Cheltenham Festival Day 3

After the defeat of Yanworth & More Of That yesterday I was in a hole, a great big black hole that not only consumed my bank balance but the clothes off my back.

Yanworth wouldn’t have beaten Yorkhill if the race was run again but should have been a lot closer. The horse must have run a good 20 lengths further than the winner, I didn’t understand why he was positioned so wide from the word go.

More Of That finished 3^rd and looked ring rusty, however he did very well to finish in the places considering he bled from both nostrils and suffered a major bleed.

Watching Sprinter Scare win the Queen Mother was thrilling, it wasn’t possible not to shout him home. The greeting Sprinter Sacre received in the winner’s enclosure was spectacular.

Any Currency, thank you Any Currency. The black hole vanished and turned a four figure deficit into a few hundred quid profit. Any Currency was wrong last time out as highlighted yesterday, he was once again the forgotten horse in the race but guaranteed you a huge run, such is his form around the cross country course. After so many close calls in previous years this win was a much deserved victory. Valadom proved to be a easy trade as mentioned, 80-1 on the machine, I traded out at 24-1 in running and locked in a fair profit by just pressing a few buttons.

Diego Du Charmil turned day 2 of the festival into a very nice winning day when getting the job done in the Fred Winter. The 8-1 antepost bet was landed.

No big bets for me on day 3 and a much quieter afternoon is on the cards. However I’ve had a few quid EW on Our Kaempfer at 10-1 in the Pertemps Network. The horse looks to have been trained for this and looks to have good chance as any in a highly competitive race.

Vautour is impossible to oppose now running in the Ryanair Chase, if he’s anything like his best Vautour will win. Even money is fair but if any bookies go odds against I might jump in with a good bet.

Thistlecrack has all the form in the book and is very hard to bet against in the World Hurdle. The slight concern is the ground. The Colin Tizzard trained horse has been winning on soft / heavy going all season. If handling the quicker surface Thistlecrack can collect the big prize and the odds of 11-8 look fair.

Small bet on Fingal Bay EW at 10-1 for a bit of interest in the 4:10, his Cheltenham record is excellent and he should run a decent race.

I backed The Giant Bolster last night EW at 12-1 for the Kim Muir. I’m really pleased connections are coming here rather than a wasted run in the Gold Cup. The horse is really well handicapped and the drying ground will be a huge plus. I'm hoping Mr Finian Maguire can keep The Giant Bolster up with the pace and get him jumping soundly from the off.  If so, it’s possible the roof might come off if The Giant Bolster jumps the last in front.