Cheltenham N.H. Festival: day two

A brilliant day´s racing yesterday at Cheltenham saw the Irish raiders well on top, winning 4 of the 6 races; the most impressive winner of the day was Willie Mullins´ Quevega, who despite being very slowly away, slaughtered the opposition in the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle. However the top race went to the British, with the strong Irish contingent in the Champion Hurdle well beaten off. Nicky Henderson´s Binocular (Tony McCoy) was a strong favourite here, but in a thrilling finish, stable companion Punjabi (Barry Geraghty) just held on by a neck and a head from Celestial Halo and the favourite. Earlier we had seen a wonderful ride from McCoy to win the handicap chase on birthday boy JP McManus´ Wichita Lineman, and despite the Binocular disappointment, McManus still had a day to remember with horses in his colours also taking the first 3 places in the cross-country, with Nina Carberry riding a great race to score with top-weight Garde Champetre.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Can`T Buy Time - Niche Market - Wichita Lineman
2. Race: Diamond Harry - Karabak - Mikael D`Haguenet
3. Race: Cooldine - What A Friend - Carruthers
4. Race: Master Minded - Big Zeb - Petit Robin
5. Race: Psycho - Pause And Clause - The Polomoche
6. Race: Alexander Severus - Miss Sarenne - Amore Mio
7. Race: Sicilian Secret - Rite Of Passage - Dunguib