Dave Nevison's Cheltenham tips for Friday: Rely on The Bees Knees

There’s some cracking action in store on day one of The November Meeting at Cheltenham and I will be having a decent each-way Trixie on three solid horses in the handicaps.

This is a race to note jockey bookings as close as the horses. David Pipe has been forging a lucrative relationship with young Fergus Gillard, who looks a star of the future, and the conditions of the race mean that riding for his boss is rewarded by an extra 3lb allowance. In this competitive race, that can prove crucial.

Induna is a well-bred future chaser who could be extremely well in to judge by his wins last autumn. The fact that he has been absent since he was beaten at odds-on last December suggests he was possibly amiss that day.

His dam was rated 135 over jumps, so he could be ready to make a mockery of his mark of 115 if over what ailed him, especially over this longer trip.

I have been singing the praises of Bryan Carver heartily this season so hopefully he will ride a winner for me soon.

I am not in any way doubting his ability and if trainer Paul Nicholls is using him on top weights in Cheltenham handicaps then I feel I am in good enough company.

Magic Saint revers to 2m on Friday, the trip that suits him best, and he should come on for a decent run over further in the Old Roan Chase on his reappearance.

He is one of those horses who appears to have been around longer than his years and at 6 he still has time to progress out of handicaps.

I suspect he is fragile but is still capable of very smart form and he won on his second start last season after a good run going too far first time out. This may be the time to catch him.

Fergal O’Brien got the 50 up for the season earlier this week and has made a tremendous start, with The Bees Knees already helping twice.

He gets a 7lb penalty for a 15-length stroll at Musselburgh last week but he would have won that with any weight and is still very well in.

The trainer took this prize last year and likes nothing more than to win at his local track. The Bees Knees is untested at the track but I fancy Cheltenham will suit him even better than the flat, sharp tracks he has been winning at.