#French Dynamite

Picking up from my last column to cover the remainder of the holiday program (December 28 to January 1) in what was the busiest post-Boxing Day period for some time, the narrative seemed to me more of the same - some horses enhanced their reputations, a bigger number diminished theirs, and a standout performance to breathe new life into some…

Dual Ryanair Chase winner Allaho is one of 27 horses entered for the 2023 Ryanair Chase, which will be run on day three of the Cheltenham Festival on March 16, and the aforementioned Willie Mullins-trained raider will be a hot favourite for the 2m 5f contest. We take a look at the entries here and have all the latest odds for what should be a…

Consistency had been a notable trait in A Plus Tard's star-studded career before bombing out in the Betfair Chase, and Henry de Bromhead is optimistic the scintillating Cheltenham Gold Cup winner is back to himself. Cheveley Park Stud's dual Cheltenham Festival winner had never finished out of the first three in his 19 starts before pulling up at…

The Grade One-winning hurdler was brilliant in winning three times over fences last season and would have been four from four had he not crashed out at the final fence in the Turners' Novices' Chase at the Festival in March. He is a best priced 11/4 to provide trainer Willie Mullins with a third Gold Cup success following the back-to-back wins of…

Energumene (left) and Galopin Des Champs are both set to return on Sunday Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Galopin Des Champs is a step closer to making his seasonal reappearance after his trainer Willie Mullins left him in Sunday's John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown (2.00) at the five-day declaration stage. Galopin Des Champs is a best-priced…

NOTHING would give me more pleasure than to pull Paddy's pants down by finding you the winner of today's Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase. Cheltenham's feature race, live on ITV, is the first really big clash of the new jumps season. The two-and-a-half-mile thriller encourages a mix of speed-jumping and stamina, which is why the event has…

SATURDAY of the Paddy Power meeting is always a massive day with the Paddy Power Gold Cup the highlight. I only managed to win it once, but that was on Cyfor Malta in 2002, four years after he'd won it for the first time under AP McCoy. Only five horses have won it twice and he is one of them. He was a classy horse and even though I'm not sure…

Galvin, Conflated and Fil Dor are among the big names set to be in action for Gordon Elliott over the festive period as the Cullentra handler shuffles his pack for Leopardstown's Christmas Festival. Elliott has enjoyed huge success at the four-day meeting in recent years, with Galvin's thrilling Savills Chase victory over A Plus Tard a clear…

THEY fought Ga Law, and Ga Law won. Mind you, like any good police chase, his win in the Paddy Power Gold Cup was fraught with danger and drama. For the vast majority of the race, it looked like those pesky Irish were going to make off with yet another pot of Cheltenham gold. Mouse Morris' French Dynamite appeared to have them all beat turning for…

TEMPLEGATE takes on Saturday's big race confident of finding the winner. Read on for his runner-by-runner guide and find his big pick below. MISTER FISHER 2 FISHER off hook. Was pulled up in this two years ago before bouncing back to win the Peterborough Chase here over two miles. He's been up and down since then thanks to his iffy jumping and was…

Klassical Dream made light of a long absence as he ran out a hugely impressive winner of the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle at Punchestown. ready winner of the Supreme Novices' Hurdle in 2019, when he also followed up at this meeting, his career hit the buffers last season. Sent off an odds-on favourite in two Grade One outings, he was beaten in…

Constitution Hill and A Plus Tard are both well clear on Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings - 21 lb and 14 lb respectively - but another who has a significant edge on ratings and is likely to be odds-against is Hallowed Star. Hallowed Star progressed well over hurdles, winning three of his last four starts in that sphere, and he made a pleasing…

Willie Mullins takes this Morgiana Hurdle business seriously. We know that he does, because he has won it 11 times in total, and 10 times since 2011. His one lapse in the last 11 years was in 2020, when Abacadabras beat Saint Roi by a neck. If you had to nominate a point in the season, a weekend in the season, at which the Willie Mullins wheel…

Which beaten runners caught the eye over the past three days? Andy Stephens (AS) and Harry Allwood (HA) suggest five to keep in mind over the weeks and months ahead. Make sure you add each one to your Racing TV Tracker! Watch how Weveallbeencaught fared behind Hermes Allen at Cheltenham on Friday This hulk of a horse looks every inch a future…

Its been a pretty hectic month for Paddy what with his Pick 5 giveaways and pay out on Jonbon to win the Arkle Chase at the Cheltenham Festival - but is he finished? No he's not. Because the big man is front-and-centre again at Cheltenham on Saturday as the main sponsor of the feature race, the Paddy Power Gold Cup. Woof! And a card of such…

It's day two of the November Meeting at Cheltenham on Saturday. The Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase (2.20pm) is the feature race on the card at jump racing's HQ. We have predictions for all six Placepot races, including the big one. Already got a Tote account? Take advantage of the latest Free Bets offers for new customers. Tote's Placepot for…

It's the middle afternoon of three at Cheltenham's November Meeting on Saturday and the card is headlined by the Paddy Power Gold Cup at 2.20pm. The meeting also features high-quality Grade 2 trials for the Triumph Hurdle and the Arkle alongside a Listed bumper. They race from 12.35-4.05pm in the Cotswolds and our racing expert has selections for…

A smashing renewal of this early-season feature and, having built up a solid record at this venue last term, STOLEN SILVER gets the nod to land the prize on return. He powered to the line when landing the Silver Trophy on his final start in April, and a 7 lb higher mark ought not prevent another bold bid. David Pipe's Umbrigado, on the back of a…

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls has his team in red-hot form and boasts plenty of good chances for Saturday's card at Cheltenham. Prior to Friday's action, a whopping 20 of the trainer's last 43 runners (47 per cent strike-rate) have won and the Ditcheat maestro has five runners at Cheltenham on Saturday. Monmiral, a Grade 1 winner as a juvenile and…

We have four bets for Saturday's racing at Cheltenham. It's Paddy Power Gold Cup day at Cheltenham racecourse on Saturday afternoon and four races will take place in front of the ITV racing cameras with the feature contest going off at 14:20. Our in-house tipster Steve Chambers previews the four live races and picks out his best bet for each race…

With the flat-racing fixtures now behind us, attention turns to the first flagship event of the jumps season which will be centre stage at Cheltenham for The November Meeting. Taking place over three days, the meet will feature a stacked race card that will attract some of the best horses, trainers and jockeys the UK & Ireland jumps racing scene…

The November meeting at Cheltenham between Friday 11 and Sunday 13th hosts a spectacular jumps weekend. And Parimatch are offering new customers a huge £30 in free bets PLUS a £5 slot bonus!. Friday's card is a great kick-starter to the weekend races with the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle, a Grade 2 over 2m5f featuring promising hurdlers Collectors…

David Pipe seems fairly sweet on Umbrigado (left) The fingerprints of the Pipe family are all over the Paddy Power Gold Cup and there is hope Saturday's showpiece at Cheltenham (2.20) can find its way back to their Devon yard. Legendary trainer Martin Pipe won the race a record eight times before handing the licence to his son David, who struck in…

Entries have been revealed today for the £160000 Paddy Power Gold, the highlight of The November Meeting at Cheltenham (Saturday 12th November). Staged over two and a half miles, the Premier Handicap Chase was inaugurated in 1960 and is the first big race of the Jump season. Sponsor Paddy Power has three 7-1 co-favourites - French Dynamite (Mouse…