Rest of Cheltenham

The card begins with two more Grade One races and we hope that we can start off with a German victory as Irving (Paul Nicholls/ Nick Scholfield) is our selection for the Supreme Novices Hurdle at 14.30 CET. The Schlenderhan-bred is unbeaten in four races over hurdles for his present Connections and conditkions should be ideal. It is not clear if he will handle the course - his wins have been on more straightforward right-handed tracks, totally different from this hilly left-handed one - but his trainer will have given him the right preparation, and we hope that he can see off the strong Irish challenge, led by 3 Willie Mullins runners, all unbeaten this season, as well as the other Brits, of whom the Nicky Henderson pair are the most dangerous.

The Arkle at 15.05 can go to another Nicholls runner, Dodging Bullets(Daryl Jacob), bred by Frankie Dettori and an easy winner of the main trial here from Grandouet (Henderson/ Geraghty). Again there is a very strong irish challenge, and both Champagne Fever (Mullins/ Walsh) and Trifolium (Charlie Byrnes/ Bryan Cooper) look very dangerous.

However Walsh and Mullins do in these races, they should certainly win the mares hurdle at 17.00 with the wonderful Quevega, who has won this race for the past 5 seasons and will set an almost unbelievable new record if she can win it for the sixth year in a row. We think she can, although the opposition is strong this year and 2 1/2 miles on good ground is possibly no longer ideal.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Vautour - Irving - Wicklow Brave
2. Race: Champagne Fever - Rock On Ruby - Trifolium
3. Race: Cantlow - Holywell - Hadrian`s Approach
4. Race: Hurricane Fly - The New One - Our Conor
5. Race: Cockney Sparrow - Sirene d`Ainay - Glens Melody
6. Race: Foxrock - Shutthefrontdoor - Shotgun Paddy
7. Race: Pendra - Present View - Ericht