Cheltenham Festival: Gold Cup day tips from Johnny Ward
By Johnny Ward
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
Our presenter and Irish expert Johnny Ward has a fancy in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup among his final-day tips for the Festival. Enjoy every moment live on Racing TV.
Cheltenham has been simply awesome so far and it is with regret that we've come to the final day.
We've had soft ground so far and it will be interesting to see how it rides in the first on day four.
The Gold Cup looks more open, at least to yours truly, than the betting suggests. Be lucky.
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2.10 Cheltenham: Filey Bay
Johnny Ward
Finished: 3rdSP: 6/1
With one bookmaker paying a staggering eight places in this race, it certainly makes sense to play, and it's hard to envisage this horse not being in the first eight!
Willie Mullins has won six of the last 13 renewals of the County Hurdle, targeting it with the five-year-old Saint Roi in 2020, and it is fascinating to see the high-class Sharjah as top weight this year. He runs four in all this year but his nephew, Emmet, may have the answer in Filey Bay.
The son of Fame And Glory has had only three starts for the trainer, just touched off in the Betfair Hurdle, and he should remain very competitive. A fascinating alternative is young hurdler Path D'oroux, who has a touch of class.
3.30 Cheltenham: A Plus Tard
Johnny Ward
Finished: PU SP: 4/1
Henry de Bromhead can ice the cake of a week he will never forget and saddle A Plus Tard to back-to-back Boodles Gold Cup wins.
Tuesday's success of Honeysuckle was loaded with emotion, Henry having lost son Jack last year, and that she was able to bounce back from two defeats is encouraging with a view to the chance of A Plus Tard, who inexplicably ran a shocker at Haydock on his sole start this season.
This is a deeper Gold Cup than the one he won last year but he could not have been more impressive then. There is no real issue with Galopin Des Champs' chance other than his price and it is short enough in a really competitive renewal.
Cheltenham Festival tips for Friday:
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