This is not a race to get cute with. It is a 0-100 handicap hurdle over nearly 2m7f on soft to heavy ground, with a big field and plenty of runners who have had their chance. In these races you want a horse with recent staying form in the mud, a workable mark and a…

The Boyle Sports Irish EBF Shannon Spray Mares’ Novice Hurdle does not look a deep Grade 3 on paper, but it does throw up a proper clash between proven form and untapped potential.The market will latch on to How’s Hannah, and there is no mystery as to why. Willie Mullins trains her, she is unbeaten…

A small field of six lines up for this juvenile hurdle over 2 miles at Limerick, run on soft to heavy ground, and tactically it could be a messy race. The pace forecast suggests no obvious front runner, which usually turns these races into a steadily-run sprint from the home turn. Positioning will matter more…

The Kim Muir is rarely a race for guesswork. You need a thorough stayer, a horse who handles Cheltenham, jumps soundly enough under pressure, and is still well enough treated to cope with a rough staying handicap round here. This year’s renewal has plenty in it, but the one that makes the most appeal is…

The Pertemps Final is rarely a race to overcomplicate. Big field, searching gallop, plenty in with chances, and the result usually goes to a horse that stays well, travels kindly and is still improving. This year’s renewal looks set up for exactly that type again.The pace angle is a major part of the race. HRB…

The Ryanair Chase does not look a race to get too clever with. Fact To File is the one they all have to beat and, on the balance of the evidence, he is the most likely winner by a fair way.He won this race by nine lengths last year and that matters. Cheltenham, the trip…

The Stayers’ Hurdle often rewards proven stamina and experience around Cheltenham, but this year’s renewal looks slightly different. There is no obvious front-runner and the race shape suggests a steady early tempo, meaning positioning and a turn of foot could prove just as important as raw staying power.The market is headed by Teahupoo, the reigning…

This does not look a race to get cute with. With Lossiemouth diverted, the 2026 Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle has opened up, but only to a point. On the evidence in front of us, Wodhooh is the mare with the strongest overall profile and the one they all have to beat.She has done very little…

The 2.00 at Cheltenham is one of those Festival handicaps where the pace map matters almost as much as the form book. This year’s Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase looks loaded with forward goers, and that points to a proper test from flagfall.HRB has it down as a very strong shape with high collapse…

The 1.20 at Cheltenham, the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, looks deep on numbers but the race still revolves around one mare: Bambino Fever.This is not a contest crying out for a wild swing. The Mullins mare has the strongest overall profile on the evidence in front of us and she is the one they all…