Cheltenham 2026 - Day 3 Selections

Otis Brankin-Frisby
6 hours ago
6 min read

1.20 Mares' Novices' Hurdle 2m1f

The vibes around BAMBINO FEVER have been very good and she is very much the one they all have to beat. She brings a high level of form into this race having won last year's Champion Bumper before following up in the Grade 1 at Punchestown. She is unbeaten except for her reappearance this season against a race-fit Oldschool Outlaw, at a time when Mullins's horses were not firing. I expect her to reverse those placings on better ground and the form of that race has since been franked by Oldschool Outlaw winning the Solerina. She might be one of the strongest favourites of the week.

This race can throw up a surprise and I have had some luck before at bigger prices, so I am also going to throw in KINGSTON QUEEN, of whom the Pipe yard have been making positive noises.. Third in the Grade 2 mares bumper at Aintree, she beat Kripticjim on hurdles debut before being sent off favourite on her hurdles debut behind Supreme winner Old Park Star. She was value for more than the winning margin suggested at Warwick last time out and will enjoy a stiff two miles on the Old Course, while first-time cheekpieces should eke out further improvement given that she has tended to hang. La Conquiere is another with strong each-way claims for Jamie Snowden, who won this race with You Wear It Well a couple of years ago.

Bet: Kingston Queen @ 18/1 0.5pt each-way

2.00 Jack Richards Novices' Hcap Chase 2m41/2f

Henry de Bromhead's horses have been running well so far this week without winning and SLADE STEEL looks primed to go well here. He has been lightly raced since winning the 2024 Supreme and the fact he remains a novice is unfortunate and therefore interesting. He finished second in his first two chase starts to horses now rated in the 150s (including last year's Brown Advisory winner) at a time when Henry's horses wouldn't traditionally be fully wound up, then missed last year's spring festivals and therefore opportunity to prove himself as a top novice chaser. He ran a promising reappearance behind Predator's Gold and most recently shaped well over three miles on heavy ground at Navan. We know that he gets up the Cheltenham hill and I think a mark of 146 is likely to underestimate him.

Bet: Slade Steel @ 8/1 1pt win (NAP)

2.40 Mares' Hurdle 2m41/2f

Surprisingly little has been made of this race switching from the Old Course to the New Course, which will suit WODHOOH down to the ground. An extremely likeable mare, she has won nine of her ten races for Gordon Elliott and is already a New Course winner having carried 11-8 to victory in the Martin Pipe. She is also deceptive, sometimes looking like she isn't travelling when she is actually tuning up the gallop gradually. Had Lossiemouth had lined up, I would have fancied this mare to give her a scare (though perhaps not after Tuesday). She brings much the best form into the race, is still improving, and with zero doubts about her attitude or Cheltenham, is a very confident selection. In an otherwise weak race, Jade de Grugy is the main danger switching back from fences.

Bet: Wodhooh @ 11/10 3pt win

3.20 Stayers' Hurdle 3m

This is a competitive Stayers Hurdle with a good blend of former winners, young pretenders and misfits. Kabral du Mathan has been a springer in the market after the Relkeel form was franked by Jingko Blue yesterday. He is clearly a classy horse but his price is on the short side now with stamina still untested.

TEAHUPOO is a horse that I have taken time to warm to but he seems to have come of age. He is clearly taking his racing better now - Gordon gave him two early season runs before backing off (as opposed to his usual one). Once pigeon-holed as a mudlark, he now seems to go on any ground and his only defeat in his last eight starts came at the hands of Lossiemouth over an inadequate 2m4f. He has looked better than ever in two runs this season and I am quietly confident he will reverse last year's form with Bob Olinger, who is now an 11-year-old and benefitted from a masterful Rachael Blackmore ride on her swansong. Jack Kennedy was kicking himself for not pressing home sooner that day and will ensure it is much more of a test this time. He has drifted to what I think is a very backable price at 7/2.

Ma Shantou would be my pick from among the younger horses: Emma Lavelle knows how to nurture staying hurdler from handicaps and he has an excellent Cheltenham record, but he was getting 6lb when winning the Cleeve from IMPOSE TOI, who was subsequently written off by many as a potential winner of this race. Back on his favoured ground and with the yard flying, I get the feeling he has been overlooked. By all accounts the slowest work horse they have at Seven Barrows, he was perhaps unable to quicken off the ground in a slowly-run Cleeve and prior to that he was three from three this season. The way he wins his races - idling and often by small margins - suggests that there may be more under the bonnet. He needs to be presented late but this is exactly the sort of race he could thrive in.

Bet: Teahupoo @ 7/2 2pt win

Bet: Impose Toi @ 10/1 1pt each-way

4.00 Ryanair Chase 2m41/2f

There is an argument to say that last year's winner FACT TO FILE is the best horse in training at the moment and on the back of his Irish Gold Cup win, this looks quite straightforward on paper. He is definitely the most likely winner but I would prefer to dip into the betting without the favourite markets rather than taking a short price. A race without the favourite could provide JONBON with an opportunity to (sort of) break his festival duck. I have never held any doubts about his ability to cope with Cheltenham, only that he sometimes struggles to jump at a two-mile championship pace. He has been wanting to go further for a long time and, in my view, persisting with him over two miles has been as much to do with JP McManus's hunt for a Champion Chaser as playing to the horse's strengths. Personally, I'd even have considered running him in a Gold Cup. Nicky described him as being so well that he couldn't be left behind for Aintree, and with no doubts about his ability or his attitude, I think he is a great bet without Fact to File.

Bet: Jonbon (w/o the favourite) @ 5/2 1pt win

4.40 Pertemps Final Hcap Hurdle 3m

With the Skeltons having landed one plot already this week, you wouldn't back against them landing another. Supremely West has been favourite for a while now and it is no secret that this has been the plan since qualifying back in October. They have such a strong hand in these handicaps these days that their second-strings usually have a better chance than the market suggests and I fancy ACE OF SPADES to run well under Kielan Woods. This doesn't seem to have been the plan all season but he has run some brilliant races from unlikely positions, including a close second to Ma Shantou over course and distance and a weight-carrying performance on soft ground to qualify for this. He will appreciate the return to better ground and looks highly progressive over three miles.

Bet: Ace of Spades @ 18/1 0.5pt win

5.20 Kim Muir 3m21/2f

I'd be taking on the two McManus horses in this as I don't think Jeriko Du Reponet likes jumping fences and Waterford Whispers hasn't won for over two years. KING'S THRESHOLD is a massive horse who seems to be coming to hand for Emma Lavelle. He was travelling well when badly hampered in a competitive handicap here in October and most recently won a 3m2f handicap at Newbury with plenty to spare. A 6lb rise is more than fair and I think we could see him step up another level.

Bet: King's Threshold @ 20/1 0.5pt each-way

Selections:

1.20 Kingston Queen @ 18/1 0.5pt each-way

2.00 Slade Steel @ 8/1 1pt win (NAP)

2.40 Wodhooh @ 11/10 3pt win

3.20 Teahupoo @ 7/2 2pt win

Impose Toi @ 10/1 1pt each-way

4.00 Jonbon (w/o the favourite) @ 5/2 1pt win

4.40 Ace of Spades @ 18/1 0.5pt win

5.20 King's Threshold @ 20/1 0.5pt each-way

Treble 1pt win

Bambino Fever Evs (Mares Novices)