Cheltenham Tips: Our Best Bets for Day 3 At The Festival

Our in-house horse racing expert Dean Ryan is back again to take us through race by race tips at the Cheltenham Festival 2024 on Day 3.

It's still an alternative look at the markets, looking away from the obvious for good or bad!

Turners Novices Chase - Cheltenham 1.30pm - Zanahiyr 16/1 Each-Way

Can Facile Vega repay the faith continuously shown to him by Willie Mullins? 

He is now the favourite for this having been campaigned as an Arkle horse, but failing to fire and with the yard winning the race anyway thanks to Gaelic Warrior, you can bet Willie is smiling away under his trademark hat.

Dan Skelton avoided the Fact To File hype and the Brown Advisory to come here with Grey Dawning. That could pay off, but he can make mistakes and you’d be scared of the price on horse racing betting sites.

Ginny’s Destiny has lovely Cheltenham chase form, but also closely matched with Grey Dawning, they will fight a battle again here. However, will it be for first place? Something suggests it won’t be. 

Iroko might be best of the home team, smart winning at the meeting last year, readied and waiting for this, despite looking like they might miss the meeting altogether, and the vibes have been very strong for several weeks now. 

One chase start is all they’ve managed to get into the horse and that is a huge worry however, experience will count.

Two Irish runners that might be value here are Letsbeclearaboutit and the stalwart of sorts Zanahiyr. Both are worth a spellcheck, but also worth a second glance in the context of this race.

With the field of 11 going to post, you can chance them both each-way. Zanahiyr was a solid hurdler, good enough to tackle Grade 1’s, and with just two chase starts is unfairly overlooked in the betting. 

Letsbeclearaboutit has been routed here after a busy campaign, will love the terrain and isn’t a back number on ratings. 

I like the experience angle in an open race if Facile Vega spits the dummy out again.

Selection – Zanahiyr 16/1 each-way
Selection – Letsbeclearaboutit 25/1 each-way

Pertemps Final - Cheltenham 2.10pm - Icare Allen 12/1

A race where it helps if you qualify for it by not winning. A true art that has been made harder, but still excites in the build up to the Festival. 

When you see one you like, stay on into the places from off the pace and the nod and wink for the big day in March is a confident one.

It's hard to have a strong view, and this is not a necessary alternative view. Icare Allen for Willie Mullins is a horse that has surely been readied for other days and not delivered. 

This might be take three or four for the big day, but it is still likely to come along.

A mark of 142 would be 10lbs or more south of where I think everyone expected Icare Allen to settle. 

This is a runner that many will have given up on, but I think it was a plan set a good while ago, that if it's going to happen then the Pertemps against inferior horses is the one.

Can anything beat him? I suggest Icare Allen may beat himself, but if he wants to win, if he gets in a position to win, then hopefully he will. 

I haven’t mentioned any other horses. Cliff horses are what Cheltenham is made for, so the opposition doesn’t matter, for one race only, let it be this one.

Selection – Icare Allen 12/1

Ryanair Chase - Cheltenham 2.50pm - Protektorat 10/1 Each-Way

Poor old Banbridge, who would have been fancied by many for this, but with the rain arriving his chances surely disappear and likely they will take him out bar some serious drying in the going.

Envoi Allen loves Cheltenham, loves winning in general, and has been superstar.

Henry De Bromhead runners are flying and I think this chap will go off favourite on betting apps and rightly so. 

Paul Nicholls has Stage Star, but whatever he says about the last run when pulled up, it was a huge negative and it’s not what you want coming into this.

Capondano and Conflated are interesting, if the market sends one off very short, then I think you can be sure you’re right amongst it. 

I don’t fancy either though and I think the home team might take this with a Gold Cup horse who didn’t quite get there, Protektorat.

He should be peaking at the age of nine, but he has blotted the copybook trying to be a Gold Cup contender, he did finish third and fifth in the race, which is of course decent. 

It’s not his level though and this step back in trip makes him a bigger threat. Harry Skelton will rattle him for home someway out and we know he stays well, we also can be pretty sure he won’t mind the ground.

He's still an each-way price and that’s the route to take, it will be agonising to see them try and reel him in, so take the insurance and cheer it up the hill.

Selection – Protektorat 10/1 each-way
Selection – Envoi Allen/Protektorat Reverse Forecast

Stayers Hurdle - Cheltenham 3.30pm - Teahupoo 15/8 

The feature race on Day Three is the Stayers Hurdle and I think we have a proper Grade 1 horse against some almost Grade 1 horses, either by a slight wane in form for some and step too far for others.

Teahupoo should have won this race last year. Davy Russell has since gone dancing, but he didn’t have the greatest five minutes or so in the saddle last year aboard this horse. 

I’d say he would trip the light fandango to have another go this year in what looks a poor renewal.

The deeper the ground the better, the opposition are playing catch up and Teahupoo has been waiting over a 100 days since scoring in the Grade 1 Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse. 

That is by design, his record fresh is basically a string of wins and this can be another on the list.

No alternative view, no need, this is arguably the best bet of the week. 

Selection – Teahupoo 15/8

Plate Handicap Chase - Cheltenham 4.10pm - Glengouly 16/1 Each-Way

This is another race that will cause brain fog. This is not for the faint-hearted, but the market loves Crebilly for Jonjo O’Neill and his son Jonjo O’Neill Jnr.

In fact the market seems to be pretty sure on the main danger too - Theatre Man. Both these runners will be looking to strike against the Irish domination and they have serious claims. 

What they don’t have is a price you can play at in such a trappy race. If they win, they win, as Ivan Drago almost said in Rocky IV, they’re all good so just go watch them to see which one.

I’m going to chance one or two of the Irish runners though. It works most of the time, like that cologne in Anchor Man. I’ve gone off script here, apologies.

Two against the market leaders are James Du Berlais and Glengouly. Not an alternative view when you consider they are trained by Willie Mullins. 

Slightly unnerving is that they carry the weight for performing very well up to now and not being hidden from anyone so far.

James Du Berlais looks reborn as a front running up with the pace handicapper. He will need holding on to, but he has an engine to die for, if he can carry the stones here against some inferior sorts he can hit the frame.

Glengouly ran a massive race, despite sticking his head in the air on the run in, at Gowran Park in January. 

It was a blood and thunder run, the drop in trip on bad ground should be right up their street, and Danny Mullins will look to make use of him from the start all being well.

Selection – Glengouly 16/1 each-way
Selection – James Du Berlais 14/1 each-way

Mares Novices’ Hurdle - Cheltenham 4.50pm - No Bet

If you believe the talk then Brighterdaysahead is well named, well fancied and very much expected to score here for Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy. 

She looks special and if it wasn’t for two very talented mares in opposition in Jade De Grugy and Dysart Enos she would be a very short price on the latest Cheltenham odds.

I don’t think you can find the winner outside of those three. 

Back whichever you like, you have a chance for sure. The alternative view here is to watch it and enjoy. 

Selection – No Bet

Kim Muir Handicap Chase - Cheltenham 5.30pm - Inothewayurthinkin 4/1

The six-year-old Inothewayurthinkin is a guaranteed red line in a word document. But he is also one worth drawing a red line under for this race. Notice I didn’t say through it?

All the stars have aligned for this, heavy ground, plenty of experience without winning over fences, a great jockey, the JP McManus silks and the shrewd Gavin Cromwell in charge of the preparation. 

He’s the best horse in this, the trip could bring any amount of improvement, but it might not need to, he will be very hard to beat with normal luck in running.

I don’t have one to take it on with. The sensible view is that it is too short to back it at the odds, the alternative view is that it isn’t.

Selection – Inothewayurthinkin 4/1