FOR THE racing purists, there’s nothing quite like the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (4.00pm).
It’s a flat-out test over the minimum trip, and Jonbon heads the betting at a shade of odds-on.
He’s been the dominant two-mile chaser this season, but it’s safe to say that he has his doubters.
He has won on 17 of his 20 starts, but all three of his losses have come at Cheltenham.
It’s hardly like he ran appallingly on those three occasions and he can be forgiven for those defeats, with a victory at the Cheltenham Festival the only thing missing on his glittering CV.
However, one would prefer to back an odds-on favourite at Cheltenham who has no issues whatsoever with the track.
One horse who fits that bill is MARINE NATIONALE.
His one run at the track was a dominant victory in the 2023 Supreme under the late Michael O’Sullivan.
Things haven’t gone perfectly for him since, and his novice chase campaign was blighted by wind and physical issues.
However, he remains lightly raced and very unexposed in this sphere.
He has improved with every start this season and arrives to the Festival in similar form to two years ago, if his ebullient trainer Barry Connell is to be believed.
This horse has high potential, and at around 5/1 with Star Sports, I’m going to side with him against Jonbon and hope he can spoil his Cheltenham party once again.
Regular followers of this column will know that we’ve already advised LIBBERTY HUNTER ante-post for this event.
The race hasn’t cut up quite how we might’ve wanted, but he is still a talented horse who could run into a place.
The Champion Bumper (5.20pm) rounds off the card on Day Two of the Festival and is a tough race to bet in.
It’s a contest full of young horses who haven’t yet had the opportunity to show their full ability and could yet improve their form out of all recognition.
Willie Mullins has won the race a record 13 times and holds a very strong hand in this year’s race as always, headed by the warm 11/4 favourite Copacabana.
He may well be a superstar of a different class to the rest, but I like the idea of chancing the Skeltons’ FORTUNE DE MER at 20/1 each-way with Star Sports.
He’s already been a stylish winner at the track earlier this season and was written off for this race when beaten at Huntingdon last time out.
The Skeltons believe that he was just too keen and fresh that day, and he shouldn’t be judged on that run.
He ought to travel very well into the contest and the way he came up the hill in November suggests he can do so again today.
Look out for some extra places on the day, as I think this horse has a serious squeak of hitting the frame, with the Skelton team knowing what it takes to get a horse placed in a Champion Bumper.
POINTERS
Marine Nationale 5/1 4.00pm Cheltenham
Libberty Hunter 33/1 e/w (already advised) 4.00pm Cheltenham
Fortune De Mer e/w 5.20pm Cheltenham