Cheltenham November Day 1 Preview by Dave Stevos
Cheltenham November Day 1 Tips: All Live ITV4 Races
It was one of those days on Thursday. The bottomless ground at Clonmel made it extremely hard work and Benkei struggled on it. Western Victory was outclassed by Bachasson and Snow Falcon found the ground too testing. Macho Mover never went a yard and was one of the first beaten. Irish Prophecy at least won but On Tour wasn’t on a going day. The 3 day November meeting starts tomorrow and we have four live races on ITV4. You can check out Dave Stevos’ Cheltenham November Day 1 free tips below…
Cheltenham Thursday Tips: 1.50pm – Handicap Chase (Class 2)
The ground is currently good to soft at Cheltenham and with not much rain forecast that shouldn’t change on Day 1 of the November meeting. The action on ITV4 kicks off with a tricky looking 2 mile handicap chase. Only 9 will go to post and you could make a case for all bar two of them. The two market leaders, On The Slopes and Magic Saint, have obvious form claims. However, neither of them have produced their best at Cheltenham yet. Fanion D’Estruval lacks a recent run, though that may not be an issue as he has won fresh before. He’ll need to be close to his very best if he is to score off a mark of 150 though.
One that could still have a bit of wriggle room from his current mark is Beat The Judge. Trained by Gary Moore, this fella has hit a consistent spell of form since going chasing. He has form figures of 3113 on his last 4 runs and the most recent ‘3’ came over today’s C&D on his last outing. The son of Canford Cliffs was beat 9L that day off 142 by Rouge Vif. He was only 1L off 2nd though and there is unlikely to be anything as dominant as the Whittington horse this time around. Moore’s charge beat Ballywood comfortably on his previous start and he can uphold that form. He isn’t a huge price, but at odds of 6/1 Beat The Judge is the each way pick.
Cheltenham November Day 1 Tips: Beat The Judge e/w @ 6/1 NAP
Cheltenham November day 1: 2.25pm – Novices’ Chase (Class 2)
A bitterly disappointing turnout for this 20f Novices’ Chase with just 4 runners. Protektorat heads the market after his 7L romp last time at Carlisle. He has won here over hurdles at 20f and his last run proved he could handle decent ground. Trained by Dan Skelton, Harry will ride and the bookies reckon Southfield Stone is the one he has to beat. Paul Nicholls’ 7yo son of Fair Mix scored nicely over C&D last time out, beating Coole Cody by 1.5L. He wasn’t as visually impressive as Protektorat but it was probably just as good a run.
Mossy Fen is next best in the betting and the drop back in distance should aid his cause. The son of Milan possibly didn’t stay the 24f trip here last time when beat 23L by Galvin. If he can rediscover the level of form he showed when winning a Grade 2 hurdle at Warwick he might feature, but that is a big if. Paint The Dream is the rank outsider at 20/1 and he has one piece of form that would give him a proper chance in this. His 1.25L 2nd to Midnight Shadow in a Grade 2 Novices’ Chase over 20.5f here is amongst the strongest pieces of form on offer and he ran okay behind Happygolucky last time at Stratford. Given the superb recent form of Fergal O’Brien, a small win bet on Paint The Dream is advised at odds of 20/1.
Cheltenham November Day 1 Tips: Paint The Dream @ 20/1
Cheltenham: 3.00pm – Cross Country Handicap Chase (Class 2)
The mighty Tiger Roll is back in action over jumps today after his pipe opener at Navan. All roads lead back to Aintree for him this year and this is simply a stepping stone. However, he cannot be discounted given that the ground will be in his favour. Easysland was 2/2 over these fences last season and he hammered Tiger Roll at the festival by 17L. That was off level weights and he actually gets 4lb this time. He goes on any ground and he looks a more than worthy odds on favourite.
Those two should finish 1st and 2nd but someone has to finish 3rd too and at monster odds, King’s Temptation could go well. Ben Case’s son of King’s Theatre flopped last time after a run of 4 wins from 5 starts. He is now rated 145 but because the top two are so highly rated he is actually 10lb out of the handicap. That means he gets to race off the minimum weight of 10 stone and his trainer has reported that he has schooled well over the cross country fences. He has won over 26f so another 2f shouldn’t be an issue and at odds of 40/1, King’s Temptation is the e/w pick.
Cheltenham November Day 1 Tips: King’s Temptation e/w @ 40/1
Cheltenham 3.35pm – Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2)
The first Graded race this week at Cheltenham is this 21f Grade 2 hurdle for novices. Each way players will be disappointed to see just 7 runners going to post. Does He Know is the favourite for Bailey and Bass. This son of Alkaased won his last two starts and plenty will fancy him to complete the hat trick. He showed he liked the Cheltenham hill when winning over C&D last time and this slightly easier ground should hold no fears for him.
The one that looks potentially overpriced at double figure odds is Polish for O’Brien and Brennan. This horse improved for his comeback when 3rd over 24f here last time. He was admittedly beat nearly 6L but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The son of Teofilo made a couple of shuddering errors late in the piece and only for those he would have finished much closer. He drops back to the distance of his maiden hurdle win and if he can put in a better round of jumping, Polish could go well at odds of 12/1.
