Horse racing tips for Sunday: Angus McNae's four best bets

The Cheltenham Festival is on the horizon and will be covered comprehensively on Racing TV next week, with every race live on the channel. In the meantime, there is some excellent action from Market Rasen, Warwick, Naas and Limerick on Sunday, and I have four selections, as detailed below. Best of luck.

Olly Murphy can land the opener with this progressive type. He was impressive when he won at Lingfield last time out where the step up in trip to two and a half miles suited him.

He jumped fast, and accurately, and looks capable of defying a penalty here. Olly Murphy has a 16 per cent strike-rate this season, but has been operating at a 22 per cent strike-rate at this track. He can record another winner here.

I like the potential that this horse displayed when winning a bumper at Thurles in February.

He made all of the running and despite looking green in the closing stages, he cleared away to win in style by over four lengths.

He has the potential to develop into a useful novice hurdler, and this maiden should be well with in his grasp. Willie Mullins starts the week as a trainer in tremendous form as eight of his past twenty runners have won, with ten of those twenty runners finishing in the first three. Ominous stats for other trainers with runners at Cheltenham next week!

This six-year-old was a three-time winner on the Flat for Jim Bolger and was rated in the high 80's. On his first start for Fergal O'Brien, he looked potentially useful when cruising to success at Musselburgh.

To win so easily on debut and beat three previous winners was a tremendous effort, and connections have their sights set on Aintree, so this is a stepping stone on that path.

He already looks useful and this race should provide him with another easy success.

A double for Willie Mullins awaits in the shape of Saldier. He was a talented Grade One hurdler in 2021 and spent most of 2022 in that company, but he has had his sights lowered and discipline changed as he now encounters fences.

He impressed on his chasing debut at Thurles, jumping fluently and winning with something to spare. The rival he beat there, Solness, has won since giving the form a solid look. I think Saldier can outclass this field.