Top Tipster Daryl Carter had a MONSTER day on Day One with Marine National, El Fabiolo and Corach Rambler winning and he shares some confident picks on Day Two.
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Posted: 5.30pm March 14th (Odds correct at time of writing)
1.30 Cheltenham – Impaire Et Passe (2pt win – 7/4 generally)
He may not have the form in the book just yet, but IMPAIRE ET PASSE holds all the potential in the world in this lineup. He left a deep impression when scoring on debut for at Naas when quickening away from a 24-runner field in excellent style and then clocked a good time, particularly in the sectional department at Punchestown when landing the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer. That form is not eye-popping, but he quickened from the back of the last to the line in the style of a very smart horse, and this step up in trip will prompt further improvement. The fact that the 20 lengths beaten Hey Johnny – a subsequent winner – got to within six lengths of Gaelic Warrior despite being held up in a slowly run race bodes well. He is sure to improve again, and his NHF run in France could not have been any more impressive. He looks like a horse with the world at his feet and is taken to land this.
Gaelic Warrior jumps right, and he has now recorded two very slow times, and with stamina not guaranteed, he is passed over. Good Land clung on at the DRF and has run to around 144, and that wouldn’t be good enough here, despite what the official handicapper thinks. Champ Kiely needs to get the lead; otherwise, he can run extremely free but is worthy of respect, as is Hermes Allen, who has course experience. I can’t get past that the runner-up, You Wear It Well, clocked the same circuit time in the Challow as him, and I am sure he benefitted from his racing position. This is a whole new ball game for him.
2.10 Cheltenham – Thyme Hill (1pt e/w – 9/1 generally)
Gerri Colombe perhaps hasn’t been given the respect he deserves in this market all season, but he has done nothing but improve and win. Now unbeaten in seven career starts, he should thrive for this step back up in distance over fences and will prove hard to beat. Still, he is yet to go left-handed over obstacles, and this is his first visit to Cheltenham, although he proved he could travel when winning at Sandown. My issue is that he hung right in the closing stages, and I am not convinced that going right-handed his entire career is out of circumstance. I will happily take him on with the class act in the field THYME HILL. He goes very well off a break, and coming here after 79 days off is by design. He is top-rated in this field and loves Cheltenham, and I am of the impression that the cheek-pieces last time brought out improvement. He should get a good pace to aim at, and this could be his moment in the sun.
He looks like a solid each-way proposition at 8/1 or bigger, NO SHORTER.
2.50 Cheltenham – Langer Dan (1pt e/w – 11/1 Bet365/Will Hill, 10/1 generally) (Sky Bet paying 8 places) and (already advised 1pt e/w – 5 places An Epic Song @ 25/1, 20/1)
It’s very interesting that LANGER DAN lines up in this race rather than the Martin Pipe, which he has contested the last two years. That could be so that Harry Skelton rides him rather than conditional Lorcan Williams – who, in my mind, found trouble at the rear of the field when buried away on the rail. Langer Dan obviously went out and won next time at Aintree in a Grade 3 contest, but the handicapper has treated him very kindly since then, and he is now running just four pounds about his Martin Pipe mark last term. Langer Dan showed much more in the Relkeel Hurdle behind Maries Rock back on New Year’s Day when hardly asked for an effort by Harry Skelton, and this horse has come good in the Spring – multiple times. Connections have agreed that he is a different horse at this time of year, and his profile would also concur. He looks worth chancing at very fair odds, having pulled miles clear of a good field at Aintree. He is well treated on his best form.
AN EPIC SONG is an unexposed six-year-old by Authorized out of a Law Society Mare, so there’s every reason to think a 2m is a trip far shorter than what he wants. Outside of the two runs last year in a hood, he won his Gowran Maiden on heavy on his Irish debut and then bolted up when heavily backed at Punchestown over Bread And Butter – that horse outran huge odds of 66/1 and ran third to Camprond later than April beaten just four lengths. Camprond, in turn, is well handicapped but has had a poor season and heads this market. Our selection could also be described as having a poor season with two duck eggs next to his name, but he hasn’t been put into any of the races. He caught the eye at Fairyhouse on the back of a 338-day lay-off in what is typically a strong handicap and then was given a very suspect ride at the DRF. He was staying on well down the home straight under hand and heels before being hampered at the last, and this will be the first time he steps up in distance since that good victory at Punchestown. The Ballymore owners sponsor the first race on the card, so I expect him to run here on this day, given that fact, and the trainer/owner ran Fastorslow to finish a close second in this contest last year. He could be well treated here off 137. I expect him to go very close and be well supported, particularly if the rains come. There are five places on offer at the moment, and I am happy with that.
3.30 Cheltenham – Edwardstone (2pt win – 6/4 generally)
EDWARDSTONE was the horse to take out of the Clarence House, whichever way you look at it, be that from a sectional point of view or a visual one. He can confirm the form with Energumene, who I am not convinced has the form on offer to trouble the selection, even if at the peak of his powers. Edwardstone is simply the faster horse, and he is tactically versatile. He has one more big performance in him before I would be enamoured to take him on. I do think Greaneteen will outrun his odds at a big price, but with the field down to seven, Edwardstone looks a good bet for anything bigger than 11/10.
4.50 Cheltenham – Dancing On My Own (0.5pt e/w -50/1 BetUK, 40/1 Bet365, 33/1 generally) and The Last Day (0.5pt e/w – 25/1 generally) (6 places, Bet365, Sky, Paddy, Betfair, Boyles) Andy Dufresne (1pt e/w – 13/2 generally) (6 places)
I really fancied DANCING ON MY OWN for this race last year, but the ground very much went against him at the final hour, and he took a walk in the market. That wasn’t the case when a good second to The Last Day at Aintree next time, and he comes good at this time of year. I would ignore any runs right-handed as he jumps left, and connections used this tactic with him last year. His two runs at Fairyhouse have been in an attempt to handicap him, in my opinion, otherwise why else would you run a horse that jumps left on a right-handed track for the third time in five starts? He is a wild price here, and I am happy to take a small chance.
THE LAST DAY is an old favourite of mine and this column, but the key to backing him is catching him in the Spring. His form figures after February read 1119 – the latter in a bumper in 2017. He has finished first or second in five of his nine chase starts, and connections finally bring him to Cheltenham. He is now aged 11, but age has been no barrier to success in this contest, and he is well treated off of a rating of 139. He is less exposed than your typical 11yo in these races, and all bar one of his victories has come off the back of a break (he arrives here after 62 days off). He is worth chancing in a wide-open renewal.
We have the two big-priced horses covered, and the small drift on ANDY DUFRESNE after the column posted has prompted me to add him to this list this morning. Last year’s returning favourites have a great record, and this year looks weaker on balance with so many exposed runners, so Gordon Elliott’s runner is taken to go one better. He has clearly been laid out for another crack at this, having been ridden suspiciously the last twice. Still, his seasonal return at Navan on ground faster than ideal was a very good effort behind the useful Captain Guinness. There are not many in this field that would be able to get close to that one, and he has already proven he can carry a big weight. Soft ground is in his favour, with five of his six career victories coming on a slower surface (the other a bumper run), and he must have a big chance now equipped with the tongue tie for which his trainer has a 40% place rate when fitting this headgear. I can’t have Dino Blue, who has failed to hit the line hard in any of her races and bombed out here in the Mare’s Novice Hurdle. She is surely not well-handicapped off 140, and Final Orders has done his winning this season.
5.30 Cheltenham – It’s For Me (1.5pt win – 11/2 generally)
IT’S FOR ME blew me away in his point-to-point victory, and that run has worked out well with the third-rated 138 and a Grade 2 winner, and you can make a strong case on that run alone that he could be very useful. His debut win at Navan saw him quicken clear in the style of a very useful horse, and I like to trust my visual impression when it comes to bumpers. He, as well as many of these, could be very special. Captain Teague will get a small cover along with Capeau De Soleil.
Daryl Carter’s Best Bets
1.30 Cheltenham – Impaire Et Passe (2pt win – 7/4 generally) 2.10 Cheltenham – Thyme Hil (1pt e/w – 9/1 generally) 2.50 Cheltenham – Langer Dan (1pt e/w – 11/1 Bet365/Will Hill, 10/1 generally) (Sky Bet paying 8 places) and (already advised 1pt e/w – 5 places An Epic Song @ 25/1, 20/1) 3.30 Cheltenham – Edwardstone (2pt win – 6/4 generally) 4.50 Cheltenham – Dancing On My Own (0.5pt e/w -50/1 BetUK, 40/1 Bet365, 33/1 generally) and The Last Day (0.5pt e/w – 25/1 generally) (6 places, Bet365, Sky, Paddy, Betfair, Boyles) 16:50 Chelenham – Andy Dufresne (1pt e/w – 13/2 generally) (6 places) 5.30 Cheltenham – It’s For Me (1.5pt win – 11/2 generally)