There is a triple-header of ultra-competitive races to complete the card at Cheltenham on Wednesday and Racing Post tipster Graeme Rodway returns with his best bets from the last three contests.
Galvin @ 5/2
1pt win
Sizing Pottsie @ 25/1
1pt each-way
Samui @ 50/1
1pt each-way
Plenty of people think the Glenfarclas Chase (4.10) is a bit of a lottery, but recent results suggest that is far from the case and Gordon Elliott usually runs a class horse every year.
He has won four of the last six runnings with horses who were genuinely Graded class and that is certainly true of GALVIN. It's worth banking on him beating stablemate Delta Work.
Galvin runs his best races on decent ground, so he should be ideally suited by the middle of Cheltenham's course which is rarely watered and often rides quicker than the main track.
He has been a bit unlucky with the wetter-than-normal weather this year, but it’s still unlikely to be too soft on the cross-country course and he was a better horse than Delta Work over regulation fences.
I see no reason why that won’t play out in the same way over these jumps.
Galvin is also best off a break, so the return from 77 days away should be ideal and he should have too much class for these rivals. Franco De Port might end up being the biggest danger.
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The Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase (4.50) should be run on deeper ground after two days of racing and plenty of rain. That will suit SIZING POTTSIE.
The nine-year-old was in good form in novice hurdles at the start of the season when winning at Ayr and then chasing home the classy subsequent Grade 1 winner Tahmuras at Haydock.
He has shown little over fences on his last two starts, but both came in Graded company behind Editeur Du Gite and he is interesting on his return to handicaps off a mark of 140.
His last handicap win came from a rating of 149, so he is evidently well handicapped if he can recapture his form, and trainer David Pipe fits first-time cheekpieces to liven him up.
All of Sizing Pottsie’s best form has come on deep ground, so conditions should be perfect and he might be capable of springing a surprise in a race that should be run to suit him.
The Weatherbys Champion Bumper (5.30) brings the curtain down on Wednesday’s card and the horse who impresses me most is the four-year-old SAMUI. He could upset the favourites.
Samui was notably strong at the finish in a slowly-run race on his debut at Naas and the way he quickened up to go clear and score by five and a half lengths was wildly impressive.
The finish at Naas is stiff and Samui did all of his best work late. He should be well suited by the uphill climb to the line at Cheltenham and is open to plenty of further improvement.
This will be just his second start, but he looked professional enough to cope with a race like this when winning at Naas and rider Sam Ewing could land the biggest win of his career.
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