Johnny Ward casts his eye over what lies in store for the third day of the racing festival where the two main races of the day are the Stayers' Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase. 1.30 JLT Novices’ Chase A tricky renewal, not unlike the Arkle in that nothing stands out. That race was somewhat chaotic; we can expect a better round of jumping from these generally. Lostintranslation and Defi Du Seuil are 1-1 after their clashes this term, perhaps of some significance that Lostintranslation won the one time they clashed at Cheltenham, and he gets a tentative nod. Defi Du Seuil has gotten his career right back on the rails and he was a pretty ready winner at Sandown, whilst this track clearly holds no fears. He has to be respected. They have an edge over Vinndication, who seemed to jump a bit to his right behind this pair last time, while Mengli Khan looks to have no chance on his own tendency to do that this season. Kildisart is no forlorn hope for Ben Pauling,among the winners here Tuesday. He is hardy, consistent and progressive. Selection: Lostintranslation 7-2 2.10 Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle There's a full field for this race, which is no surprise, and nearly no end to the number of viable contenders, including Thermistocles, who got a really favourable mention from Joseph O'Brien in the media earlier this week. Sire Du Berlais has done very little at the track – this is just his tenth start – but everything points to him having a very sound chance in the race for the connections of Glenloe, who probably should have won the race last year (touched off by Delta Work). Barry Geraghty’s mount had a pretty perfect prep for this when a staying-on sixth at Leopardstown, form that looks strong but it hardly needs saying that he is capable of better. That was his first shot at three miles but he stays it and can improve over it. He is by the stallion of Don Poli, out of a mare who won a Grade 1 over fences and stayed two and a half miles. Jessica Harrington's hand is strong. She has top weight Walk To Freedom and also Not Many Left, who has time on his side and is lightly raced at this distance. Selection: Sire Du Berlais 5-1 2.50 Ryanair Chase This race is not for everyone but you cannot knock this renewal, which is arguably the best we have had since the event’s inception in 2005. There is so much to mull over with such quality and quantity on show. The two leading women over jumps, Bryony Frost and Rachael Blackmore, ride fancied horses in this race who like to be up with the pace. Tactics between the pair will be fascinating; in any event, it will surely be run at a good clip, and I prefer to look at those who will be held up. Footpad (below) can make the running but I would expect sensible riding restraint here under Ruby Walsh. He is not fully proven over the distance but it should be no issue. He was a sensationally good novice last term and we can put faith in Willie Mullins, in such excellent form, getting him back to his best. He will need to: the horse’s abortive campaign has not been at all ideal. Monalee’s connections would have been daft to run him in the Gold Cup. This was the logical choice and he does not need to make the running, though he may well make it. Road To Respect could also have taken the Gold Cup route. The rain-softened terrain has made this a more logical choice and he has to have a big chance – if he is over a tough race on hard ground at Leopardstown. Selection: Footpad 4-1 3.30 Sun Racing Stayers' Hurdle Paisley Park may well be one of the British bankers but he looks a pretty mad price right now. Indeed, an Irish jockey who has been riding horses beaten by him this season was said to tell a preview-panel audience that the British form was nowhere near good enough to make him a strong fancy relative to the Irish runners. Faugheen could roll back the years here. He is the winner of this race on his staying form and he is really lightly raced at three miles, destroying Penhill (winner of this 12 months ago) at Punchestown less than a year ago. When he tackled Apples Jade this season, he fell, but he was going strongly and the vibes are good in terms of his work of late. Supasundae (above) has a tongue-tie here for the first time, an intriguing development, and he was just touched off 12 months ago by Penhill. The more the ground dries out the better his chance, and he seems to be coming to form at the right time. Bacardys has fallen in three of his last five starts, including in this race 12 months ago, but he was thereabouts at the time and is far from hopeless here. Selection: Faugheen 4-1 4.10 Brown Advisory Plate Kalondra is a speculative pick in a small-stakes heat for Neil Mulholland. He ran in the Coral Cup here in 2017, beaten ten lengths off 147, and subsequent visits to Cheltenham have yielded a victory, a third and an unseat. He bombed in November when last seen but will enjoy the soft ground and he has presumably been left for this. Mulholland had a spell earlier this month where he ran six horses over the course of a couple of days, only one of them favourite, and only one of them beaten. Janika and Siruh Du Lac are close together on their course-and-trip race in January. Eamon an Cnoic is having his second run since a wind operation and he is off the same mark he had when he ran a nice race at Cheltenham 12 months ago, then not staying the extended three miles on heavy. Splash Of Ginge, who was second at the Festival last year, could bounce back after two uninspiring efforts late last year. The Irish in general have a fair bit to prove. Selection: Kalondra 12-1, Eamon an Cnoic 16-1 4.50 Trull House Stud Mares' Novices' Hurdle Honeysuckle was a late scratch here in the antepost market, which was very disappointing for the race, as her clash with Epatante looked one of the undercard highlights of the four days. JP McManus has long had a hell of a team for this. His Barrington Court may be out for the season with injury but he has the well-touted Epatante and also Sancta Simona, who looks a very big price. Epatante is the main fancy. Nicky Henderson has said for some time he will win this race (for the first time) and the first-time hood looks key to this very classy bumper winner, who has been keen on both of her starts. She could well be another Champion Hurdle contender for McManus next year. However,Sancta Simona at 25-1 looks a crazy price. She travelled brilliantly behind Aramon when last seen, has a hood on for the first time, is trained by Willie Mullins (only once beaten in this race) and ridden by Mark Walsh. She is probably the bet of the festival if those odds remain. Selection: Epatante 7-4, Sancta Simona 25-1 5.30 Kim Muir Handicap Chase Jamie Codd showed his brilliance aboard Le Breuil in the finale on Tuesday and Measureofmydreams may provide him with another winner here, though the bookmakers have certainly taken prohibitive measures. He was third as a novice at the Festival when with Willie Mullins and, whilst 11 years of age now, he has done very little racing. Long-time point-to-point rival Derek O'Connor rides the frustrating Any Second Now, who does not seem to stay this far, while the same owner's Squouateur has been exceptionally frustrating, despite finishing third in this last year. The selection's stable ally Its All Guesswork is a fascinating runner. A faller when still thereabouts on his final chase start at Limerick, he is only 3lb higher here and ran a blinder over hurdles last time.<doc-sep>EACH DAY OF the Cheltenham Festival, Heed Your Hunch will be bringing you tips for the first, the last and the feature race at Prestbury Park thanks to Betway. Brewinupastorm and Richard Johnson at Cheltenham in January. Source: PA Wire/PA Images The opening race on Wednesday sees three Grade One winners at the head of the market in the shape of Champ, Klassical Dream and the monstrous Battleoverdoyen. One horse that has been the apple of his rookie trainer’s eye is Brewinupastorm (8/1). Olly Murphy is a former assistant to Gordon Elliot, so he has plenty of experience of winning with good horses. Champion jockey Dickie Johnson is already booked. He had a novicey fall last time out at Cheltenham when leading and Johnson was uncharacteristically angry with leaving a winner out there. He has four lengths to find with Champ, but could easily make that up on a stiffer track, and at his current price could be some value. The Champion Chase is a thrilling spectacle with the best steeplechasers taking flight over the bigger obstacles at the highest speed. It has an illustrious roll of honour including greats like Sprinter Sacre, Moscow Flyer, Sizing Europe and Master Minded. Altior and trainer Nicky Henderson at his Seven Barrows yard. Source: Steven Paston Altior (2/5) will win this. That is what he does. There is no conversation or argument to be had. He is the best horse in the race. He has no equal at this distance. The opposition is happy to admit they are running scared. He has never been beaten in seventeen attempts over obstacles. He is looking to win at a fourth straight festival and back-to-back Champion Chases. The only question is how many more Champion Chases can he win. Willie Mullins has won an incredible nine Wetherby’s Champion Bumpers. As a general rule he is mob-handed here, with the best of the winners of the bumpers he has farmed over the course of the season. Not this year. The freakishly dry weather has seriously curtailed participation by Mullins in bumpers this year. The exception is Blue Sari (11/4), who claimed victory at Gowran on Thyestes Day. He was weak in the betting on the day, but won with authority and pulling up was the most difficult part of rider Patrick Mullins’ journey. He is only four, but so was Cue Card. Blue Sari can end Day Two in celebration. Get your money back as a free bet if your horse loses in the first or the last race over each day of the Cheltenham Festival with Betway’s Money Back Special. You can also win a prize of £25k each day of Cheltenham on Betway’s Insider Blog with 4 To Win, a free-to-play prediction game. Offer as above. 18+, always gamble responsibly. For more, see BeGambleAware.org<doc-sep>Want the latest from the world of GAA, horse racing, football, rugby and more straight to your inbox? Sign up to our FREE newsletter Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Yes please! Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice He doesn’t represent an attractive betting proposition. But Altior is impossible to oppose in his bid to repeat last year’s victory in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase. Nicky Henderson’s star boasts an unbeaten run of 17 races, stretching back to October 2015. He was an impressive winner of this event last year, in the process slamming four of today’s rivals, having won the Arkle 12 months earlier. And he has done nothing this season, apart from jumping to his left last time in the Clarence House at Ascot, to suggest he’ll be vulnerable this afternoon. A year ago, Altior hit his customary flat-spot before reaching top gear, storming up the hill to beat the Mullins hope Min by seven lengths, with God’s Own, Politologue and Oridnary World well stretched-out behind. Altior ended last season with a win in the Celebration at Sandown. And he’s unbeaten in three starts this campaign, producing a good display to beat Un De Sceaux which, arguably, ran the race of his life in the Tingle Creek at Sandown. He followed-up by disposing of Diego Du Charmil in the Desert Orchid at Kempton over Christmas, a particularly impressive display. Last time, his tendency to jump left caused some concern in the Clarence House. But he still had plenty in hand, beating Fox Norton convincingly. Now a nine-year-old, Altior is hard to fault and, barring accidents, he should become the first horse since Master Minded (2008-2009) to retain the two-mile championship crown. Last year, Min (Ruby Walsh) traded at very short prices turning for home, before Altior swept past him and stretched clear up the hill. Ruby’s tactics might be different this time, but it’s still hard to see Min reversing that form. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Play now This term, Min has a two from two record, having proved too strong for Shattered Love and Balko Des Flo in the John Durkan (two and a half miles) at Punchestown before recording a no-nonsense victory over Ordinary World and Saint Calvados (both in the field again) in the Ladbrokes Dublin Chase at Leopardstown last month. Like Min, the rest of today’s field is firmly held on form by the odds-on favourite. But it would be no surprise to see Henry de Bromhead’s Ordinary World, which faded to fifth last year, running another cracker and, perhaps, finishing in the frame. But today’s feature is all about Altior. Gordon Elliot hoping to reach heights of last year's Day Two Having saddled a Wednesday treble at last year’s Festival, Gordon Elliott should again hit the heights with Tiger Roll and Delta Work today. Delta Work, winner of the Pertemps here last year, comes into the RSA Insurance Novice Chase, which his partner Davy Russell won on Presenting Percy last year, on the back of two rock-solid Grade 1 wins. He outstayed subsequent dual Grade 1 winner Le Richebourg in the Drinmore at Fairyhouse and, last time, at Leopardstown over Christmas, produced a workmanlike display to land the Neville Hotels Novice Chase over three miles. Elliott’s charge is not flashy. But he might grind it out well enough to see off Paul Nicholls’ talented but slightly quirky Topofthegame. Winner of the race last year, Tiger Roll will be a short-priced favourite for the Cross-Country and the three-time Festival scorer, which also landed the Aintree Grand National last year, sets a high standard. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Play now He travelled sweeter than ever when winning the Boyne Hurdle at Navan last time, with blinkers back on, and gets the vote here over the Enda Bolger-trained pair Josies Orders and Auvergnat, and the rest. The Elliott-trained Battleoverdoyen, unbeaten in two starts over hurdles, looks Ireland’s main hope for the opening Ballymore in which he faces the highly-rated, Nicky Henderson-trained Champ. But for those seeking a solid each-way, Sam’s Profile, runner-up to Battleoverdoyen in a Grade 1 in Naas in January and with yesterday’s rain to help his cause, fits the bill. A smaller-than-usual Irish challenge for the bumper includes Gordon Elliott’s unbeaten Envoi Allen, the Mullins-trained Blue Sari, a runaway winner of his only start, at Gowran Park, and Joseph O’Brien’s pair Meticulous (the mount of Donnacha) and Sempo. Marginal preference is for Envoi Allen. The Boodles, formerly the Fred Winter, sees a 12lb weight-range from top to bottom. And although just 2lb off top-weight, I like Band Of Outlaws, ridden for Joseph O’Brien by his cousin J J Slevin. He has won twice with the minimum of fuss over hurdles, travels well and has a change of gear, which should give him every chance in a race where stable-companion Fine Brunello is also of interest. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Play now Peter O'Hehir's tips 1.30. Sam’s Profile 2.10. Delta Work 2.50. Uradel 3.30. Altior 4.10. Tiger Roll 4.50. Band Of Outlaws 5.30. Envoi Allen Longshot: Highest Sun (2.50.) If you haven't already, be sure to like our Irish Mirror Sport and Irish Mirror GAA pages on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.<doc-sep>
There is some doubt surrounding Wednesday's card - an inspection due for 8am in the morning with high winds forecast. If racing is cancelled, Wednesday's card will go ahead on Saturday. 1.30 Ballymore Novices' Hurdle City Island is an interesting runner here, bidding to provide Martin Brassil with his first Festival winner. Brassil’s Grand National victory at Aintree with Numbersixvalverde showed what he can do and City Island has reasonable each-way claims. Representing the race sponsor, Roscommon native Sean Mulryan, he scored in novice company in bloodless fashion last time at 1-5. He is perhaps a slicker jumper than Battleoverdoyen, who probably will be the best of these long-term. Battleoverdoyen had merely a bumper and maiden hurdle win to his name this season but he was still pitched into Grade 1 company at Naas, winning easily. That form is not good enough to win this in all likelihood, but he has lots of class. Champ has done little or nothing wrong and should run a big race, but he is taking on some classy raiders now. Selection: City Island 8-1 2.10 RSA Novices’ Chase Delta Work is a Festival winner, narrowly scoring in the Pertemps last season when perhaps a bit fortunate, but he has taken his performances to a new level as a chaser. Whether he is quite as good as people say is another matter – his Drinmore win over Le Richebourg is probably a bit flattering given the latter is surely better at two miles – but it is hard to pick a hole in what he has done this season. Preference, however, is for Santini. Whilst the late scare (lost a shoe and did not entirely satisfy Nicky Henderson in the build-up) is not ideal, Henderson is hardly risking a horse of his quality without being confident he is fine. He could not quite live with his rivals at Kempton and he can jump better but he stays all day and looks perfect for this race. Topofthegame has an edge over Santini on Kempton running and he warrants the utmost respect. Selection: Santini 7-2 Uradel is hard to oppose in the Coral Cup 2.50 Coral Cup While he hardly wants any more rain, Uradel’s chance is solid and basic to explain. He flourished on the level last year, winning at Galway and beaten a neck in the English Cesarewitch off 94, bringing him to a rating (102) that renders his mark over hurdles anomalous. He was not quite quick enough to win what looked a muddling two-mile Leopardstown handicap at the Dublin Racing Festival, but looks to be certain to progress now stepped up in trip. Farclas is attempting to emulate Carlito Brigante, also a five-year-old when winning this for the same connections in 2011. He reportedly worked very well at Navan last week, though his form is uninspiring this term. Brio Conti is interesting. He is up just 5lb for winning at Ascot when he looked to have a bit in hand and he has done little racing over hurdles. Selection: Uradel 6-1 3.30 Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase What drama we have had in the drumroll last year, with Nicky Henderson declaring Altior to have had a setback two days beforehand and leaving most to believe he was going to miss out; then Henderson tweeted on the Tuesday that he was ready to run! The race itself was pretty exceptional, Douvan falling and Altior destroying Min, and there seems little reason to think he will surrender his unbeaten record. He did jump left at Ascot last time, which is a small concern as that was not something he had done to any appreciable degree in the past, but it should not matter at Cheltenham. Min has a massive chance of finishing second. He has been pretty hard to fault this season and destroyed everything else 12 months ago. The rain will suit. The most intriguing each-way bet is Castlegrace Paddy, who would not have been in love with the nice ground he faced at Leopardstown the last twice. He has proven capable of exceptional form on deep ground and the vibes are encouraging. Selection: Altior 2-5, Castlegrace Paddy 33-1 4.10 Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase Tiger Roll is a truly extraordinary performer. The hot favourite to win this race again, he warmed up for it when surely nowhere near fully ready but victorious in a two-mile Grade Two at Navan, an astonishing performance at this stage of his life.