Cheltenham Open Meeting: day one

The Paddy Power Open meeting, which starts today at Cheltenham, is now regarded as the best N.H. meeting of the autumn and in fact the third best of the entire season (behind only the March Festival here and the Grand National meeting at Aintree) and offers a host of top class races over the 3 days. Today´s card has something for everyone, including a cross-country, a handicap chase for amateur riders and a handicap hurdle for conditionals, all, needless to say, with huge fields. However the classiest races on the card have smaller fields, with only 4 turning out for the Grade Two graduation chasse at 15.25 CET. This looks a match between Paul Nicholls´ Ornais (Ruby Walsh) and Nigel Twiston-Davies´ Battlecry /Paddy Brennan); the latter has a much better record at this track and in receipt of 7lbs must be the selection, although Nicholls can never be underestimated. Nicholls and Twiston-Davies also go head-to-head in the novice chase at 17.05, where they are represented by He recomesthetruth (Walsh) and Razor Royale (Brennan) respectively. The most interesting event could be the Grade Two novice hurdle at 14.50, where Paul Nicholls again has the likely favourite in American Trilogy (Walsh), a useful performer on the flat in France (third to It´s Gino in a listed race in April!), who made an impressive winning debut at Aintree 18 days ago but of course faces much tougher opposition now, including Leo´s Lucky Star (David Pipe/ Tom Scudamore), winner of 4 of his last 5, and the unbeaten Golan Way (Sheena West/ Jamie Goldstein) and Hunter´s Play (Twiston-Davis/ Brennan), while Czech-trained Charley (Josef Vana/ Josef Bartos) is an interesting contender, having been an easy winner at Baden-Baden s May meeting. Vana and Bartos also team up with Juventus, last time out third in the Grosser Pardubitzer, in the cross-country at 16.00, but Irish trainer Edna Bolger is usually the man to follow in these events and saddles the two likely favourites in Garde Champetre (Nina Carberry) and L´Ami (John McNamara - who won this race so often on Spotthedifference). Nina also partners Aggie´s Lad for Tony Martin in the amateurs riders chase at 14.15, where her main rival could be Katie Walsh, Ruby´s sister, on course specialist Hordago for trainer Eric McNamara.

Betting forecast:
1.Race: Aggie`S Lad - Hoopy - Borora
2.Race: American Trilogy - Leo`S Lucky Star - Golan Way
3.Race: Battlecry - Ornais - Le Toscan
4.Race: Garde Champetre - L`Ami - Puntal
5.Race: Paddleyourowncanoe - Maraafeq - Templer
6.Race: Razor Royale - Herecomesthetruth - Dream Garden