2026 Cheltenham & Doncaster Friday Preview

Mount Atlas won at 33s last weekend to continue our recent good run, but it was frustrating not to get one to go with him. The jumpers are back big style this weekend with our first trip of the season to Prestbury Park and Dave Stevos has put up five horses to follow from smaller yards for this NH season, see that article here. His 2026 Cheltenham & Doncaster Friday preview and tips are below.

1.15 Cheltenham – W Hill Handicap Hurdle (Class 3)

We kick off with this class 3 handicap and after an exceedingly dry few months, we’ll be racing on good ground at Cheltenham. The horse that I came down on here at a price is the Fergal O’Brien trained Snatch A Glance.

This horse has, so far, been campaigned exclusively on sharp tracks. He won his maiden at Ludlow in November of last year (2m, good) and he has had three runs in handicap hurdles, all earlier this year.

His first run in handicap company came at Market Rasen (20.5f, good) and he kept on fairly well for a 3l third behind Crebilly and High Dancer, both of whom have won since. He again stayed on nicely enough for a 4.75l fourth at Stratford (2m6f, gd-fm) on his next start and after getting outpaced, he kept on for a 10.5l third when dropped back to 18.5f at the same venue on his last start in July.

Snatch A Glance is 1lb wrong here but he runs off the same mark as he ran off in those first three handicaps. To my eye, his run style suggests he’ll be much better suited to a stiffer track. He’s been freshened up, he obviously handles good ground and in the hope that the stiff uphill finish at Cheltenham sparks improvement, I’m going to chance Snatch A Glance e/w at odds of 25/1.

2026 Cheltenham & Doncaster Friday Tip: Snatch A Glance e/w @ 25/1 (4 places) nb

1.50 Cheltenham – Chasing Excellence Novice Chase (Class 2)

Having put Frankie John up as a novice chaser to follow this year for the Racing Post, I am hoping that Bowensonfire does the business for Gordon Elliott here. He wasn’t beaten far behind Denis Hogan’s charge at Gowran last time and a repeat of that should suffice.

One that possibly could be a shade overpriced here is Passing Diamond. He’s won 3/3 over fences and landed a handicap at Hexham off 124 on his last start. He’s an excellent jumper and he’ll go from the front, but this is obviously a big step up for him. With just six runners, I’ll have to give this race a miss but it’s definitely worth watching with a view to the future.

2026 Cheltenham & Doncaster Friday Tip: No Bet

2.10 Doncaster – Epic Boosts Handicap (Class 2)

They’ve actually had a bit of elusive rain at Doncaster and the ground is soft. We’ve backed Golden Mind already this season and he nicked place money for us at Ascot back in May. He’s gone off the boil since then but he goes well here and he loves soft ground so he might be worth backing e/w at around 16/1.

His last win came over C&D just under a year ago (6f, heavy) off a mark of 99. When he placed for us at Ascot he was running off 103. He pitches up here off 92 so he is undeniably very well handicapped.

His two previous runs here have resulted in that win last November and a neck second off 99 over 7f in September 2024. Oisin Orr takes over in the plate and with five places on offer, Golden Mind is the each way selection at odds of 16/1.

2026 Cheltenham & Doncaster Friday Tip: Golden Mind e/w @ 16/1 (5 places) Nap

3.00 Cheltenham – Oddschecker Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2)

The Big Guns unleash a couple of exciting prospects in this Grade 2 novice. The Skeltons run Cooltobecareless, a point and bumper winner who landed a Chepstow novice by 13l on his hurdling debut on his seasonal return two weeks ago. He’s been made the 13/8 fav and his main rival, according to the bookies, is Nicky Henderson’s unbeaten prospect, Planters Punch.

He’s been off since a facile win in a 4yo hurdle at Chepstow back in April, his third victory from three runs over timber. Has he beaten much? Probably not and we’ll learn an awful lot more about him today.

Can anything crash the party at a price? The one I’ll take a punt on is the Tom Lacey trained Eternal Angel. Some would say he’s more exposed than the top two in the betting, but others would argue he’s more experienced and there is no doubt he brings much stronger form into the race.

He’s had 12 runs over hurdles, winning three and finishing out of the first three just three times. Since joining Tom Lacey from Ellmarie Holden he has racked up form figures of 121321 in novice hurdles and handicaps, his most recent success coming at Plumpton by 1.5l off a mark of 120.

Previous to that run he got to within a head of Loriko off level weights. He won a handicap by 8l off 125 on his next start and is just 13/2 for the 2.25 on this card, running off a mark of 134. You could easily argue that is the best form on offer here so at 16/1, Eternal Angel is the e/w selection.

2026 Cheltenham & Doncaster Friday Tip: Eternal Angel e/w @ 16/1

3.35 Cheltenham – Handicap Chase (Class 2)

A tricky little race. The one I came down on at double figure odds is the Sam Thomas trained 8yo Palacio. He’s 2-6 over fences and he scored off 5lb lower at Newbury (16.5f, gd-sft) on his penultimate start of last season. He subsequently pulled up at Ayr in April but heavy ground may have been to blame for that tame effort.

My main angle for backing this son of Khalkevi is his record when fresh. On his first run of the 2024-25 season he reappeared with a 2.75l novice hurdle win at Chepstow. In November of last year after a 194 day break he returned with an 8.5l win in a novice handicap chase, also at Chepstow.

Everything points towards this horse being best when fresh and while he returns off 5lb higher than his last winning mark, he’s still just an 8yo so he could yet progress further. Hopefully he’s ready to rock again first time up at odds of 11/1.

2026 Cheltenham & Doncaster Friday Tip: Palacio e/w @ 11/1

-DaveStevos