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Dave Nevison's Friday tips: "He will have been primed for this"
By Dave Nevison
Last Updated: Thu 22 Oct 2026
Dave Nevison shares his three best bets for day one of the Showcase Meeting at Cheltenham, with all the action and analysis live on Racing TV.
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1.15 Cheltenham: Morning Mayhem
Nick Scholfield has already done brilliantly with this gelding over the summer and has improved his rating by more than two-stone while winning five races since he came to the yard.
However it could be that Morning Mayhem still has further improvement in him, especially now that he is upped in distance. The five-year-old ran an excellent second in the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Chepstow on his latest start and really looked as though he would do even better over today’s distance.
Morning Mayhem has won on a range of ground conditions so will not be inconvenienced if the weather took a turn for the worse which is definitely possible this weekend and he looks a decent option to give the impressive trainer a Cheltenham winner to kick off his season.
2.25 Cheltenham: The Hardest Geezer
The Hardest Geezer had an ignominious end to his season when falling when well beaten and well behind in atrocious conditions at Newbury in February. Up until then however the Hobbs/White gelding had looked nailed on to win a handicap after a series of strong handicap performances.
If he is fit and well for this reappearance, the seven-year-old could have landed on a race that suits him perfectly. He is a hold-up horse and the forecast strong pace at this track would be ideal.
The ground is currently given as good and, even if things deteriorate markedly, it is unlikely to end up like a bog. He has a very decent Conditional on board and the extra 3lb claimed by Jack Stenhouse might well be decisive.
3.35 Cheltenham: Calico
Calico has been at his very best when winning this particular handicap for the last two seasons and did me a favour at a surprisingly big price last season.
I can’t see a strong reason to desert him in his attempt to land the hat-trick and am absolutely certain he will have been primed for this by Dan Skelton who remains the best target trainer in the business.
He is 6lb higher than when he won last year, but he followed up at Ascot and is actually 1lb lower than that win. He can handle any likely ground scenario and a good run looks pretty much guaranteed.
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