Racehour is back! And National Hunt expert Diarmuid Nolan is wasting no time by picking out a 25/1 selection for the Cheltenham Festival.
Although there is plenty of racing to come before those sacred four days in March, the Racehour team have put their heads together to seek some value ahead of the 2027 Festival.
Diarmuid has dived deep down into the formbook and came up with one at a double-figure price in the Ryanair...
In the midst of a discussion around the Festival, Diarmuid said: "The one race where I do think there is a bit of juice is the Ryanair. Heart Wood was brilliant when he won last season, but I think it's a race that kind of fell apart.
"I think Meetmebythesea at 25/1 here is an absolutely cracking bet! I thought that performance in the Jack Richards' Novices' Handicap Chase was absolutely brilliant; he belts two out, but still has plenty enough to jump the last and he hammers that field.
"The Jack Richards is not a race to sleep on, it's actually really good. The second and third went to Aintree afterwards -- fair enough, a windy enough Grade 1 -- and finish first and second. Fourth place goes onto win a Galway Plate. Fifth, Kiss Will, was going very well in an Irish Grand National [before failling], I doubt he would have won it but he was cantering all over them.
"I think this horse is drastically underestimated by his mark. Last season was all about the Jack Richards; they were handicapping in plain sight. He won it like a good thing and that was a really good renewal of the race.
"It's [the Ryanair] the same course and distance [as the Jack Richards], 25/1 with bet365 is a proper price and the Ryanair can cut up really badly."
Meetmebythesea is currently the 6/1 joint-favourite to win the Paddy Power Handicap Chase - the feature race at the Cheltenham November Meeting. Ben Pauling's six-year-old was awarded a mark of 151 for his victory at the Festival in March and another handicap win would surely see him thrust into Graded company.
The Jack Richards has traditionally been a good guide to future success at the highest level. A Plus Tard, the 2019 winner, subsequently won the Savills Chase, Betfair Chase and Gold Cup, while 2025 conqueror Caldwell Potter landed the Grade 1 Mildmay Novices' Chase on his very next start.
Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.
