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Cheltenham Betting Tips Day 2
- 14:10 Cheltenham – Giovinco – 1pt @ 22/1 with Boylesports
- 14:50 Cheltenham – Shanbally Kid – 1pt e/w @ 25/1 with Bet365
- 16:50 Cheltenham – Path D’oroux – 1pt e/w @ 10/1 with William Hill
For today's horse racing tips, our analyst James Boyle looks at day two of the Cheltenham festival with three selections.
As always, you’ll find up-to-date odds at the bookmakers, but our tipster’s predictions are researched early in the day and those prices could soon be moved in by the betting public.
Odds stated are correct at the time of publishing, but check out today's racecards for all the latest movements.
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14:10 Cheltenham – Giovinco – 1pt @ 22/1
Fact To File is clearly a big talent and will be a banker for many. It won’t be easy to beat him if he’s as good as the figures suggest but his last win came against a misfiring Gaelic Warrior and before that he hammered Zanahiyr, who was making his chasing debut and didn’t look like a natural.
This should be provide a clearer picture of where he’s at and he also has to prove his stamina for the extended three-mile trip. I’m happy enough to try and get him beaten at the prices, for all that he’s obviously classy and is unlikely to have maxed out on his ability just yet.
Stay Away Fay enhanced his form in defeat when third in the Cotswold Chase on the new course, tackling more experienced rivals who won Grade 1 contests as novices. He stays well, mostly jumps fine and shouldn’t have any problem with this sort of test. 3/1 is a tight enough price, however.
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The one I’m liking is Giovinco, the outsider of the field. He has blotted his copybook on a few occasions, including in the Grade 1 novice at Kempton won by Il Est Francais. He didn’t look right there, failing to travel as he can, and it may not have been solely the level of opposition that caught him out.
He has form with Stay Away Fay having been little more than a length behind him at Sandown before going to Kempton and that’s a better effort to judge him on. He travelled supremely well there, got to the front on the bridle and seemed set to win before failing to get home up the hill.
That would worry anyone with regard to the suitability of Cheltenham but he’ll be able to avoid the speed, get hunted around and should have the chance to be played a lot later than ended up being the case at Sandown. That is assuming he can keep tabs on them when the going gets tough.
It’s possible he’s not good enough for this level but he is 20/1 or bigger with every firm, has had a recent win to show he’s over the Kempton exertions and will appreciate the ground. If the stars aligned, I think he could find enough improvement to at least trouble the main contenders.
14:50 Cheltenham – Shanbally Kid – 1pt e/w @ 25/1
Willie Mullins has another runner heading the market here with Sa Majeste priced up around the 5/1 mark to make a winning handicap debut. There was a lot to like about his sole start this season, in which he jumped the final two flights really well to see off Noble Yeats.
Quite whether that should see him so strongly fancied for a race as competitive as this is up for debate and we’ll know a lot more about the limit of his ability afterwards. I suspect he’s going to be an improver and will be in the mix late on, but the odds don’t do much to entice me in.
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Shanbally Kid also represents the Mullins yard and he’s a far more appealing bet at 25/1. He beat Monty’s Star in a maiden hurdle last season before going on to compete in the Albert Bartlett, where he travelled along nicely until the second last flight and clearly didn’t get home afterwards.
It was a similar story on his sole hurdling run this season when fancied for the Leopardstown handicap won by Maxxum, trading 7/2 in the run before his stamina reserves ran out and led to a 12-length defeat. There were enough positive hints to suggest he’s in good form all the same.
Dropping back to 2m 5f should prove to be the major help for him given his troubles over further and testing underfoot conditions will make this enough of a slog to help him more so than the speedier types. There are always risks in such a competitive affair but he’s better than a mark of 134.
16:50 Cheltenham – Path D’oroux – 1pt e/w @ 10/1
It’s a long time since I’ve managed to find the winner of the Grand Annual and this year’s renewal looks no easier to solve. There are lots of talented, improving sorts and the best approach could be to close your eyes, throw a dart and hope that it lands on one with a chance.
Path D’oroux is the horse I’ve finally come down on and he brings strong form to the table from the Dublin Racing Festival having split Madara and Solness. He’s 4lbs better off with the winner and 4lbs worse off with the third, but tried to come from very far back on the day.
His jumping can be on the sketchier side, hence why he’s often seen ignoring any involvement with the speed, but he has a really good engine. That was on show at Leopardstown when he made up many lengths between the second last and the last to get into a challenging position.
After the last, Madara seemed to have a bit extra in reserve for the finish, perhaps helped by a more forward sit in the field on the way around. How this will pan out is anyone’s guess but hopefully the gallop will be strong and those who need time to get involved won’t be inconvenienced.
The ground isn’t going to be a problem and cheekpieces are in use for the first time. Granted, I have no idea how he has reacted to them in his work at home but if there’s a time to try something in order to eke out some improvement, the Cheltenham festival could be that time.
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Best Day 2 Cheltenham offer
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Last Updated: 14th March 2024, 07:22 AM
