The Cheltenham Festival Ante-Post Ramble

In the last of his Cheltenham Festival Ante-Post series Diarmuid Nolan lands on 4 selections, including 12/1 & 10/1 shots!

2nd March 2020 | By: Diarmuid Nolan

2020 CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL TIPS:

Tip	Odds	Bet with
Mohaayed to win the County Hurdle	12/1 (NRNB)	BetVictor
Supasundae to win the Champion Hurdle	10/1 (NRNB)	BetVictor
Melon to win the Marsh Chase	12/1 (NRNB)	BetVictor
Minella Indo to win the RSA Chase	4/1 (NRNB)	BetVictor

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It's the week before Cheltenham and for all intents and purposes it now looks like the festival might well go ahead after plenty of discussion around the potential cancellation of the week due to the outbreak of Coronavirus.

For now, the British Government have stressed for people to go ahead with their daily lives as normal, so with that in mind here's four festival fancies.

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Skelton To Take The County Again

It's been a tough few weeks for my ante post bets. Battleoverdoyen might not run, First Approach unfortunately died at Navan, Elixir D'ainay looks set to go for the Ballymore and Any Second Now misses the festival to go for the Aintree Grand National instead.

As always with ante-post betting however, you move on and I'm hoping, despite missing the bigger prices, that Dan Skelton wins the County Hurdle for the fourth time in five years.

Bridget Andrews guides Mohaayed to victory in the County Hurdle to record her first Cheltenham Festival winner @CheltenhamRaces. #TheFestival

New Betfair customers get up to £100 in free bets: https://t.co/M5sVHe3vhU (T&Cs apply 🔞) pic.twitter.com/W4JcB7QvzT
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 16, 2018

Mohaayed is very interesting in that his mark has tumbled right back down to pretty much where it was when winning this in 2018 off 139. To put his mark into perspective he won the following season off 145 at Ascot and was only nine lengths behind the winner off 153 last season in this very race again.

After a few poor runs this season he's now down to 142 and that's extremely interesting here for a previous festival winner who is only 8 years old.

12/1 with BetVictor could still be value (NRNB).

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Supasundae The Value In A Poor Champion Hurdle

I can't remember as poor a Champion Hurdle as this, but somebody has to win it!

I don't know what it is about her, but I can't have Epatante at the odds. If you're on her at bigger odds, that's fair enough, but I'm just not sure what she's achieved and she's only had two runs this season!

Any other season she would either be third string for McManus here, or she'd be third favourite in the Mares Hurdle. Saying that, it's not a normal year but there is some seasoned campaigners who will at least run to the high 150's.

Pentland Hills is impossible to trust, we're not sure if Cilaos Emery is good enough and we're not sure where Honeysuckle or Benie Des Dieux might go.

With all that in mind the two who scream value at this point are Sharjah and Supasundae, as both are well capable of running into the 160's and that might be enough here.

With the ground currently against Sharjah, Supasundae looks the one as connections were absolutely buzzing after his comeback fourth last time and he'll devour the hill late on. He holds some very strong two mile form and while he's now a 10 year old, this is not a normal year of the Champion Hurdle.

Honeysuckle running here would be interesting, as we're huge fans of her on the #racehour podcast, but at the moment 10/1 with BetVictor (NRNB). screams value for Supasundae each way.

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Melon To Rekindle Old Form At Cheltenham

Cheltenham brings out the best in certain horses and this is certainly the case when you look through Melon's form and if bouncing back to his Champion Hurdle exploits, he has a big chance here.

This is a seriously hot renewal of the Marsh Chase, and the likes of Itchy Feet, Mister Fisher, Samcro and Easy Game will have plenty of fans, but Melon will come alive as soon as he hits the course and is value at 12/1 each-way with BetVictor (NRNB).

None of these, bar Faugheen, have Melon's hurdle form and his chasing campaign hasn't been as bad as it has looked! First time he was just too slow to live with Fakir D'oudairies, who has more than franked that form since.

He won at Christmas, before just being too slow to live with them in the Irish Arkle. His form at Leopardstown isn't great anyway and actually his form away from Cheltenham is questionable. It might just be a case of horses for courses and he seems to always come alive at Cheltenham.

He'll love the extra trip, he'll love being back at Prestbury Park and if managing to replicate his Festival hurdles form over fences he could be a big price at 12/1 with BetVictor (NRNB).

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Minella The RSA Winner

For half the season I was quite confident Battleoverdoyen was the one here for the RSA Chase, but that was a serious fall last time and the more I look at it, the more confidently I land on Minella Indo!

Anyone who listens to the #racehour podcast will know how against Champ I am and that hasn't changed. I don't think he jumps well enough, I don't like his running style for this and he comes into his off the back of a fall. I have to take him on.

Minella Indo has only run twice this season, which isn't ideal, but that's exact same preparation as he had last year heading into the Albert Bartlett, which of course he won convincingly.

Second winner of the week for Rachael Blackmore! Minella Indo lands the Albert Bartlett and at a mighty 50-1 in a 1-2-3 for Ireland #TheFestival #CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/7BIFYb0Ew8
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 15, 2019

The form of his win last time was franked by Captain CJ, he won't be lacking in the jumping department and his credentials here are really obvious.

He's my nap of the week at 4/1 with BetVictor (NRNB)..

2020 CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL TIPS:

Tip	Odds	Bet with
Mohaayed to win the County Hurdle	12/1 (NRNB)	BetVictor
Supasundae to win the Champion Hurdle	10/1 (NRNB)	BetVictor
Melon to win the Marsh Chase	12/1 (NRNB)	BetVictor
Minella Indo to win the RSA Chase	4/1 (NRNB)	BetVictor

Previously Tipped

Santini to win the Gold Cup at 9/1 with Betway - Click here to read the Gold Cup preview
Bristol De Mai each way to win the Gold Cup at 50/1 - Click here to read the Gold Cup preview
Elixir D'ainay to win the Supreme at 25/1 with Betfair - Click here to read the Novice Hurdles preview
Fury Road to win the Albert Bartlett at 10/1 with Bet365 - Click here to read the Novice Hurdles preview
The Bosses Oscar to win the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle at 20/1 with BoyleSports - Click here to read the Novice Hurdles preview
Cash Back to win the Arkle at 12/1 with William Hill - Click here to read the Novice Chase preview
Battleoverdoyen to win the RSA Novices Chase at 8/1 with Betfair - Click here to read the Novice Chase preview
First Approach to win the National Hunt Chase at 33/1 with Unibet - Click here to read the Novice Chase preview
Any Second Now to win the Ultima at 20/1 with Unibet