Horse Racing Tips: Tanya Stevenson's Selections For New Year's Day

Tanya Stevenson's Selections For December 31 And January 1

• The Panel Selection 1 (December 31): 13:05 Punchesstown - Brazil - Each-Way - 16/1 With Bet365
• The Panel Selection 2 (January 1): 14:05 Cheltenham - Gemirade - Win - 10/3 With Ladbrokes
• The Panel Selection 3 (January 1): 14:15 Tramore - Monty's Star - Win - SP With Bet365
• The Panel Selection 4 (January 1): 15:00 Fairyhouse - Castle Field Boy - Each-Way - SP With Bet365

Tanya Stevenson Panel Tip 1: Punchestown 13:05 - Brazil (Each-Way)

Trying to end the year on high, I'm heading to Punchestown on a whim. Brazil is a Cheltenham Festival winner from 2022, he then improved on that run with third-place in the Grade 1 Four-Year-Old Hurdle at Aintree.  

Later that year he won a Grade 3 Hurdle at Naas, beating Fil Dor. He also has an amazing constitution as he pulled up two out in the 2023 Galway Hurdle and then promptly won the very next day on the flat in the Guinness Handicap. 

In the Coral Cup this year he flattered briefly but made a really tired jump at the last. He was on the wrong mark anyway, with many of his rivals on better marks than him so he actually did well to run as well as he did. 

On his chase debut he jumped well enough but I just felt the ground was lively enough while the comments about his distant last of seven at Sligo were far from polite. 

You would be forgiven for thinking there was more of the same at Galway, but on closer inspection, he showed enthusiasm and finished a fair way ahead of Sequestered who won at Leopardstown on Sunday.

For his latest run I was working covering the race and noted he looked extremely well, almost too well and a little rotund for a small horse.  

He made constant errors at every fence as if he’d never seen an obstacle before, yet Mark Walsh persevered.  

He is a classy little horse who has ability and will I suspect be a massive price because in reality he has shown chasing isn’t for him. 

But his pace in between each obstacle can’t be questioned and seeing that connections go again, he could be value each-way.

Tanya Stevenson Panel Tip 2: Cheltenham 14:05 - Gemirade

The weather forecast looks bleak for the New Year but hopefully some, if not all, of the racing survives. 

Let's start with Cheltenham. Gemirande was so impressive in the December Gold Cup there is the potential of further improvement. 

The market was a huge indication as well, his price plummeted close to post time and he was more than a match for Madara.  

Strong finishers such as Fugitif flattered then their runs petered out after the last. 

He has plenty of pace for a horse over 2m 4f and he was a good fifth over the two miles of the Grand Annual having led. In hindsight, that may have lit him up and he probably burned too much energy early.  

Over this long distance he has shown he can let other frontrunners do the hard work for the majority of the race and he can then dismiss them late. 

I'm sure he can improve to be better than just a handicapper. This is the race that will determine if that is the case.

Tanya Stevenson Panel Tip 3: Tramore 14:15 - Monty's Star

At the entry stage there were some big names and some that have already gone to battle such as Grangeclare West, Heart Wood, Minella Cocooner and Conflated. 

Henry de Bromhead has won it for the last two years with 2023's Minella Indo and 2024's Jungle Boogie. I sense this could be three-in-a-row as right at the bottom of the entries is a ‘Star’.  

He has shone brightly without pushing his name right into the limelight but I sense that is about to change.  

He was second to Fact To File in the Brown Advisory Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. But no one remembers the Cheltenham runners-up, do they? 

He then followed up in a Grade 1 finishing second to Spillane’s Tower and ahead of some useful sorts at Punchestown. 

All has happened very fast for Monty's Star. On chasing debut he caught the eye in third to Corbetts Cross at Fairyhouse. Then just a year ago he won comfortably at Punchestown. 

Even before he raced under rules his point-to-point form was choice as he was just behind Stay Away Fay at Lingstown in 2021.  

2025 could be the year of Monty's Star - he has a Gold Cup entry and I wonder….

Tanya Stevenson Panel Tip 4: Fairyhouse 15:00 - Castle Field Boy (Each-Way)

Humour me with Fairyhouse as I have to get something out of my system, Castle Field Boy! I have watched him on his two chase efforts and have been amazed by his jumping. 

He has been pitched in with top class horses with no chance whatsoever but has jumped brilliantly and gained lengths in doing so.  

On his first run he was behind Impaire Et Passe. While others may have just watched the race and/or the first couple to cross the line, I watch Castle Field Boy again and again. 

He then ran against Dancing City and once again jumped beautifully so he has been in my tracker in the hope he would take part in the race that Doran's Law (who was just in front of him at Punchestown) did on Sunday and finished second.  

There is a handicap chase in him. He hurdled to a fair ability but those flights would have been too small for him. He goes to Fairyhouse with a chance of making the frame or hopefully winning.  

He will stay in the tracker. But watch him jump and travel in between his fences.