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IT was a great day for Kerry jockeys at Cheltenham yesterday. Can Bryan Cooper and Jack Kennedy add to their success today? Sports journalist and racing fan, Murt Murphy, has some tips for day two of the festival…
Today is a very tricky day for punters so tread carefully with small stakes and do not chase losses – the final two days look more punter friendly.
The day begins with the Neptune Novices Hurdle at 1.30pm and Neon Wolf is hotly fancied here. Ridden by Noel Fehily, he’ll be hard to beat, but I give the nod to Bacardys with Ruby Walsh on board. For those who want to follow Bryan Cooper he gave Shattered Love a good chance in Quanes last week.
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Next is the RSA Novices Chase at 2.10pm and Might Bite is the favourite here. However, I won’t bite and I am taking him on with the Sandra Hughes trained Acapella Bourgeois who is good each way value at 8/1..
The 2.50pm Coral Cup. Right, this is a minefield for punters so I suggest two against the field Tombstone ( B Cooper) and Automated is interesting now at 14/1 for young Jack Kennedy.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase (3.30pm) is a sure thing. Douvan is the best horse going to the festival and with Ruby on board the only thing that will stop him is if he falls. It’s a race to watch not to have a bet on though.
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The X Country is next at 4.10pm is next and with 16 runners, Cantlow is the favourite. I give the JP McManus owned Cause Of Causes the vote here in a race where the Limerick businessman has five horses in the running.
In the Fred Winter at 4.50 Nicky Henderson’s Divine Bere will be hard to beat while the Champion Bumper at 5.30 is another tricky affair and at the prices you can back two each way against the field – Debuchet for Ireland and Mags Mullins, while I will ignore Dan Skelton’s talking horse Cause Toujours and instead give Western Ryder a great chance of finishing in first three.
• Of Murt’s five choices yesterday, he had two winners, a second and a third.
