TODAY’S card concludes with the Weatherby’s Champion Bumper (5.30pm) and if the vibes are to be believed then Willie Mullins’ Facile Vega will be extremely difficult to beat.
The five-year-old is impeccably bred, out of multiple Mares’ Hurdle heroin Quevega, and it’s hard not to have been impressed by what he’s done on the track in his two starts so far. He couldn’t have been any more impressive than on his last start at the Dublin Racing Festival, where he didn’t come off the bridle and won by 12 lengths.
His rider Patrick Mullins has been waxing lyrical about him since, but he’s just 11/8 and we’ve seen the likes of Appreciate It and Kilcruit turned over at short prices in this before.
He will likely be tough to beat, but I prefer the claims of AMERICAN MIKE, who like Facile Vega is two-from-two in bumpers this season.
Gordon Elliott’s charge has looked the real deal in both those outings and given Elliott hasn’t hid the high regard in which he holds him, he looks sure to go well at 5/2.
As usual, Mullins fires multiple darts at this and while I was impressed by Redemption Day’s debut at Leopardstown, I’m going to chance another of his in MADMANSGAME at a whopping 33/1.
He didn’t blow anyone away with his debut victory at Navan, but he looked a horse that would improve massively for the experience, and I have a feeling he might have flown under the radar here, particularly if come juice gets into the ground.
There is rain in today’s forecast and the ground could be quite soft come the finale, so given he won that Naas contest on heavy ground, he’s likely to handle it better than some of the others in here.
Mullins has won this with some big-priced runners in the past, so it wouldn’t be the biggest shock in the world if he did so again.
Connections of EDITEUR DU GITE were considering a tilt at the Grade One Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, but trainer Gary Moore has sensibly lowered his gaze and gone down the Grand Annual (4.50pm) route.
Over the same course and distance and up against lesser company, albeit shouldering a fair bit of weight off 11st 9lb, the French-bred eight-year-old could be the class act in the field.
Prestbury Park holds no fears for the bold jumping son of Saddex, who is two from two at the track and seemingly improving with every run.
His most recent start saw him jump with great enthusiasm and bound away from his rivals by four lengths.
He’s up another six pounds for that, but there’s still scope for a bit more improvement and is a must-have each-way bet at 14/1 with Fitzdares.
The other one to be on here is EMBITTERED.
Heavily-backed into favouritism on the day in this 12 months agoand going well until coming down at the ninth, he’s worth another shot at 8/1.
Wins in August and October were followed by a below-par winter and he’s now six pounds better off than last year.
Paul Nicholls’ Il Ridoto looks unexposed after just four starts in the UK since coming over from France and looks set to be better than his mark of 143 in time.
It would take some performance for a five-year-old to win a big handicap like this on his first start at Cheltenham, but he’s certainly one to keep an eye on for the future.
Make sure you also have a go at the latest racing prediction game Whoknowswins.
Download the app, enter the Cheltenham league on the home page and pick your selections in each of today’s races.
You can enter up to 20 times, with each entry costing £5. The punter with the most correct picks at the end of the day wins the pool, with the top 20 per cent of entrants also receiving a pay-out.
POINTERS
Editeur Du Gite e/w 4.50pm Cheltenham
Embitterred e/w 4.50pm Cheltenham
American Mike 5.30pm Cheltenham
Madmansgame e/w 5.30pm Cheltenham
