Horse racing tips: Cheltenham reflections and bets for Monday

Who turned off the taps? The weather is certainly causing plenty of headaches for clerks of the course and trainers alike. Having lost half of Sandown’s card last Sunday to saturated ground, we have then seen Cheltenham’s November Meeting dented by a host of non-runners due to the unseasonally good ground.

Thankfully, it didn’t stop the Paddy Power Gold Cup delivering yet another thrilling finish, with a host of runners holding a strong chance as the field charged to the second last.

Ga Law stayed on powerfully up the hill to claim a victory that looked unlikely for the first two-thirds of the contest. His jumping was unusually sloppy and he didn’t travel with his usual zest.

Enormous credit must go to his jockey, Jonathan Burke, who kept on persevering and did a fine job of finding pockets of room for his inexperienced partner in the hustle and bustle of a premier handicap. It was a ride right out of the top drawer and didn’t get the plaudits it deserved.

It will be interesting to see how the handicapper reacts but a return to Cheltenham next month for the Racing Post Gold Cup over the same trip on the new course - which places more emphasis on stamina - would look the logical target. He’ll be hard to beat in that.

On Sunday, it was hurdle races either side of the Irish Sea that were the primary focus. Bob Olinger travelled with zest and appeared to appreciate the return to the smaller obstacles. However, he had no answer to Home By The Lee up the stiff Navan finish. Maybe he’ll strip fitter for this outing, but his high head carriage once again concerned me.

Conversely, at Cheltenham, I Like To Move It demonstrated an exemplary head carriage as he landed the Unibet Greatwood Hurdle. Leading from flag fall, it momentarily looked like the strong-travelling Gin Coco had his measure as they turned for home, but he found plenty under an all-action Sam Twiston-Davies to run out a ready winner.

Connections have nominated the International Hurdle as his next target, but he jumped a bit big on Sunday, and will surely need to be slicker in that department if he’s to progress further.

Onto Monday’s action and I have managed to find three bets for Exeter and Leicester – watch both meetings live on Racing TV.

Jockey Cameron Iles caught my eye on a couple of occasions last season when riding Jepeck to great effect for Anthony Honeyball. He looked far more polished than many with his lack of experience, placing his mount perfectly at each hurdle.

He is yet to ride a winner, but I fancy that to change in this contest on his first ride for his new boss, Tom Lacey.

San Agustin found significant improvement when upped to three miles over fences last season and races over hurdles here off a mark 5lb lower than his chase rating.

With his rider able to claim a full 10lb, he is effectively just a pound higher than his last win over hurdles, and 6lb lower than for his latest chase win.

He will be well suited by this stiff trip and the quick ground. Indeed, his last visit here resulted in arguably a career-best performance over fences when he only failed by three lengths to concede 19lb to the now 99-rated Carrigready.

A repeat of that performance would see him win this comfortably.

The good to firm ground here should be perfect for the Donald McCain-trained Never No Trouble.

She was last seen when finishing to good effect behind Gerard Mentor at Warwick where, bar a poor jump at the last, she would have finished much closer than the three lengths she was eventually beaten.

The form of that race looks solid with Gerard Mentor scoring again since, while fourth-placed Karakoram finished runner-up on his next start.

Being the only three-year-old in the field, she is hugely favoured by her weight-for-age allowance and, on a track that will place more emphasis on stamina, she can capitalise on a shrewd piece of placing.

I’m excited to see Mr Glass over fences this season; he always jumped hurdles in the style of a chaser, and I’d be disappointed if he didn’t improve now tackling the larger obstacles.

He showed a high level of form in the early part of last season, winning his first two starts, before understandably finding Constitution Hill far too hot to handle at Sandown.

He finished his season disappointingly as he was beaten twice at odds-on, including in a three-runner contest at Chepstow, although these performances came at a time when the Paul Nicholls runners were somewhat under a cloud.

With his yard now flying and with a summer wind-op to aid him, I will be surprised if the forecast favourite, Masters Legacy, is able to concede 9lb to him.