Five horses to follow at the Cheltenham Festival on Friday

Tipster: Dave Nevison.

Best odds: 5-2.

Willie Mullins has made this race his own over the past few years but British-trained runners mount a strong home challenge with East India Dock, and my fancy . 

Nicky Henderson is no stranger to JCB Triumph Hurdle success and this ex-French gelding has been close to favourite for this race since he won impressively at Ascot on his first, and sole, start in Britain. 

He had already won at Auteuil before joining Nicky Henderson and carried a 10lb penalty, but he was backed into odds-on and won impressively in a race that has worked out very well. 

Hopefully he will progress further, and he will be tough to beat here if so. 

Tipster: Harry Allwood.

Best odds: 11-2.

appeared to have just joined in when cruising from last to first to win last year’s County Hurdle, and his performance is worth upgrading considering the manner of that success. The ground was also against him, and he was weak in the market beforehand. 

Willie Mullins’ dual-purpose performer will race off an 8lb higher mark this year but was well on top at the finish 12 months ago, and the ground looks set to be in his favour this time. 

His victory at Chester, and his effort in the Melbourne Cup, last year suggests he has improved again on the Flat since his Cheltenham Festival heroics, and a rating of 146 on his return to hurdling could underestimate him still. 

A big-field scenario clearly suits and although a sprint finish helped his cause last year, I don’t think the likelihood of a faster pace on better ground will hinder him. If anything, it may enhance his credentials.

Mullins, who has won five of the past ten renewals of the William Hill County Hurdle, has other strong contenders here, but I'm sure this has been Absurde’s target for a while, and he's proved in the past that he can score after a break, so arriving here fresh is not a negative.

Tipster: Lydia Hislop.

Best odds: 6-1.

Dinoblue is head and shoulders the best of these over two miles but I’m less convinced of her dominance over this longer trip. Yes, she might have won this race last year had she not conceded track position to an on-song Limerick Lace, but conversely you could argue she should have had the turn of foot to run down a mare with upper-end staying capabilities.

Mark Walsh’s mount seemingly returned to form last time, but that was a three-runner race over two miles and a narrow defeat of Allegorie De Vassy is not proof of stamina. That runner-up at Naas was second to Impervious in this Grade Two in 2023 and fourth last year but is not the most vigorous of battlers. She, too, has long looked most effective at two miles.

Money has come for the titleholder since the booking of Jack Kennedy,  but she has reverted to mulishness and added some on top this season. Plus, Keith Donoghue would have had his choice of conveyance for in-form Gavin Cromwell and he’s chosen BRIDES HILL.

Mild forgiveness is required here, his mount having twice been at odds-on when shipping to Britain this season. However, she made an ill-timed and rare mistake at Doncaster, and then handed the positional initiative to the useful Telepathique, who controlled the race from the front at Huntingdon last time. Brides Hill is better than that and can make it two years in a row for this team.

Tipster: Martin Dixon.

Best odds: 20-1.

This three-mile novice hurdle is a race that's thrown up surprise winners on a regular basis - ten of the last eleven winners have returned an SP of 11/1 or bigger - and I think that's because the demands of the race are so different to what these novices have contested earlier in the season. 

Sounds Victorius - a 22/1 shot when writing - mixed it with the best bumper horses last year, finishing fifth in the Champion Bumper here and fourth in the Grade One at Punchestown - and he's always given the impression that stamina is his biggest asset. 

He was a creditable fifth behind stablemate Final Demand at the DRF, again shaping like a step up in trip would suit, and I think his first try at three miles in what should be a well-run affair will trigger improvement. 

Tipster: Andy Stephens.

Best odds: 4-7. 

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown? It does not seem applicable to the imperious Galopin Des Champs, who keeps carrying all before him. 

He must avoid banana skins on Friday but, barring mishaps, a third Gold Cup seems to beckon, with Montys Star fancied to chase him home. 

Arkle and Best Mate have been the only three-time winners in the past 60 years, underlining the magnitude of such an achievement, but he is still only nine years of age and seems better than ever. Maybe he could even match the five Gold Cups that Golden Miller won in the 1930s, at a time when the race did not have the same prestige as it does now. 

Galopin Des Champs was dominant from start to finish when landing a third Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown in February, and it had been a similar story when he scooped a second Savills Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas, having been an encouraging comeback third in the John Durkan over a shorter trip at Punchestown. 

He is versatile regards the ground, jumped as well as he ever has last time, reflected by the RaceiQ metrics, and then, of course, there is his relish for the challenges that Cheltenham provides. 

Victory in the 2023 Gold Cup from off the pace was not without some early discomfort but he always looked like retaining his crown under his now more customary positive tactics last year.

Before those victories came his triumph in the 2021 Martin Pipe and luckless final fence departure in the Turners 12 months later, when he had a wide-margin victory in the bag only to seemingly trip himself up after the final fence.

Finding chinks in his armour is a thankless task; he's clear on official ratings; and Mullins is content for him to run solo.

This is a horse who may yet match, at the least, the 16 Grade One triumphs that the revered Kauto Star won during his decorated career.