The Snail

After a patchy jumping campaign, Ballyburn returns to hurdles and could be under the radar here. A star in the making a few seasons ago, I like his chances.

They say 'horses for courses', but perhaps that should be 'owners for races' as the same syndicate plot took the race one with Caldwell Potter last year. Regent Stroll has some nice form in the bag and looks a good shout.

There aren't many seven-year-old winners, but countering that argument, horses with four hurdle runs or more tend to do well here. He could be susceptible to the younger guns, and Bambino Fever is a worthy favourite looking classy last time out. Mullins has had a bad record in the last few years, so I'll oppose with this. Bromhead's horses' form is a bit of a concern.

I like Broadway Ted's profile, and he has a couple of nice wins that have given him the highest OR in the field. I also like the irony of Sean Bowen's first Cheltenham win being essentially on the flat. That quirk is enough for me to back him EW against the Rich Ricci favourite.

Short-priced winners are the order of the day in the bumper, with only W. Mullins having a winner bigger than 10/1 in the last ten years (albeit he has done it twice, so watch for his runners). No 4-year-old has won since Cue Card, and although Quiryn comes with a big reputation, I can't go there. Love Sign Daunou comes here, like Ricci's previous winner Jamsin de Vaux, with the one Irish bumper win, and I'll back him to win again today.

So often we see jockeys and trainers doubling up. If Stumptown wins the cross-country, confidence in this will rise and I can see why. In a strange quirk, battle-hardened campaigners from the season tend to do well, with 5 of the last 6 winners having run at least 5 times in a season. Add to that, though, that it favours novices and second-season chasers, and Addragoole ticks a lot of boxes. The wise would go EW with some extra places, but for me, on the nose is how I roll.

Another race with a warm FAV, and another I'm happy to oppose. In a quite remarkable stat, only three of the last 12 odds-on favourites have won, which just shows how much of a task this rapid 2m is. Jumping, speed, and then the famous Cheltenham endurance. Does Majborough have all that? Quite possibly improvement has come, with his last run looking good, but lingering memories of his faltering jump and failure last year are enough for me to look elsewhere. Another horse who has also improved since last year is Leau Du Sud, and the Skeltons have previous with the wonderful Politilogue. They are in good enough form, with The New Lion running with credit yesterday and a winning favourite in Madara, so I think evens to 5s for very evenly matched horses make this the only value bet out there.

Looks to be between the top two in the market (although Desertmore House is not without a chance). The Tiger Roll supporters may have their new hero in Favori De Champdou, who won well round here previously. However, Stumptown is only 9 and has the master Keith Donoghue on board, who knows best how to get round this course. I feel that, coupled with the 8 lbs rise in the handicap for the Gigginstown horse, is enough to stick with the reigning champ who won't go down without a fight and represents a bit of value.

JP loves Cheltenham. While yesterday he had more luck in the handicap and juvenile sphere, he comes here with some very live chances. Romeo Coolio could be a good thing, but the last six winners all had form over 2m4 or 2m5, and that's sufficient for me to take him on. Nine of the last 11 winners have been in the top three in the betting, and, bringing form from the DRF, Kaid Dauthie stands out as the value pick for me.

The favourite looks good, but it's been a long time since Paul N has had the kind of horses that you could confidently back. Therefore, at a larger price, Skylight Hustle appeals to me, with a nice couple of wins under his belt, and actually the third-highest OR in the book. Elliott had a quiet festival last year and wasn't overly confident about his runners yesterday, but he feels like he wants to hit the mark sooner than last time. This looks to outrun his odds.

Pic Roc for me again at a nice price. The head of the market looks good, with the favourite Backmersackme a worthy leader. Ben Pauling has been speaking about emulating the Skeltons, who used to have their charges primed and under the radar in handicaps (not so easy now everyone has caught on!). This has the feel of a similar attempt and I like his chances, with the dry-ish ground meaning the heavy weight is hopefully not too much of a shackle.

My two against the field here are Zurich and Downmexicoway. Zurich boasts course form, something that the last seven winners of this race have had. A nice racing weight and a horse clearly improving this season. I'll be looking at how Henry de Bromhead's horses run earlier in the day to see the magnitude of the bet. If he has other winners, expect to see these two both shorten.

This is a race that really could be anything. Two market favourites who arguably prefer further, and one who has shown a bit of jumping fallibility. A third, a filly, who has undoubted talent but has failed to shine at Cheltenham. I wouldn't be surprised if any of these win, but Golden Ace may be considered a lucky winner of previous races. At the speed of the Champion Hurdle, you have to stay on your feet, and for me he might be overpriced to pull it off again. Time and again in the Champion Hurdle unfancied horses repeat the trick (Hardy Eustace, for example), and with question marks around the market leaders I'll stick with the reigning champ.

In a race that seems to be the preserve of repeat winners, and L. Russell having already won it plenty of times, it's hard not to be tempted by Myretown. The Rambler also won after U last time out, which suggests the rotten form of last season's winner could be ignored. But a form line of F4P is just too ugly for me. In a race dominated by the Brits, I've found Leave of Absence fits a nice profile. Horses stepping back down to handicap races after trying graded company often do well, and 10 of the last 13 winners have been between 139 and 151 in the ratings. Leave of Absence has some nice runs to his name without damaging his mark too much, and with the handicapper seemingly still giving the Brits an edge, this could be a live outsider.

The Irish stranglehold on this race has been epic, with 8 of the last 10 going their way. However, there was a time when a Paul Nicholls French charge was the flavour of the month, the last time that coming in 2016. Add to that penalised runners, which Bebe Mus is, have won 2 of 7, and that suggests that maybe the Brits could spring a surprise here. Of the Irish charges, any one of the three JP McManus horses could be a winner in my eyes, but the bigger price of Bibe Mus has tempted me.

In a race that has been a hunting ground for favourites, the battle appears to be between the two leaders in the market. Lulamba vs Kopek is mouth-watering, with the British representative showing a slight jumping and pacing issue last time out. Coupled with Kopek's impressive performance in the Supreme last year, suggesting he is suited to this task, I'll back the Irish charge to win today.