Cheltenham 1:30 - Next Destination (each-way)
Every horse has its price and Samcro passed under his earlier in the season; perhaps the puff that attends him is real but do you really need to pay to find at around 8/11? The maths of his short price suggests an each-way bet against him is value and the formbook gives Next Destination a chance too. At least equal of the favourite on times, he is proven at the track and may be better suited by conditions should the race devolve into a slog.
Cheltenham 3:30 - Min
The Champion Chase has been a "hokey cokey" race all season, Altior and Douvan in one minute and out the next, and a further wrinkle was added on Monday when the former was found to be lame. Yet the facts remain the same – the two market leaders have had setbacks, missed targets and sub-optimal preparations in the run-up to the meeting while Min has had pretty much everything go to plan. He is this season's horse and looked better than ever last time while soft ground holds no fears for him.
Cheltenham 5:30 - Blackbow
Leopardstown is the pre-eminent trialling ground for Irish-trained horses at the festival, with 43 Cheltenham winners since 2010 having their last run at the track, well clear of the next best, Punchestown with 13. Blackbow surpassed the standard required to win a typical Champion Bumper in a newly-minted Grade Two at the Dublin course last time, showing a sharp turn-of-foot in the process, and deserves to be a short price here.
Tony Keenan writes a weekly Irish racing tipping column for Betfair as well as data-driven racing analysis on Geegeez.co.uk.
