N.H. racing at Cheltenham

There is a good card for today´s N.H. fixture at Cheltenham and some highly competitive races can be expected. Main evet is the Mears Group Silver Trophy, a Grade Two race over 2 miles 5 furlongs at 17.05 CET. Irish challenger Glenfinn Captain (Tom Taaffe/ Tony McCoy) has obvious claims, as does David Pipe´s Abragante (Timmy Murphy), but Paul Nicholls´ Ofarel d´Airy (Ruby Walsh) could be the fly in the ointment. Although his vrecent form has been puzzling, it should not be forgotten that he was a CD winner at this meeting last year. It could be another good day for the Nicholls/ Walsh team, as Le Duc in the 3 miles 1 furlong handivap chase at 15.55, Earth Planet in the handicap hurdle over 2 1/2 miles at 16.30 and Petit Lord in the novice chase at 17.40 also have good chances. However the first two races are wide open, while on the book Petit Lord, who has won his last 4 races but is taking a strong rise in class here, has to improve to defeat Joe Lively (Joe and Colin Tizzard), who has been running in top company and is clear best here on ratings.