Thursday 12th March
The penultimate day of the festival is dominated by the Ryanair Chase at 2.40 and the Ladbrokes World Hurdle 40 minutes later, but there is some great value to be found throughout the day if you’re willing to do a little digging. But instead of you doing the hard work, we’re trawled through the data to give you our top tips for the day.
13:30 JLT NOVICES CHASE
Opening the day is the JLT Novices Chase. Favourite Vautour is best priced at 5/2 with William Hill, but we feel that might be a bit short to represent real value. Looking a tiny bit further down the list, we spotted 7 year old Apache Stronghold, who has a fantastic record that has only been getting better as he has been pushed over longer distances. Winning 3 of his last 6 over 20f and placing in all the others, Apache Stronghold at 11/2 with bet365 seems to be a great price for a horse that should be able to cope with the heat.
14:40 RYANAIR CHASE
2015 will be the tenth year of the Ryanair Chase, and in 9 of those 10 years, the winner has come from the 3 favourites. The field is strong as ever, despite both Dynaste and Cue Card being ruled out from winning the title for a second time. Favourite Don Cossack is best priced at 7/2 with PaddyPower, and the Irish horse is closely followed by Ma Filleule at 11/2 with BetFred and Balder Succes at 13/2 with Skybet. We fancy a minor upset here, and are punting for Balder Succes at 13/2, whilst those wanting longer odds should look at in form Taquin Du Seuil, who is available at 16/1 with William Hill (despite only being 9/1 with PaddyPower).
15:20 LADBROKES WORLD HURDLE
The centre stage for Thursday has never been more competitive, with two former Cheltenham winners in the shape of Zarkandar (best priced 5/1 with Paddypower) and Rock on Ruby (best priced 8/1 with BetVictor) joined by a number of capable horses. In what will prove to be a wide open contest, we are looking down the list towards Reve de Sivola at 25/1 with Ladbrokes. The 10 year old has seen a resurgence in form in the last few months, and a cheeky each way bet could pocket a pretty penny come the end of the day.
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Click to ClaimJon is one of Howtobet4free’s co-founders and as well as producing content for the site also helps run the @howtobet4free_ Twitter account and Cheltenham Festival Facebook page. Jon works in Marketing and Communications in professional sport.
