Day three for the main thread wasn't a winning one as the pair of us both suffered defeats.
Il Est Francais didn't look in love with the Cheltenham course and didn't manage to dictate the race like we're so accustomed to from his Kempton runs. He jumped brilliantly and did eventually get to the front, but when the winner went upside and past him, he went backwards very quickly.
Rizzel's selection Sixandahalf was an unlucky loser and was ultimately outstayed by the 16/1 winner. Keith Donoghue gave the runner-up a belting ride and tried to keep as much stamina in the tank when jumping the last and running up the hill, but she didn't have enough to fend off the challenger and was headed in the final half furlong.
Cairnzy's Tips
Wendigo 13/2 – Cheltenham 3.20
I've had an extremely poor festival this year, which is disappointing, but from looking at the recent results, I know I'm not alone in what has been an extremely hard festival to pick winners in.
My last selection of this year's Cheltenham festival comes in probably the most competitive race of the day in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle. It's probably not the smartest of ideas to go hunting for a winner in this race, in an attempt to rise from the ashes. With that said, I've fancied this particular horse for a while, and at this point in the game, why not?
The Albert Bartlett tends to throw up big-priced winners ( 33/1, 18/1, 14/1, a 5/1, 50/1, 16/1 ) to rhyme with a few and at 13/2, my selections don't exactly fit that trend, but I guess it's what you classify as a big price in the market because 13/2 is my eyes is still an excellent price for a horse if you are strong on their chances.
It's hard picking a horse for this contest when it comes to analysing form. When you run your eye down the runners' list, it's simply filled with horses with ones besides their name. What makes it even harder is trying to pick out the bones of the form between them; there's not a lot that separates them, particularly those at the top end.
My selection, Wendigo, hails from the in-form Jamie Snowden yard, who currently operates at a 40% strike rate with six winners from his last fourteen runners. Gavin Sheehan takes the ride as expected, and Gavin himself is a smooth operator at present, operating at a 24% strike rate.
Gavin knows this horse well, having been aboard him for a few of his career wins. The form of second behind The New Lion could hardly read any better with that one winning the Grade 1 Turners on Wednesday when getting the better of the Irish raiders in Final Demand and The Yellow Clay.
Top free bets for Cheltenham Day 4
| Cheltenham free bets | Details | Claim here |
|---|---|---|
 |
Get £50 in free bets | Get the offer |
| New customers only. Register (excl 05/04/25), deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility exclusions & T&Cs Apply. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply. |
||
 |
Up to £50 welcome bonus | Get the offer |
| New bettors; Code SPORT; Wager deposit & bonus 8x; Max qualifying bet stake=initial bonus; Valid 60 days; Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply; T&C apply; 18+ |
||
 |
£40 in free bets | Get the offer |
| New cust only. 7 days to place a qualifying bet of £10 at Evens (1/1) or above for 2 x £10 Free Bets (min odds 2/1) & 2 x £10 Free Accas (trebles & above at min odds per line 1/2). Expires 14/03/25 23:59. Cannot be used on e-sports & non-UK/IE horse racing. 7 day expiry. Exclusions apply. Stake not returned. 18+. T&Cs apply |
||
 |
£60 in free bets | Copybet Welcome Offer |
| The qualifying bet should be a Single or Acca (2+ selections) bet, start at £20 and have 1.9 or higher odds. Each free bet lasts for 7 days. Offer stands for verified UK clients. No Cash-Out. Max payout – £500 |
||
 |
£50 matched free bet | Get the offer |
| Up to £50 Matched Free Bet valid with Promo Code: HUNTERSCHASE50. Only bets placed on 16:40 Cheltenham) eligible. Offer available to new customers only. Promotion valid from 4.40pm on Wednesday 12th March. |
||
Rizzel's Tips
Brides Hill 5/1 – Cheltenham 2.40
The Friday looks like an extremely tough day for punters, and one of my selections will likely be picked up by Cairnzy, so I've opted for Brides Hill in the Mares' Chase.
I've always been a big fan of Brides Hill, and she has landed a few bets for me in recent years, but this year hasn't exactly gone to plan as she has been beaten in both of her runs in England in Listed races, but I think she deserves another chance of showcasing her talent.
The first run at Doncaster can be dismissed as it was her return to racing, and last time out, she was shouldering a penalty to a progressive horse who managed to dictate the pace and wasn't for passing, but it was still a nice run and a prep run for today's race.
She didn't make it to the Mares' Chase last season as the ground wasn't deemed suitable, but today, she will be taking her chances as the course has been riding quickly throughout the week. I think Dinoblue is a horse who is overhyped and isn't as good as we thought she could be, and at the odds, she has to be taken on.
Allegorie De Vassy is a decent horse on her day, but she doesn't look in love with Cheltenham and has been beaten in this race twice before, as well as being thumped by Brides Hill at Punchestown last May. Then you have Limerick Lace, who won this race last year but would want bottomless ground as she is a strong stayer, so conditions are against her for today's race, which left me with Brides Hill, who looks a cracking price against the favourite.
Nothing else has much of a chance on all known form, so I am confident that Brides Hill will win this race for a yard that doesn't waste its chances when bringing horses over.
Cheltenham Festival 2025 betting guides
- Cheltenham 2025: Which trainers and jockeys to back
- Cheltenham 2025: Expert tips and trends to follow
- Cheltenham 2025: A beginner's guide
- Cheltenham 2025: Race-by-race schedule
- Racing form cards explained
- Top horse racing betting tips for beginners
- Horse racing 101: The best betting guide for beginners
- Betting odds explained
GambleAware
Mullins has 11 (yes eleven) of the 17 runners in the triumph hurdle.
Getting stupid now, he is strangling the sport, there should be a racing monopolies commission set up to see fair play and give other yards and up and coming trainers a chance
What possible joy can he glean from winning a race when he has 11 runners in it, after all he has 10 losers in the same race.
Also the meet needs to go back to 3 days of proper championship races.
Far too many Saturday afternoon type of impossible handicaps now to fill out a 4th and a once muted 5th day.
Won’t happens because a 4th and possible 5th day raises revenue for the bha and bookies involved with the sport.
And for me mares should have their own championship races and not be dropped into the champion hurdle etc with a 7 point gift allowance, it distorts the records like Annie power being known as a champion when she carried 7 pound less.
If she runs in the champion it should be level weights, that’s the gamble they’ll have to take
Well said Elvis. Used to go every year before my health problems and honestly we just spent the Thursday in the town in a good pub as the day was just as you said, impossible mediocre races with nothing to set them aside. Give us three days of the best as opposed to padding it out and the festival
Losing its shine.
As I’ve said I know not alot about horse racing but even I can see Cheltenham has changed. Seems to me that the festival now geared towards the bookies. Must be frustrating for the people who live and breathe the sport.
Elvis
You have to ask yourself why does Willie have 11 in the Triumph . It’s simply because he’s the best trainer and arguably the best there has ever been.
What if he sent 1 horse to the race, then there would be 8 runners in the Triumph and that would become a different discussion.
Willie Mullins has built up his empire on his own through nothing but hard work. He wasn’t just handed it and if you listen to any trainer being interviewed they all say that he sets the standard that they all need to strive to.
Every owner wants a piece of the Mullins pie unfortunately and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
If your BHA sorted their shit out and managed to increase prize money in the sport it might encourage owners to look to more UK based trainers.
I’m not saying I like seeing one trainer have so many runners in a race but it’s for a reason.
Best example is Michael O’ Leary, an absolute commercial animal, pulled all his horses from Willie’s yard because he raised his training fees. What happened? He came crawling back. Michael O” Leary of all people.
Dan Skelton winning the Turners was a good thing though and hopefully now JP will start to support him more now, afterall Nicky won’t be around forever. But in general the state UK NH racing is in its going to take a long time before it turns around. 1 runner in the Supreme tells you all you need to know and he was out the back of the tele after 2 hurdles.
Yes Cheltenham should go back to 3 days but it never will. The changes they’ve made this year have brought about increased entries so they have definitely improved things but they still have some way to go.
But I disagree about the 7lbs. It’s there for a reason as men are stronger faster species to women and they are given that to make things even.
There will always be exceptions like Annie Power or Honeysuckle that may have won regardless but in general they would never win if off the same weight.
And if you want horses and mares to run separately then you would have had a 4 runner Champion Hurdle. Nobody wants to see that. But what we had was a very exciting build up to it with everyone talking about the clash between Con Hill and BDA and that is what the public want.
It’s been a horrible Cheltenham for me so far from a punting perspective, a few placed finishes yesterday and just a saver on Caldwell Potter meant it wasn’t too bad yesterday although Feet of a Dancer should have won the pertemps. Bloody jockey too confident staying out the back too long
Anyway onto today and I’ll Keep this brief
I’ve 3 antepost bets left which if successful could still turns things around for me so there’s still hope. They are
KARGESE 10/1 County
BRIDES HILL 20/1 Mares Chase
KARAFON 14/1 MP
Fingers crossed 1 or 2 can deliver.
Triumph Lulamba
County Kargese
Mares Brides Hill
AB Jasmin De Veux
Gold Cup Monty’s Star w/o
Hunter no bet
MP Karafon
A friend of mine has headed over to Cheltenham today. He has only backed 1 horse for the entire festival and he’s been backing it for quite some time and has some big prices on him and is going on as if defeat is out of the question.
The horse is DERRYHASSEN PADDY for Lucinda Russell in the AB. I’ve had to have something on him myself such is his confidence but he’s not my main selection.
BOL