Horses to follow at the Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday

Tipster: Andy Stephens.

Best odds: 11-10.

Tipster: Martin Dixon.

Best odds: 14-1 (each-way).

It looks to me as if Gavin Cromwell has had his eyes on this all season with Malina Girl, who has had just the two starts this campaign and a good second at Exeter last time suggested to me she could be about to peak again. 

She's run in three chases at Cheltenham previously, winning easily on one of those, and on her last visit here in December 2023 she was still tanking along (trading at 2.06 in running) only to fall three out. She'll hopefully creep into contention from off a strong pace and I'm very hopeful she can reward each-way support at general odds of 14/1 with most firms offering six places. 

Tipster: Lydia Hislop.

Best odds: 16-1 (each-way).

A two-year plan up in smoke as, rather than enrich the Champion Hurdle, Lossiemouth instead aims for repeat success against her own sex here. Willie Mullins explained his team’s thinking to Nick Luck on the Road To Cheltenham preview show earlier today.

“She worked nice last week but I was happy enough that State Man worked better than her and Paul [Townend] was not going to ride her in the Champion Hurdle. So, that made things… well, it was the obvious thing to do,” he said.

“It’s been our plan for two years to run her in the Champion Hurdle, but after work the other day we said, you know, we felt she was just a runner. So, it’s disappointing. But I’m thinking where will she meet those horses? Maybe at Aintree or something like that? She’ll get her chance to meet them at some stage.

“But coming here this week, my duty is to get winners for owners and her best chance as a winner is, we think, in the Mares’ Hurdle rather than the Champion Hurdle. Rich [Ricci, her owner] puts a big investment into the game and everyone wants to have a winner here at the Festival… So, you say where is the best opportunity? And that’s where the best opportunity was.”

Yet this is a deeper renewal than last year when Lossiemouth was about the same price and only had to beat Telmesomethinggirl. There are other negatives to bear in mind, too. Even if her heavy fall in the Irish Champion was not a key reason for the switch in the minds of those at Closutton, there were mixed messages on this subject in last Thursday’s Road To Cheltenham show. First, Ruby Walsh told us she’d since schooled well but, second, Timeform’s Dan Barber demonstrated last-time-out fallers have performed significantly below expectation at the Festival.

More pertinently to my mind is the fact her training regime has been altered since she was outpaced in the early stages of Kempton’s Christmas Hurdle to rev her up for the Champion. Is there a good chance she’ll revert to being too keen over two-and-a-half miles here? At odds-on, I want to take her on.

Yet not with stablemate Jade De Grugy, who’s likely to be facing quicker ground than she’s ever before encountered and whose campaign this season feels somewhat rushed, having managed only one start. Ruby has mentioned more than once that she came back into Closutton “late”. 

Having been supplemented, Joyeuse must clearly be respected and is on a fast upward trajectory. Interestingly, that much-improved effort at Newbury coincided with her first encounter with soft ground. It’s back to the quicker stuff here, on which she was only a neck ahead of the likeable Take No Chances at Cheltenham in December when in receipt of 18lb (if admittedly not getting the rub of the green entirely). She’ll need to have improved all of that and quite a bit more.

Instead, I’m siding with the stablemate of the mare who beat both those rivals. Wodhooh runs in the Martin Pipe rather than having been supplemented here, leaving stablemate KALA CONTI as Gordon Elliott’s sole representative. Last season’s juveniles were a smart bunch and this mare shaped as though she’d do better upped in trip in time when mixing with the best of them.

She was committed too soon at Leopardstown last time after getting in a battle with Jetara and then being picked off by strong stayer July Flower. Plus, Jack Kennedy might be able to command superior track position on her against a host of held-up rivals.

Tipster: Harry Allwood.

Best odds: 8-13.

Not the most original seleciton, I'm afraid, but I think Constitution Hill will prove extremely hard to beat in Tuesday's Unibet Champion Hurdle.

Nicky Henderson's star hurdler has suffered from a few well-documented issues, but his past two outings suggest he is back to his best, and everything has gone smoothly with his preparation.

The RaceiQ data also shows that Constitution Hill has produced figures as good as his previous personal bests, and the likelihood of a decent pace, courtesy King Of Kingsfield, is sure to suit.

The eight-year-old was a brilliant winner of this contest two years ago and while Brighterdaysahead was an impressive winner of the Neville Hotels Hurdle last time out, I believe she will need to improve again to defeat Constitution Hill.

For a more in-depth look at the Unibet Champion Hurdle, make sure you check out Andy Stephens' runner-by-runner guide.

Tipster: Dave Nevison.

Best odds: 9-1 (each-way).

Gericault Roque is obviously a risk having been off for a very long time before his latest run, but he is with a trainer who can definitely bring staying types back from a layoff, and he has possibly the best form in this strong field. 

He was ahead of Corach Rambler when last seen in a competitive event (2022 Coral Gold Cup) having previously finished runner-up behind the winner in the Ultima that year. 

He has been dropped in the ratings due to his absence and definitely didn’t look to be a lost cause when he reappeared at Windsor recently. He stayed on without being knocked about at all. 

This trip looks to be what he has always wanted and off his lower mark, I am prepared to take a chance on him.