Cheltenham Festival Day Four Tips
Friday is the final day of the Cheltenham Festival and the Gold Cup takes centre stage and is supported by a couple of competitive handicaps and more graded races.
In the big one Galopin Des Champs is attempting to make it a hat-trick in the race for the first time since Best Mate in 2004.
Our expert has three selections across the card, including in the feature race.
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2.40 Cheltenham – Dinoblue
The first two races on Friday look tricky enough to solve, but the third is the Grade 2 Mares’ Chase and it looks a cracker, with the first two home last year, Limerick Lace and Dinoblue, set to take each other on again.
Although Limerick Lace landed the spoils last year, the preference is for the Willie Mullins trained Dinoblue to land the spoils this time around. Her defeat in the race 12 months ago came on testing ground and, having conceded first run to Limerick Lace was always up against it.
With the race set to be run on much quicker ground this time it should play much more to her strengths.
Since the race 12 months ago Limerick Lace has raced three times and not finished closer than 25 lengths to the winner in all three of those.
In contrast to this Dinoblue has been competing well in open company and when switched back to mares’ company last time managed to win and get the better of Allegorie De Vassy, who is second favourite for the race.
This represents the strongest form in the race this season and, even though Dinoblue has to shoulder more weight than the rest of the field, she can prove to be much the best.
3.20 Cheltenham – Jet Blue
The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle is the final novice Grade 1 of the Festival and a chance for the stayers over hurdles to land a prize at the top level. This is arguably the weakest of the Grade 1’s in the Cotswolds, but that doesn’t diminish the competitive nature of the race, with 20 declared for the race.
Last season’s champion bumper winner Jasmon De Vaux looks to be first choice for the Mullins stable, but hasn’t taken like a natural to hurdles and will need to jump a lot better than he has shown to date to feature here.
The Big Westerner is two from two under rules and looks to have a good chance, but it is the French raider Jet Blue who looks to hold the strongest claims.
Having come over to the track in December, he won over three miles in seriously taking fashion.
The switch to the New Course this time around should pose no problems and, if in the same form we saw before the New Year, he will take all the beating.
4.00 Cheltenham – Galopin Des Champs
Galopin Des Champs has taken the three-mile chase division by storm over the course of the last few seasons and he lines up in a bid to win a third successive Gold Cup.
Some of the potential opposition defected to the Ryanair on Thursday and, as a result, this is an easier race than it could have been at one point.
King George VI winner Banbridge is likely to be his biggest threat, but on all evidence we have seen, Galopin Des Champs should simply be too good for the rest in the field.
Earlier this season he completed a hat-trick in the Irish Gold Cup and he is now likely to be the first since Best Mate in 2004 to achieve the same feat at Cheltenham.
*all odds correct at time of writing and subject to change
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