1:10 Cheltenham Tips

AUREA FORTUNA has to have a massive chance in this. Great form, great connections who are no strangers to winning at this track and I can see this horse right in the thick of the action. Big player.

Jubilee Express goes well fresh and will love the soft conditions at Cheltenham based on his 2nd place in last year's Welsh Grand National. Sam Thomas's horses are going well this season.

Good 4th of eighteen runners returning from a 220-day break. Raised two pounds and just three higher than last victory in stamina test at Wetherby.

My Each Way selection for this one is AUTONOMOUS CLOUD, a Class 1 stayer with a colossal handicap advantage running in a Class 3 race. He holds an RPR of 145 from his fourth in the 3m 6f Midlands National but runs off just OR 120. With Harry O'Dwyer's 7lb claim, his effective rating is 113, making him 32lbs well in on proven ability. Crucially, O'Dwyer won on him last time, establishing a proven, confident partnership that negates any claimer risk. Trainer Fergal O'Brien is red hot with a 21 percent strike rate. The extreme 3m 1f 84yd stamina test is perfect for a dour stayer proven over 3m 6f. His poor Cheltenham run was over an inadequate 2m 4.5f. Everything aligns - massive class edge, proven partnership, in form stable, and ideal conditions. Outstanding each way value.

The 8-year-old has been first or second in 10 of 14 races over fences. He was rated 9 lb higher just six starts back. Back in good form during the summer, with a one-length defeat followed by a win. Now returning from a five-month break, and this race would have been the target. His form figures from his 7-year-old 2023-24 campaign read 2222111, all those races on soft ground and two on heavy ground - which after Friday’s rain is a big positive. This handicap is an amateur riders’ handicap, and he has a good jockey booking who can still claim 5 lb. Could be a big player now he has found his form again.

This will be a real slog in the mud, and Ballycampus fits the bill as an out-and-out stayer. He looks great value at 18/1 and will be sharper for a recent run here when he was staying on late on quicker than ideal ground for him.

Venetia Williams' contender last won on Dec 23. And has on occasions come back from a break in good order and either won or finished runner-up. Chambard retains the same rider as in most runs, Lucy Loo. Selection is on a winnable mark, Just needs a little luck here.