Cheltenham tips: Friday picks from Dave Nevison

While it is is fair to question Whatsupwithyou, his trainer is in such excellent form currently that I am confident that the 10-year-old can fill one of the places at least. 

Whatsupwithyou has a habit of getting the worst of it in close finishes and has been runner-up on all three starts since winning an amateurs' event at Ludlow just before Christmas last season, though on two of those runs he was beaten by improvers and last time out he was coming back from a six-month break and didn’t have his usual headgear on. 

Obviously, my eyes are drawn to Callum Pritchard being booked to ride for his boss Ben Pauling and therefore being able to claim 10lb off Whatsupwithyou's back. While the horse has no secrets from the handicapper, getting such a sizeable allowance is clearly valuable. 

Whatsupwithyou has run some of his best races at this track, including when finishing fourth at the Festival behind Galopin Des Champs and Langer Dan in the Martin Pipe three years ago.

Top-class on his day, Conflated is making the switch to cross country chases here and the presence of this 166-rated performer means that only two of his rivals are actually running off their correct weight. 

I am certain that trainer Gordon Elliott will have tried to give Conflated some experience of the different types of jumps he will face around this circuit and the slower pace of these races should ensure that there aren’t any stamina issues. 

The 10-year-old has had a couple of runs to get his ready for this, although he slipped after the first fence on his reappearance and it seems clear this has been the plan and his superior class means he has to be the selection. 

It is no surprise to see excellent 7lb claimer Rob James toking the ride and reducing the burden considerably. 

Paul Nicholls had several winners at the Badger Beer meeting at Wincanton at the weekend and will be hoping to make an impact at this first major meeting of the season. 

It will be very disappointing if Fasol - who was capable of running well at Group level on the Flat - cannot make a mark off what is basically a selling plater’s mark here. 

The Galileo gelding was a stayer on the level, so it is perhaps surprising that Nicholls drops him back down to the minimum hurdles trip here, but cheekpieces are presumably being applied to sharpen him up a little and there will doubtless be a very strong pace here which will definitely suit him very well. 

Fasol progressed really well from his debut on his latest hurdles start so, providing he hasn’t gone backwards in the interim, he could make a mockery of this mark.