Cheltenham Tips, Best Bets & Odds for Paddy Power Gold Cup Day

Saturday’s Cheltenham tips

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It’s the middle day of three at Cheltenham’s Paddy Power meeting and the feature race of the November Meeting, the Paddy Power Gold Cup, is on the schedule for a bumper afternoon of racing at Prestbury Park.

Citipost Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase (12.35, Cheltenham)

Herakles Westwood has been installed as the ante-post favourite on betting sites for the opener on day two. He’s 9lb higher than when second in this race last year and, after losing his way towards the end of last season, I’d like to take him on.

A full-firing Transmission would be a player, while Irish raider Our Soldier is not to be dismissed lightly. However, I’m siding with LITTLE LEDGEND on an each-way basis.

The gelded son of Yeats is still only six and he’s put together a really consistent CV. Despite being 0-9 over hurdles, you could set your clock by his level of performance and he’s taken that up several notches in just three chase outings so far, winning two of them.

Admittedly, his latest effort over C&D, when 4L third behind Brandt, was not an improvement on his prior win at Worcester (2m7f, good) but it was still a positive effort. I think there may still be some untapped potential and trainer Olly Murphy swaps cheekpieces for first-time blinkers this time.

He’s up 2lb for that latest run so he is going to need to raise the bar a little to win but that’s far from impossible and the different headgear may help galvanise him to do so. He certainly looks like a decent each-way play on horse racing betting sites and I’m hoping he can win it.

Cheltenham tip: Little Ledgend – 1pt each-way @ 6/1 (Sky Bet)

JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 2) (13.10, Cheltenham)

I took one look at this race and clicked on to the next but, on reflection, I revisited and I am going to suggest a bet. Having watched back the form for those with video available and considered what the market has come up with, I’m going with a small bet on ATOMIC CITY.

The number crunchers say there is very little between what he achieved when winning a Cork maiden hurdle last month; what Charles Darnay did in winning the Listed Wensleydale Juvenile Hurdle at Wetherby recently; and the ready Down Royal win by Admiral Will Brown.

That trio look to be the leading players but also of interest are Don Dandy and Jamie Snowden’s French import Mix Match.

This should be informative where the Triumph Hurdle itself is concerned, as well as the Fred Winter but for Saturday, I’d like to be with the Joseph O’Brien-trained Atomic City, who perhaps just has the edge on his Flat form and did have a fair bit in hand at Cork.

He’s only had five career starts across both codes and is totally unexposed in this discipline. It would be no surprise if he’s a player come the big day in March.

Cheltenham tip: Atomic City – 1pt win @ 7/2 (William Hill)

Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase (14.20, Cheltenham)

I’m still inclined to call this the ‘Mackeson’ and it’s always a sign that we really are up and running in the National Hunt season. It’s not been a great race for favourite backers in recent times, with only one ‘jolly’ obliging in the past decade, though only two winners have gone off at greater than 10/1 on betting apps.

This year’s market leader is Meetmebythesea, who made a vast improvement of over a stone when landing the Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase at the Festival in March.

The handicapper has put him up 12lb for that which, given he’s still favourite for this, suggests that someone thinks that rise is lenient. We’ll only know on the day but what we do know beforehand is that he’s unexposed and will act on the sound surface that’s forecast.

Dan Skelton now knows what it takes to win this race, having done so last season with Panic Attack and he saddles BLUEKING D’OROUX and Madara, who are second and third in the betting respectively. You would have to give both claims, Madara having won the Plate at the Cheltenham Festival in March and then warmed up for this with a spin over hurdles.

However, he’s 12lb higher than that festival success and the fact that Harry Skelton has chosen the former Paul Nicholls inmate Blueking D’Oroux suggests he’s sweeter on that one’s chance on these terms. You can see why.

The selection has previously had one or two jumping issues but Nicholls has largely sorted those out, although that did again prove to be a problem when he made a mistake three out in the Grade 1 Manifesto Novices’ Chase at Aintree in April. He’d led for a fair chunk of that race and his error allowed Koktail Divin to stride on and win.

However, you’d have to be at least a bit impressed with how Blueking D’Oroux recovered and battled on. He was closing on the winner at the line and it would be no surprise to see him improve again this term.

He stays well, he’s won around here and he acts on a sound surface. He’s also got a good record when fresh and I think, at the least, he’s a player. Quebecois, the handicap newcomer July Flower and her stable companion Zurich are others of interest.

Cheltenham tip: Blueking D’Oroux (Cheltenham, 14.20) – 1pt each-way @ 6/1 (William Hill)

Paddy Power Intermediate Handicap Hurdle (15.30, Cheltenham)

This looks open, with Moneygarrow yet another likely favourite on the day for the Skelton yard, Daylatedollarshort another likely player given his Chepstow win last time, plus several other potential improvers including, at a price, Caspari.

However, the suggestion is HILBERRY HILL, who receives a significant amount of weight from the front two in the market. Now in the care of Kim Bailey and Mat Nicholls, he was previously with Margaret Mullins in Ireland.

While with her he ran just twice, showing promise on debut and then confirming that with a win in a Thurles maiden hurdle (2m4f, yielding) in January. He was snapped up for £70,000 shortly after that and took a big leap forward on his debut for this stable when scoring unchallenged at Southwell (2m4½f, good) in March.

He’s been given time since then and I think he gets in here off a potentially handy mark of 122. He could comfortably end up better than that and, with conditions to suit, he could run a big race on his reappearance.

Cheltenham tip: Hilberry Hill (Cheltenham, 15.30) – 1pt each-way @ 7/1 (BetVictor)

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