Fuss and Teriferma can hit the frame in Hot Fred Winter
BOOKMAKERS may already be running for cover by the time the Fred Winter (4.40pm) is off, but so tricky a puzzle to solve is the two-mile hurdles contest for four-year-olds that they’ll be hopeful of clawing some cash back.
Plenty of money is set to ride on the likes of Total Look, Stencil and Beyond Your Dreams, but playing any of those at single-figure prices in a race that’s only seen one of the last 10 favourites oblige doesn’t appeal.
Instead, HOT FUSS has some very nice form at Wincanton behind East India Dock, who’s well-fancied for Friday’s Triumph Hurdle, and could go well for Tom Dascombe at around 10/1.
Dascombe is somebody you’d expect to see popping up in the winners’ enclosure at Chester, not Cheltenham, but you can’t ignore that Wincanton form, where he gave East India Dock a good race and got the better of Give It To Me OJ, who hacked up in a decent contest at Newbury a fortnight ago.
To protect Hot Fuss’ mark, his most recent run came on the all-weather at Southwell, where he bolted up off a mark of 88, so he has to be of interest.
At a bigger price, TERIFERMA could be one to pick up the pieces at around 25/1.
They almost always go too quick in this race, and while he might be well out of his ground for the first half of the contest, he stays strongly and will finish well up the hill whilst others are curling up.
In the finale, the National Hunt Chase (5.20pm), we have an ante-post ticket riding on the Rebecca Curtis-trained HAITI COULEURS.
He looks to have been prepped for this after winning well at Cheltenham in December and in my eyes should be hard to beat.
POINTERS
Hot Fuss e/w 4.40pm Cheltenham
Teriferma e/w 4.40pm Cheltenham
Already Advised
Haiti Couleurs 5.20pm Cheltenham