3:30 Cheltenham Festival (16th March) 2016: Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1)

Ten horses declared for this Chase over 1m 7f 99y on good to soft going. The inaugural race was won in 1959 by Quita Que, ridden by Bunny Cox and trained by Dan Moore. 

The most successful horse to win this race three times was Badsworth Boy (1983 - 85). 

Jockeys Pat Taaffe & Barry Geraghty have won this race five times, while Tom Dreaper is the most successful trainer with six wins.  

The betting suggests this is a two horse race with Un De Sceaux and Sprinter Sacre battling for Willie Mullins and Nicky Henderson, respectively. 

Dodging Bullets won this race last year against a few old adversaries Sprinter Sacre, who pulled up, Somersby, Special Tiara & Sire De Grugy.  

Un De Sceaux could well be sent off an odds on shot. This eight-year-old bay gelding, a French son of Denham Red is an exceptional horse. Sixteen runs have seen him triumphant fourteen time, falling twice, when pretty much guaranteed to win. He has run once at Cheltenham when quickening clear in the Racing post Arkle Challenge Trophy. With prize winning over £400,000 Mullins' charge must take some beating. 

Sprinter Sacre needs little introduction and a truly inspiring horse at best. This ten-year-old is trained by Nicky Henderson, racing in the silks of Mrs Caroline Mould. 

No stranger to Cheltenham, this gelding, a son of Network (GR), has won the Supreme Novices' Hurdle (2011) & Arkle Challenge Trophy (2012). He has mixed fortunes in the Queen Mother Champion Chase winning in 2013. However, he was pulled up last year when things started to fall apart. Sprinter Scare has shown he is enjoying his racing this season with two comfortable wins and plenty of supporters will be excited by the potential dual. 

I would have to favour Un De Sceaux to win but at 5/1 Sprinter Sacre could well be a fair each way bet.     

1:30 Cheltenham (Wednesday, 13th March) Free Horse Racing Tips

1.30 National Hunt Chase

This is a 4 mile chase for amateur riders. I've already backed Rose of the Moon at 40/1 and there's been a little bit of money for him and he's a best price 33/1 now. For the latest information check out the Racing Post for their Cheltenham betting. The last two winners of this race have been the official top rated. This years top rated is Back In Focus. He's unbeaten in four chase starts, has won over 3 miles and acts on the ground. The only question mark is his ability to stay the extra mile.

1 pt win Back In Focus 4/1 1st

Great performance from Back In Focus, who rallied to steal the race up the Cheltenham hill. 

2.05 – Neptune Investment Management Novices Hurdle

Pont Alexandre is the favourite for this and is the Irish Banker of the week. It's easy to see why. He's a relentless galloper and looks every inch a chaser in the making. On this side of the Irish Sea we have the equally hyped The New One who just got touched off last time at Cheltenham over a slightly longer trip when the jockey probably made his move too soon. Unfortunately the Twiston-Davies yard has had a few horses go sick and that's enough to put me off backing this at around 4/1. Tarquin Du Seuil is another to consider, only beaten by My Tent or Yours over a shorter trip, he looks sure to be competitive. Chatterbox cannot be discounted either; although this will be his first time over this longer trip, his sires progeny have a decent strike rate at this trip. Rule The World is a tentative selection in what is a really competitive race. He won a grade 2 at Naas in January easily beating Minsk and Champagne Fever. His only narrow defeat has come over a longer 3 mile trip and the 2 miles 5 furlongs should be ideal. At 9/1 he should go well.

Update: William Hill offer 2/1 Pont Alexandre (now 11/8) 

1pt win Rule The World 9/1 2nd

Great selection from Sean Kelsey at big odds (backed to 11/2) and a gallant 2nd. 

2.40 RSA Chase

Boston Bob seems a poor favourite to me. They all finished in a heap at Leopardstown last time and it's difficult to deduce who would finish in front when the first, third and fourth in that race line up again in this. The home challenge of Unioniste and Hadrians Approach look closely matched too.

No bet

Good word for Hadrian's Approach (6/1) from our Twitter friend mrossi11 3rd

Update: William Hill offer 5/1 Boston Bob (until further notice) (Fell when outstanding chance)

3.20 Queen Mother Champion Chase

Sprinter Sacre is probably the best National Hunt horse in training. I can't recommend a bet at 1/4 though. Corals are going evens to a maximum of £20 win on Sprinter Sacre. Now that is a good bet for the Champion Chase. Enjoy the race as they don't come along like this very often.

1 pt win Sprinter Sacre Evens (with Coral) 1st

Pure class. Exceptional talent. 

4.00 Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle

I've backed Barbatos for the Martin Pipe race on Friday assuming he was more likely to get in there. He needs nine above him in the handicap to come out to get in this race. Currently he's a best priced 25/1 and is worth backing in this too.

1 pt ew Barbatos 25/1 7th

A fair performance, running on, but never quite catching the leaders 

4.40 – Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle

This is a really tricky race. Paul Nicholls has quite a few entered in this and it's likely one of them will go very close. I'll be leaving it until the day to have a good look at this race.

No bet.

5.15 Weatherbys Champion Bumper

I haven't had a winner in this since Pizarro 11 years ago. I've now learnt my lesson.

No bet

I would like to thank Sean Kelsey for his superb analysis, the author of this post. 

Sacre confirms dominance of two-mile chase division

As anyone who has followed horse racing for any length of time knows perfectly well that there is no such thing as a certainty in this highly unpredictable and thrilling sport.

But at this stage there will be very few people who bet on racing prepared to go against the majestic Sprinter Sacre after the champion-elect put up another awesome performance at Cheltenham recently to strengthen his stranglehold on the ante-post market for the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the March 13 showcase event having appeared to a great degree to have been conceded by many in the sport to him with fully six weeks to go before the big race itself.

Of course there is no certainty that Sprinter Sacre will even make the starting line-up as even the best of athletes are vulnerable to last-minute hitches and unexpected injuries. If he arrives at the Festival though in top order it is hard to see anything getting within shouting distance of the horse that a growing number of seasoned observers suggest could be the best at the distance in more than a generation.

The current top-priced 2/5 ante-post favourite in the Cheltenham betting odds glided around Prestbury Park on January 26 as if he was out for morning exercise, Nicky Henderson’s imposing seven-year-old oozing class as he tracked the leaders before coasting through to take up the running before the seventh fence. From then on it was very much a case of who would be second – for the record, Mad Moose achieved the feat some 14 lengths behind the winner – as Barry Geraghty’s mount drew clear from the third last to win the Grade 1 Victor Chandler Chase in simply stunning fashion.

Unbeaten in all seven starts over fences and the winner of 11 of his 13 career outings, it can honestly be said that the gelded son of Network has never really had a serious race over the larger obstacles and has never won by less than six lengths. His last defeat came when third to Al Ferof in the 2011 Stan James Supreme Novices Hurdle, but since switching to chasing his only real dangers have been the fences themselves.

His stable companion and current champion chaser Finian’s Rainbow has barely warranted a mention in the build-up to the big race, but the fine performer (currently a 10/1 shot) could easily give Henderson a famous one-two in a race he also won in style some years back with the hugely popular Remittance Man.