There's another bumper £1,000,000 up for grabs in the Tote Placepot for Thursday and the Racing Post's Gary Savage provides his selections for day three of the Cheltenham Festival. 

Cheltenham Placepot Perm

2x2x2x1x2x2 = 32 lines 

Leg One - Appreciate It and Banbridge 
Leg Two - Maxxum and Mill Green 
Leg Three - Envoi Allen and Shishkin 
Leg Four - Gold Tweet 
Leg Five - Coole Cody and Champagne Gold 
Leg Six - Foxy Girl and Lot of Joy 

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Appreciate threat of non-favourites 

It may seem like madness but I think it's worth opposing red-hot favourite Mighty Potter in the opening leg, the Turners Novices' Chase (1.30). 

Some big names have come unstuck in this and his only Cheltenham experience was a bad one when pulling up in the Supreme last year. 

Classy hurdlers and Willie Mullins do well in this so stick with Appreciate It and Banbridge with their Cheltenham experience and hope for a blowout from the favourite. 

Have Max faith in Elliott

The Pertemps (2.10) is next and Gordon Elliott has been the go-to man in recent runnings of this contest and it tends to be his stable number one that does the best so forgive Maxxum his unlucky effort last time. 

Previous form in this race has also been a good guide and Mill Green seems an obvious candidate to go well off the same mark as when a close third last year. He's also been sixth and seventh in two Martin Pipes here so must go well. 

Trust Festival form 

Previous winning course form has been a massive factor in the Ryanair (2.50) and only Envoi Allen, Shishkin and Ga Law fit the bill. With an unplaced King George run also a good guide, Envoi Allen can get us through leg three. 

Having opposed Mighty Potter, and opposing other favourites later on the card, I think that Shishkin should be included here. This looks a substandard renewal and only a complete non-show should keep him out of the frame. 

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Tweet this 

It doesn't get any easier with a wide open Stayers' Hurdle (3.30) but Cleeve Hurdle form usually stands the test here and French raider Gold Tweet should face similar conditions today. 

Jockey Johnny Charron has a bit of course experience so there's no reason not to expect an even better run today. 

Cody can go close to a repeat

The Plate (4.10) is always a fiendish puzzle, though three favs have won in the last five years, so maybe it's getting easier. Once more, we need to be looking to course form in similar contests. 

A prominent run style is usually favoured here as Coole Cody showed last year and although at 12 he would be an unusually old winner, he has every chance of hitting the frame from a 2lb lower mark. 

Novices also have a good record in recent times and I like the look of Henry De Bromhead's Champagne Gold, who ran here in October and has been kept fresh for this since. He also has some valuable Festival experience from a decent run in the Coral Cup last year. 

The Irish mares can win it again 

If we can get through to the last leg we just need to negotiate the Mares' Novices' Hurdle (4.50) to get our hands on some (or all!) of that million. 

Penalties can be overcome in this contest but plenty have been beaten under them as well, so take on Luccia with Henry De Bromhead's Foxy Girl whose form has been franked and who has been saved for this race, and Willie Mullins' Lot of Joy who was very useful on the flat and should still be improving over hurdles.

Gary Savage

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