Dave Nevison: My 2023 Cheltenham yankee and best bets for Tuesday

Dave Nevison: My 2023 Cheltenham yankee and best bets for Tuesday

By Dave Nevison
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
Resident website tipster Dave Nevison reflects on the Cheltenham Festival and has already placed his ante-post yankee for next year's meeting. Our pundit also has tips for Market Rasen, Exeter and Wetherby - all live on Racing TV and Racing TV Extra.
The dust has now settled on another terrific Festival and the main conclusion I drew from Cheltenham was that it seems highly likely that the key to next year’s meeting will almost certainly be the results from this year - especially when it comes to the Grade 1 races.
I have had a few multiples already in the hope of securing generous prices about horses who will surely go close unless injury gets in the way. Facile Vega will almost certainly in my view reappear in a novice over Christmas and, given his pedigree, will win it and then be short for the Supreme. Allaho looks set to make the Ryanair his own given that nothing really wants to run in that race and he is a specialist and top-class at 2½ miles and will definitely go for the hat trick. Perhaps Honeysuckle will have opposition in the form of Constitution Hill, but he will still have to give the brilliant mare 7lbs which will be tough and I cannot see anything improving enough to keep A Plus Tard from following up in the Gold Cup. The odds on my Yankee look pretty good to me at the moment and I will not miss the money by next March, so hopefully they all stay sound and well in the meantime.
A couple of races had alarmingly small fields at the Festival and there definitely needs to be an inquiry and action taken. This phenomenon is not exclusive to Cheltenham however and is evidenced at all three meetings on the channel on Tuesday. Hopefully my three selections will go well to start the week.
Maybe it was the first-time tongue strap that got him jumping in a much better rhythm than has generally been the case throughout his career but that - combined with a plunging handicap mark - saw Ardmayle outclass a modest field at Southwell earlier this month.
He was running okay off a mark of 116 this time last year so, even though he is back up 5lbs, he is clearly well in off his new rating of 102.
Ardmayle might be the type who could go well over the fences at Market Rasen, which are easier than most courses. Given he has made the running in the past, including when successful last time, this track could again play to his strengths.
3.36 Exeter: Ballybreeze
Ballybreeze will be better suited to this bigger field which should hopefully ensure an even pace, which was lacking last time and probably contributed to him pulling too hard under his 5lbs claimer.
A step up in distance on this stiff track also looks set to bring about improvement looking at his pedigree as he is related to horses who win over further than three miles.
Ballybreeze has been beaten twice off this mark - including when heavily backed - but I believe there were reasonable excuses and Adam Wedge is back on board now which might be another plus. Trainer Sam Drinkwater has his string in very good form.
4.56 Wetherby: Malinas Island
He is clearly suited by this track, scoring over course and distance in January and really powering up the punishing Wetherby straight.
Malinas Island has since run another good race at Plumpton and has been in pretty good form all season. While his mark has obviously risen as a result of his consistency, he definitely doesn’t look as though he is going to struggle just yet and his big weight here is helped by the 7lb allowance of good claimer Thomas Doggrell. he has a good claimer Thomas Doggrell taking off 7lbs from his high weight here.
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