Cheltenham Day 3 Tips: Thursday's Racing Post selections

The third day of the Cheltenham Festival takes place on Thursday and the feature race is the Stayers' Hurdle in which Gordon Elliot's Teahupoo is set to go off as the favourite.

Racing Post expert tipster Keith Melrose has provided his best bets for the action on Day Three at Cheltenham.

Check out more Cheltenham tips and our tipsters' Cheltenham Festival NAPs here.

Cheltenham Day 3 Betting Tips and Odds

14:00 Cheltenham - Answer To Kayf @ 10/1
15:20 Cheltenham - Djelo @ 11/1
16:40 Cheltenham - Jagwar @ 4/1

Jack Richards Novices' Handicap Chase Tip

14:00 Cheltenham - Answer To Kayf @ 10/1

The new-look Golden Miller, which is now a handicap having been a Grade 1 until last season, got a further shake-up when ante-post favourite Jagwar got rerouted at the last minute.

The result is a market in flux, with the favourites left as Nurburgring (a Flat bred whose jumping over fences has not sparkled) and amateur-ridden Asian Master. 

I would not be surprised if Answer To Kayf went off favourite. He would already be favourite, in my opinion, if he were trained by one of the big Irish yards. He is with Terence O'Brien, who enjoys a smattering of big-race success in Ireland but is no Mullins or Elliott.

This horse ran in last year's Martin Pipe, finishing fourth. Two of the three who finished in front of him that day ran in the Grade 1 Brown Advisory on Wednesday. Answer To Kayf has had a quieter season, although he competed in good maiden chases before running in a novice handicap at Naas in January.

That day he sauntered away from the field, winning by 12 lengths but it could have been a lot further. A BHA mark of 145 for that success still looks on the generous side and he can put up another big showing at the Cheltenham Festival.

Ryanair Chase Tip

15:20 Cheltenham - Djelo @ 11/1

The Ryanair Chase has nine runners and a pretty attractive each-way look to it. The market leaders, Fact To File and Il Est Francais, both have minor doubts over them. Fact To File is still priced up somewhat on reputation, while Il Est Francais looks very good at Kempton but goes exactly like the sort of horse who may be caught out by Cheltenham's undulations.

Protektorat is a solid each-way option against them. However, Djelo is more than double the price when he should not be. He was third in last year's Golden Miller- a Grade 1 then, remember - and if either of the horses that finished in front of him that day (Grey Dawning, Ginny's Destiny) had enjoyed the season he has had they would be 5/1 for this.

Djelo has won the Peteborough Chase, beating Protektorat, and the Denman Chase at Newbury last time. That race had a fast finishing sectional, but you would not know it from the way he came back on the bridle approaching three out. He was even more convincing than his margin of victory implies, and according to both Racing Post Ratings and BHA figures that performance puts him right in the mix here.

This is simply the case of a strong contender being overlooked. Djelo is no certainty, but his correct price is more like 7/1 or 8/1 than the current 11/1.

TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase Tip

16:40 Cheltenham - Jagwar @ 4/1

Had he gone for the Golden Miller, Jagwar would have been the bet of the meeting. He goes for the Plate instead and is no less of a handicap snip for doing so. In fact, given he faces more exposed horses he could be even further ahead of the rest.

This horse showed an exceptional change of pace to win his first two starts over fences, with the latter working out really well. He has since spent his time getting qualified for big handicaps, as a novice needs four runs to do so.

He was easy to back in a novices' handicap chase here on Trials day, and was held up in a steadily-run race. Jagwar was able to overcome that, and in emphatic style as he won with his head in the air. He is rated 139 now but it surely a 150-plus horse in the making and he can show that here.

Read more horse racing betting tips and predictions on site.

Read more Cheltenham horse racing news on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.

For all information such as guides, horses and odds, be sure to explore our dedicated hubs where you can also bet on Cheltenham on every race and bet on the Gold Cup. Maximise your potential winnings with our Cheltenham Super Boosts and other Cheltenham Betting Offers.  For expert analysis and predictions on every race, visit our Cheltenham Festival Tips page.