Agree with a few others that it could well be a great day for favourite backers tomorrow. At Cheltenham I do always try and avoid as many as I can, but tomorrow I just cannot get away from so many of them..
Supreme Novices -
Dunguib for me is the biggest Cheltenham banker of my lifetime of following racing. No point looking for an e/w option for me as I'm so certain of the winner.
Arkle -
Captain Cee Bee needs to jump better than he ever has before but I think he will. I know it's hard to compare a Supreme Novices Hurdle to an Arkle but the form of the Captain's win 2 years ago makes very good reading.. He won very well running on strongly and had some cracking animals in behind...Binocular, Khyber Kim, Sentry Duty, Deep Purple, Kalahari King, Tranquil Sea, and other good horses too..
William Hill Trophy -
Nenuphar Collonges (e/w) ran well at the festival for the last 2 years winning the Albert Bartlett 2 years ago and finishing just under a length 3rd to Wichita Lineman in this race last year. Might be Alan King's 2nd string, but Wayne Hutchinson is a very able jockey and course form of 2 wins a 2nd and that 3rd last year reads well. Has had a nice break and has ran well fresh on a number of occasions before.
Champion Hurdle -
Starluck (e/w) arguably the hardest race of the festival to work out with about 75% of the field being able to have a strong case for having a good chance. Love the horse though and the way he travels and think he'll be in the shake up close home..
Cross Country Chase -
Lacdoudal (e/w) Garde Champetre another very worthy favourite and one I have backed and think will probably win. Having a few quid e/w on the selection though purely on the grounds that it's from a stable bang in form (Phillip Hobbs) has an outstanding 3lb claimer on board (Reece Flint) and has course form and at 33/1 could be decent value.
Mares Hurdle -
Quevega a match for me with the selection and VLV. Tough to pick one over the other, but gone for Quevega after the way she slaughtered the field in this race last year and helped me to my biggest win last year...
Can't wait for it now it's nearly here, good luck all!