Sam Turner: A 33-1 ante-post tip for the Cheltenham Festival

The contender I fancy for this year's Coral Cup at the is

BO ZENITH

who I'm sure is on plenty of people's radar after his first run for Nicky Henderson at Cheltenham before Christmas.

He finished third there behind Mirabad, a horse who got loose on the lead and exploited that with a really smart peformance. Bo Zenith was in a different postcode at the top of the hill that day and absolutely charged home in the hands of James Bowen to finish third. 

That was a really good effort plus he would have gone into plenty of Racing TV trackers afterwards, and understandably so as he looked as though he had retained the ability which saw him finish a close second in the G1 Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree in 2023. That was a really smart performance where he was beaten by a Willie Mullins-trained runner, and yet he still resided off a mark in the mid-130s on his return.

He then went to Ascot and I thought he ran really well again behind Altobelli over an extended 2m3f where, yet again, he looked as though that trip was short of his best. He looks as though he has got a stamina-laden pedigree, and it appears as though he will appreciate a distance of ground this Spring, and hopefully that will be in the Coral Cup.

He's a lightly-raced hurdler who has had a light preparation, and has been dropped a pound for his Ascot run, which I thought was pretty commendable. 

Odds of 33-1 for the Coral Cup strike me as a good, fun wager in a very competitive race.