Cheltenham Friday Preview

The first selection we fancy at Cheltenham on the tracks first meeting of the season is the Charles Byrnes trained Doctor Duffy who heads here in tremendous form.

The six year old gelding has raced nicely recently finishing a good second at Listowel in tricky ground before last time out getting off the mark for the season at Navan.

What seemed to be the making of this horse was the step up in trip he made last time going up to 2 miles 6f and revelling in the extra distance and going over a similar distance on Friday with perfect conditions should see him go well.

One of the feature races of the day at Cheltenham on Friday is the Novices Chase over 2 miles that sees some very familiar hurdlers last season taking the step up to the bigger obstacles.

In this four runner field we have gone with the Nigel Twiston-Davies trained Al Dancer who last season was a superstar over flights winning four of his five races.

His best performances came at Cheltenham in a Class 3 Handicap Hurdle and at Ascot in the Grade Three Betfair Hurdle at Ascot but he then flopped in the Supreme Novices Hurdle at the festival which saw the end of his season.

Now stepping into unknown territory over fences he looks the most likely in this field to handle it the best but it looks a high class contest and he will need to be at his best from the start.

Emma Lavelle was a Cheltenham festival favourite last season and we think she can gain more success at this track this season starting with Boreham Bill in the Class 3 Handicap Hurdle.

This seven year old has started his season off in great style when landing the a nice Class 3 event at Stratford and only going up four pounds for that makes him a player.

His trainer has also started the season well with some nice winners early on seeing her gain a 19% strike rate for the last 14 days and we hope Boreham Bill can add to that.

Another Novices Chase that sees some potential stars go to post is the Class 2 event over three miles and Gordon Elliott brings over Dinons who holds plenty of ability.

The gelding is no stranger to winning running frequently over last season which saw him pick up seven victories including romping to victory over course and distance at this meeting last year over hurdles.

Now novice chasing he has took to it very well winning three of his five contests so far on both good and heavy ground and knowing he stays this trip should see him in the frame.

The Class 3 Maiden Hurdle over two miles sees some young geldings go to post and Nicky Henderson's only runner of the day at Prestbury Park is our selection.

Fred makes his stable debut for the yard coming over from France for the new season and he looks a highly credible recruit with three seconds in a row to end his campaign last season.

He has raced predominantly on soft to a good standard and could be even better with good in the description and in the colours of Isaac Souede and Simon Munir he is worth watching on Friday.

Nigel Twiston-Davies takes a strong field of runners to Cheltenham on Friday and Belmount looks to have strong chance in the Class 3 Handicap Chase.

The 10 year old gelding after a break went to Warwick in a three mile event and ran to a decent standard finishing third of eight behind some smart runners with second that day since running another big race.

He is two pounds lower than that run and seems to be getting back down to a mark he cane in off and could be a nice each way price.

The final runner of the day is Whoshotthesheriff for trainer Philip Kirby who has started to get the best out of this horses since it moved over from Ireland having been with Gordon Elliott.

He has had two runs since joining the yard and is unbeaten scoring at Sedgefield and Carlisle but on Friday he steps up to over three miles for the first time.

Towards the end of the season he seemed as if he would be a stayer and now he is being tested out at this new trip with conditions to suit.