Cheltenham and Ripon

Cheltenham´s April meeting continues today, when the main feature is the listed mares handicap hurdle over 2 miles 5 furlongs at 16.30 CET. 14 runners and a very open race, with in-form Jaunty Flight (Oliver Sherwood/ Ollie Greenall) facing a stiff task under top weight. Consistent Blaeberry (Emma Lavelle/ Timmy Murphy), One Gulp (Paul Webber/ Dominic Elsworth) and Gaspara (David Pipe/ Tom Scudamore) are three for the short list here. The class 2 handicap hurdle at 17.05 over 3 miles should concern mainly Hopkins (Henry Daly/ Dominic Elsworth), winner of his last 2 races and stepping up in trip, and Theatre Dance (David Arbuthnot/ Seamus Durack), making his handicap debut. The meeting opens with a good race for a class 2 novice hurdle at 15.20, in which Group Captain (Alan King/ Chrstian Williams), Im singing the blues (Paul Nicholls/ Sam Thomas) and Chantaco (Nicky Henderson/ Tony McCoy) all hold chances. At Ripon, the best race is the class 3 Ripon Silver Bowl over 10 furlings at 16.20. Spice Route (Michael Bell/ Jim Crowley), Championship Point (Mick Cannon/ Darryll Holland) and Charlie Tokyo (Richard Fahey/ Paul Hanagan) are the three to concentrate on here. The 3yo handicap over a mile at 16.55 could also go to the Fahey/ Hanaan team with Albaqaa, who seems very well treated after his easy Redcar win last month, but Mark Johnson´s 3yo´s are in great form and his Robby Bobby (Robert Winston) deserves the utmost respect.