions, returning form figures of 312. The win came on heavy over 2m4f but the two places came at today’s trip, including a fine third off 120 in a Listed handicap chase in March on soft.

His three runs since that excellent third have been nowhere near that level but they all came on right handed tracks. It looks to me like Fahy has targeted this race and even though Prince Palace is 7lb wrong, that is negated by his rider’s claim and it will be a big plus to be carrying such a feather weight on ground as testing as this.

At odds of 66/1, hopefully Prince Palace outruns his odds of 66/1 and sneaks into the first six.  

2025 Navan & Cheltenham Sunday Tip: Prince Palace e/w @ 66/1 (6 places)

3.30 Cheltenham – Greatwood Handicap Hurdle (Premier)

I was tempted to leave Cheltenham alone because I am really starting to hate the place. However, it would be rude not to put something up for this 20 runner handicap and the one I’ll take a chance on is the Scottish raider, Dedicated Hero.

Sandy Thomson is a trainer I have a lot of respect for and when he gets a good one, like he did with Seeyouatmidnight, he knows how to campaign them. Unfortunately, he hasn’t had many good ones since his stable star retired but Dedicated Hero might be the horse that catapults him back into the big time.

He boasts form figures of 11113 at 2m-2m1f and the most recent of those wins came in a Grade 2 novice at Haydock back in January. Now, that admittedly wasn’t the strongest race but he finished 9.75l in front of the odds on favourite Royal Infantry and he ran a solid race in defeat here on Saturday off a mark of 138. Dedicated Hero gets in here off 129. 

Thomson’s charge made his handicap debut after 193 days off at Carlisle a fortnight ago, so he should be sharper for that run over a trip that stretches him. This horse has always been held in high regard, hopefully he proves connections right on Sunday at odds of 33/1.

2025 Navan & Cheltenham Sunday Tip: Dedicated Hero e/w @ 33/1 (6 places)

-DaveStevos

2025 Cheltenham Showcase Meeting Friday Tips

Our dreadful run came to an end on Champions Day. No winners, but we landed places with No Half Measures and Almaqam and we weren’t far off with Docklands and Bopedro. The jumpers now take centre stage, my 2025 Cheltenham Showcase Meeting Friday tips are below.

1.15 – William Hill Handicap Hudle (Class 3)

A nice and easy start with a 20-runner class 3 handicap hurdle. The ground is good to soft at the time of writing and with showers forecast, the track is unlikely to dry out too much.

John McConnell won this a couple of years ago with the veteran Seddon and last year Anna Bunina finished second for him. This year, his sole representative is Montecam, and he looks a bit overpriced to me at odds of 28/1.

Formerly trained by Nicky Henderson, for whom he won a Herford maiden hurdle (19.5f, gd-sft) in 2024, this son of Camelot produced his best effort to date for McConnell on his latest start at Bellewstown (20.5f, good).

Held up in midfield, he ran on well from the second last and found only the locally trained Birmingham Alabama too good. 5l back in fourth was Shadow Paddy, to whom Montecam was conceding 3lb, and he has since gone on to win a Listed handicap and a listed race at Limerick and is now rated 130.

With Alex Harvey’s claim, Montecam is effectively running off 119 here and he was only beaten around 2l off 118 when fourth over an inadequate trip at Newbury for Henderson in March so he has already proven he can be competitive off this sort of mark. At odds of 28/1, he is the each way selection.

2025 Cheltenham Showcase Meeting Friday Tip: Montecam e/w @ 28/1 (5 places)

1.50 – Holland Cooper Novices’ Chase (Class 2)

Only seven runners here but it’s an interesting little race that will be well worth watching with a view to the future. Gavin Cromwell has won the last two renewals so Addragoole has to be respected and Gordon Elliott’s promising pair King of Kingsfield and Relieved Of Duties are capable of running big races.

Olly Murphy’s horses have been in sparkling form so you couldn’t write off Alnilam (who beat Country Mile at Uttoxeter 19 days ago) and Paul Nicholls will be keen to make an early statement with Centara, a handicap chase winner off 131 at Newton Abbott last time out.

I’m not going to get involved here but if I were forced to have a bet, it would be on Alnilam simply because of the form of the yard. Hopefully it’s a cracking race and they all come home safe and sound.

2025 Cheltenham Showcase Meeting Friday Tip: No Bet

2.25 – Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle (Class 3)

Rather surprisingly, for a race of this nature, there has only been one double figure priced winner in the last ten years. That surely has to change at some point, right?

The horse that makes most appeal to me at bigger odds is the rag, Scintillante. This son of Roaring Lion was in fine form in class 4 company during the summer months. He won easily off 97 at Worcester (2m, good) in July and he went on to finish second off 105 and again off 108 at the same track in his next two starts.

Last time out he was pitched into a class 2 and ran a stinker, though he was 5lb out of the weights running off 117. He runs off 112 here (due to drop 1lb) and this is not as strong a race. On his penultimate start he was 0.5l behind An Bradan Feasa, who won again on his next start and his stablemate Mix Of Clover, who was 7l back in third, hacked up next time out too.

Another cause for optimism is the form of this yard. Alistair Ralph has had seven runners in the last fortnight and four of them won (one second). Ralph has never  had a winner at Cheltenham (0-30, four seconds), hopefully Scintillante runs a nice race for him here at odds of 33/1.

2025 Cheltenham Showcase Meeting Friday Tip: Scintillante e/w @ 33/1 (4 places)

3.00 – Oddschecker Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2)

It’s great to see such a big field for this Grade 2 novice hurdle, even if there is a bit of dead wood in it. Un Sens A La Vie currently heads the market and he has looked an exciting prospect in winning his bumper by 3.5l and a maiden hurdle by 7.5l, both at Market Rasen.

However, his sole defeat came on his only start going left handed in a P2P so I’d urge caution if you are considering steaming in at skinny enough odds. Hopefully this is a good day for John McConnell because I am going to back another of his runners here.

Jackson Lamb is on a hat-trick after winning a maiden at Bellewstown (20.5f, good) and a Kelso novice (2m5f, good). A front runner, he drops back markedly in trip here so I would imagine the plan is to be aggressive on him out in front and turn this into a test of stamina rather than speed.

Now, there are a couple of other potential front-runners in here (Jack Hyde and Run For Mahler) so if they decide to set off lickety split in front, hopefully Alex Harvey is happy to let them set off and turn it into a stamina test. If you go back to his debut run in a bumper at Roscommon he stayed on well after being held up in midfield early on so it’ll be fascinating to see how things unfold tactically. Either way, at odds of 18/1, Jackson Lamb is the each way selection.

2025 Cheltenham Showcase Meeting Friday Tip: Jackson Lamb e/w @ 18/1

3.35 – Handicap Chase (Class 2)

Chester Williams has made a flawless start to his training career. Two runners (both ridden by Harry Cobden), two winners and he’ll be hoping to make it three from three with Uncle Phil in this 2m handicap chase.

It is hard to make a case for this horse on what he did in 2024 when with Willie Mullins but Haas Boy was similarly out of form for his former yard and he won on his first start for Williams after a 225 day absence.

Uncle Phil was last seen in November 2024 running down the field in a listed handicap chase at Fairyhouse. In January of that year he won a Grade 3 handicap over the same C&D off a mark of 139 and he is only 6lb higher here.

He has won over fences going left-handed too, so the track configuration is not a worry and he is effective on good and soft ground. Hopefully Williams has sweetened Uncle Phil up, if he has he may well recoup the 14,000gns he shelled out for him back in April in one fell swoop.

2025 Cheltenham Showcase Meeting Friday Tip: Uncle Phil e/w @ 14/1

-DaveStevos

2025 Champions Day E/W Lucky 15

Last weekend was another disaster. Killavia and Loz Vegas finished out the back of the TV, Saba Desert did likewise and the day was fittingly capped off with modest runs from Gweedore and Bashful Boy in the big handicaps. This is probably the worst run I’ve endured for the best part of two years, hopefully we can turn it around with this 2025 Champions Day E/W Lucky 15.

Champions Sprint Stakes (Group 1)

No prizes for guessing who I am backing here. Run To Freedom hasn’t won yet for us but he’s been placed for us at 28s, 40s and at 150s in this race in 2022 so he owes us nothing and I’d imagine he’ll be heading to stud after this race, win, lose or draw.

It looks like the ground is going to be decent at Ascot on Saturday and that’s a plus for this 7yo son of Muhaarar. It was good to soft when he ran second in this in 2022 and it was also good to soft when he chased home Shaquille in the July Cup in 2023. It was good to firm when he ran third in the July Cup this year, so once there is good in the ground description Henry Candy’s charge will be fine.

Run To Freedom has run well on plenty of occasions at Ascot so there are no concerns regarding the track. If he can reproduce the form he showed on his penultimate start at Newmarket, he is capable of making a mockery of his massive odds of 50/1.

2025 Champions Day E/W Lucky 15 Tip: Run To Freedom e/w @ 50/1

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Group 1)

In our Royal Ascot lucky 15 Docklands got us off to a perfect start in the Queen Anne at 25/1. My main angle for tipping him was his love for Ascot and his liking for quick ground and, if the weather forecast is correct, he is going to get his optimum conditions again here.

In the Queen Anne he beat Rosallion by a nose and it is important to remember that Mark Zahra dropped his whip a furlong out too that day. Since then, Docklands has run just twice and on his last start, in the Jacques le Marois, he ran a massive race to finish a close fourth behind Diego Velazquez, Notable Speech and Dancing Gemini.

He’s had a nice two month break to recover from those exertions and he is back at his beloved Ascot. I’d imagine this has long been the plan given his C&D form figures of 1132221, hopefully he can add another 1, 2 or 3 to that sequence on Saturday at odds of 14/1.

2025 Champions Day E/W Lucky 15 Tip: Docklands e/w @ 14/1

Champion Stakes (Group 1)

The value here surely lies with Ed Walker’s son of Lope De Vega, Almaqam. An ultra-consistent horse, he has had a fine campaign. The undoubtable highlight was his all the way win at Sandown (1m2f, good) in the Brigadier Gerard when he lowered the colours of Ombudsman, the 7/4 jolly here.

Now, to be fair to Ombudsman, he did lack a run whereas Almaqam had one under his belt but even so, he still beat him. Perhaps more patient tactics didn’t suit when Almaqam was beaten by Royal Champion in the York Stakes and it looked like he didn’t stay 1m4f when third at Longchamp last time.

The drop back to 1m2f is a huge plus for this horse and the ground should be ideal for him too. Walker has always said this race was the ultimate aim for this horse, fingers crossed he proves him right at odds of 12/1.

2025 Champions Day E/W Lucky 15 Tip: Almaqam e/w @ 12/1

Balmoral Handicap (Heritage)

Last year Michael Bell landed this valuable prize with Carrytheone. This year, he relies on his 5yo son of Kingman Greek Order and he is capable of running a massive race off a mark of 96.

Formerly trained in the US by William Mott (previous to that by Roger & Harry Charlton), this horse seems to act on any ground. As a 3yo he won on good and good to soft, he was placed in the Cambridgeshire on good to firm and then he ran third in a listed race on heavy.

Since returning to Britain, his best effort came on his first start for Bell in the Hunt Cup at the Royal Meeting. Ridden by Soumillon (who rode Carrytheone to victory here last year), Greek Order was beaten just 1.5l for the win in fourth off 95 and he again ran well at Sandown on his next start off a mark of 97.

He never landed a blow on his last two starts but I am hoping that this race has been the plan ever since that Hunt Cup effort. He’s only 1lb higher here and I am also hoping to see Soumillon jocked up when declarations are made on Thursday. At odds of 25/1, Greek Order is the each way selection.

2025 Champions Day E/W Lucky 15 Tip: Greek Order e/w @ 25/1

-DaveStevos