Horse Racing Tips: Tanya Stevenson's 3 Bets For Cheltenham On Saturday & Sunday
Despite small fields, Cheltenham’s three-day November meeting offers something for everyone and plenty of opportunities with horse racing betting sites.
I've looked through past records and many horses return to the November meeting with wins under their belts, even if they are making the transition from hurdling to chasing.
The ground has thrown a huge metaphorical spanner into the works as the taps have been turned on as they’ve needed to water.
I avoided Friday's meeting as I was distracted with making things over complicated and going to the Nth degree with stats, so I went for a walk.
On my return, I recorded the Racehour, which you can watch above, which includes what I’m doing for the Greatwood along with plenty more great racing chat and selections.
Saturday’s big race is the Paddy Power Gold Cup, which hasn’t been a standout race for favourites historically, but then it does generally go to one of the top three or four in the market.
Paul Nicholls won the race for a third time last year and he could quickly make it a fourth. He has Ginnys Destiny, which is the favourite, and last year’s third Il Ridoto off a featherweight.
* To access the three selections below, simply sign up to Gambling.com for FREE!
Tanya Stevenson's Selections For Cheltenham On Saturday & Sunday
- The Panel Selection 1: 14.20 Cheltenham - Ginnys Destiny Win at 11/4 & Straw Fan Jack E/W at 33/1 With Ladbrokes
- The Panel Selection 2: 14.55 Cheltenham - Hardy Boy EW - 16/1 With Ladbrokes
- The Panel Selection 3: 15.30 Cheltenham - Hamsiyaan (NAP)/Wonderful Eagle In Rev Forecast With BetVictor
- The Panel Selection 4: 15.30 Cheltenham (Sunday) - Jacovec Cavern With BetVictor
Tanya Stevenson Panel Tip 1: Cheltenham 14:20 - Ginnys Destiny Win/Straw Fan Jack Each Way
Ginnys Destiny has only had six races over the bigger obstacles, winning three times and coming second twice.
His last two exploits have been in Grade 1 races, he was second to Grey Dawning in the Turners Novices Chase at the Festival where the pair just flew round and wore their rivals out.
Then he went to the Manifesto Chase at Aintree, a course that would suit his skill set, yet still ran well enough to play second best to Il Etait Temps.
His Cheltenham record is five runs, three wins and a second. Harry Cobden has to set the fractions right here as going off too quickly would suit Fugitif and GA Law, not putting in a sudden surge at a key point would also suit others. Even so, I feel he has too much class.
I’m also taking a good look at Straw Fan Jack despite him being out of the handicap. They can’t go fast enough for him as it proved in his last venture to Cheltenham when he ran through the pack to claim third in the Plate.
Six of his 10 chase races have been Grade races, so he knows how to run in the top echelon. Plus 11 of his 26 races have been on good ground with form figures (22207114236). That’s seven times in the first three.
He is a huge price and I can see him getting involved in the final push after the last.
So just to recap, that's Ginnys Destiny for the win and Straw Fan Jack each way.
Tanya Stevenson Panel Tip 2: Cheltenham 14:55 - Hardy Boy Each Way
This race centres on a race won at the October Showcase Meeting by The Wallpark. The runners really raced hard from three out in that contest with Gowel Road being the main culprit, who didn’t wither in the closing stages.
For his troubles, the handicap has a firm clasp. Yet the Nigel Twiston-Davies runner is so tough he will be as gritty as ever and involved again.
Fifth in that race in October was Beacon Edge, who went on to win a Grade 2 at Wetherby and is in a Grade 2 again at Navan at 1.58, so might be worth keeping an eye on.
Just ahead of Beacon Edge was Hardy Boy and his price seems out of kilter with what he has achieved. He has had 21 runs on good ground and finished in the first three on 14 of them.
He is not hard to miss being grey and built like a big old chaser. In October he raced if he needed it as he found a second wind after the last and kept on again.
Trainer Ben Pauling has form figures of 1233111 in recent days, fingers crossed that continues to rub off on this fella.
Tanya Stevenson Panel Tip 3: Cheltenham 15:30 - Hamsiyaan (NAP)/Wonderful Eagle In Revers Forecast
The 3.30 presents itself as a forecast race for me, so let's start with Wonderful Eagle. He was fourth in the race last year when Philip Hobbs and Johnson White were operating at a strike rate of three from 42 in November.
Currently they are in a different realm of four from 18 and this is only one of two runners for him on the Saturday. Wonderful Eagle won nicely at Newton Abbot in September then had a good go on the flat at Ascot recently, so he is ticking over and ready.
Philip Hobbs, when operating on his own licence, really loved having a runner in this race, winning in 2019 and having seven additional placed horses at fair prices, so I expect this has been the target again.
I was keeping a close eye on the decs as they trickled through as I feared Hamsiyaan is in here too as I was at Ludlow to watch him run well despite a drift in the market.
He then went to Ascot and travelled all over his rivals throughout, only to jump into trouble after the last hurdle before going to Chester to run in the Plate and finished second to his stable companion Alphonse Le Grande.
As much as I like the chances of Wonderful Eagle, I sense he won't have enough acceleration to hold off Hamsiyaan, but there is a speculative forecast to be had here.
Tanya Stevenson Panel Tip 4: Cheltenham 15:30 (Sunday) - Jacovec Cavern/Cracking Rhapsody Each Way
Last time Jacovec Cavern ran here he was 300/1 in the 2023 JCB Triumph Hurdle, I flagged him up to be in the top four, but he got himself detached very quickly only to run on very, very well out of camera range.
He proved this by only being beaten 19 lengths by Lossiemouth in the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle at Punchestown.
He was next seen at Galway 459 days later having moved from Paul Hennessy to Emmet Mullins, where he was just denied in a handicap over two miles on the flat.
Last time out he wasn’t given a chance to get involved in the Cesarewitch yet still ran well enough, only beaten by nine lengths. So it will be intriguing to see what he can do on ground that will suit.
The other horse who deserves an each way glance is Cracking Rhapsody. He waltzed to victory in the Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso and then upped his game to be third in the Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr.
His seasonal return was at Hexham where a searching uphill finish would have done the trick putting him spot on for this examination.
He finished fourth running on conceding weight and unless Pricewise digs him out his price will be value.
Stay In The Loop With Free Bets, Insider Tips & More!
Live Betting. Sports Promos. Sent Weekly.
