Cheltenham 2026 - Day 4 Selections

1.20 Triumph Hurdle 2m1f

Proactif has been parachuted into the top of this market almost by default after his stablemate and fellow McManus hotpot Narciso Has was ruled out last month. His Fairyhouse win was promising, though he had track position and ultimately has shown little to justify his place in the market. David Casey  described him as "a stayer… but not exceptional". SELMA DE VARY does look exceptional, however, having got close to Narciso Has from a long way back at Leopardstown despite pulling on stable debut. Her French form is very good and she came to Willie’s relatively late having run at Auteuil in November, so they had no idea how much had been done with her. The big question is keenness - she looks a tricky ride and there’s a reason she wears a hood. If she settles ok, I expect her to be too good for the rest.

Bet: Selma de Vary @ 6/1 1pt win

2.00 County Hurdle 2m1f

Mullins and Skelton have won ten of the last eleven races between them, while Mullins had three of the first four home last year. He is typically mob-handed here but I would be against Murcia especially. There seems to be an element of people seeing in Kargese in her, who won this in the same colours having also experienced Grade 1 success as a juvenile. Murcia runs here off an almost identical mark, but her relative juvenile form is much weaker and she is not the same calibre of mare. She is not the biggest, either, so might not be seen to best effect in the helter skelter of a County Hurdle.

In what looks like a relatively weak renewal, the horse that screams well-handicapped is SECRET SQUIRREL, another one of Hughie and Mary Morrison’s home-breds. He had Kabral du Mathan behind him when winning an extremely strong handicap at Windsor then fell when bang in contention for the William Hill hurdle won by Joyeuse. He is only 7lb above his last winning mark and shaped nicely on his reappearance in graded company, just running out of steam on the softest ground he's encountered. The question is whether he copes with the track but a mark of 133 is difficult to ignore.

I am also going to take a chance on SIXANDAHALF returning to the form that saw her finish second in the Mares Novices’ Hurdle last year. She travelled all over them that day and probably should have won, just collared on the line by Air of Entitlement. Gavin Cromwell’s horses have been running below par all season and seem to be in better form now, while Conor Stone-Walsh has already shown what he can do when claiming 3lb this week.

Bet: Secret Squirrel @ 12/1 1pt win (NAP)

Bet: Sixandahalf @ 14/1 1pt win

2.40 Mares Chase 2m41/2f

Dinoblue is undoubtedly the one to beat here but with a host of improving mares coming into this year's race,  but she doesn't appeal as a particularly enticing bet. Choosing one to beat her looks like a thankless task and this will be my race to just watch and take a moment before the build-up to the Gold Cup.

3.20 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle 3m

It is accepted wisdom that you should look down the market for the winner of the Albert Bartlett. Usually, the trials for staying novice hurdlers prove inadequate either in distance or because they are falsely run -  form from earlier in the season is rarely indicative. Thedeviluno presents an anomalous case having already won a gruelling Grade 2 at Doncaster, so he is of automatic interest. At a double-figure price, I really like the chances of SPINNINGAYARN. He has looked tailor-made for three miles ever since getting up at the line in a good Navan bumper on rules debut and his novice hurdling season has been building gradually. Like many of Gordon Elliott's horses, he didn't appear until December, beaten on his reappearance with a claimer on board. He has since won his next two starts convincingly over 2m3f and 2m4f and, by Order of St George out of a three-mile hurdle winning mare, we are surely yet to see him under his optimum conditions. He is held in high regard by Elliott, looks straightforward and doesn't pull, which is a huge asset in this race when others will be crying enough. Yard form is a slight concern but that is factored into the price.

Bet: Spinningayarn @ 16/1 0.5pt each-way

4.00 Gold Cup 3m21/2f

Like the King George, this year’s Gold Cup has been billed as the most exciting for many years and I can’t escape the feeling we will get the same result: THE JUKEBOX MAN. To win a Gold Cup - especially a deep one - you need class and stamina. He has it all. He travels, he jumps and he stays. Many have expressed doubts over 3m2f but I see no reason he won’t relish it. The Albert Bartlett has been an excellent guide for Gold Cup horses and his front running performance on heavy ground as a novice strongly suggested to me that he is a proper stayer. A moral winner that day, I have no doubts that he wanted company rather than not getting up the hill. He is unbeaten over fences and, though you could make compelling cases for about seven or eight horses, he is the one I keep coming back to.

The Skeltons have built a reputation on hiding things but the stop-at-nothing quest for a trainers championship this season has made them more predictable than ever and GREY DAWNING has been primed to run the race of his life. Everything about his Cotswold Chase run suggested it was an opportunist attempt to steal cheap prize-money without giving his best. There was a notable drift before the race and they toyed with the idea of withdrawing him if the ground got heavy. He was never really asked to get into the race and minded after a mistake at second-last. They seemed happy after the race that he 'stayed the trip' and didn't give the Ryanair a moment's thought. We saw a glimpse of how good he can be in the Betfair Chase and this brilliant jumper has a much better chance than his price suggests.

Gaelic Warrior has a reputation as National Hunt racing's bad boy - wears a hood, pulls hard, runs away with you. But he is also remarkably consistent and, looking back over his career, I'd argue he always has been. He has finished in the first three in all his completed starts under rules and posted four RPRs of 172+ in his last five starts. I think he's an out-and-out stayer - those who doubt his ability to get this trip need only look at how he finished at the DRF after pulling like a train. I think the combination of Paul Townend plus an inside rail will be enough to settle him better. He has been my long-term fancy for this but he has had some hard races this season and the price is enough to put me off.

A strong case can be made for Jango Baie, though I have concerns over his ability to travel and his jumping, neither of which are alleviated by his price. Haiti Couleurs should run a big race from the front but I still think he lacks the class of some of his rivals, while it would be a genuine shock if Inothewayurthinkin pulled the rabbit out the hat after a dismal season.

Bet: The Jukebox Man @ 7/2 2pt win

Bet: Grey Dawning @ 18/1 1pt each-way

Prediction:

1. The Jukebox Man

2. Grey Dawning

3. Gaelic Warrior

4.40 Foxhunters 3m21/2f

A brilliant race which I have refrained from getting involved with in the past, but I had a feeling about last year's winner and am going to give it a go. The hunter chase at Naas has been a good pointer in recent years having been won by the likes of Billaway and It’s On The Line, who has been runner-up three times in this race and will be hoping it is fourth time lucky. PANDA BOY carried 12st to win this year’s renewal on heavy ground where the main aim was to qualify for this. He has plenty of big race experience having been second in a Paddy Power Chase and sent off 11/1 in the Grand National two years ago. A switch to this discipline and to positive tactics has revitalised him and he will be staying on at the end if they go hard, which they usually do. The arrival of overnight rain is a massive plus for him, too.

If the ground ends up riding on the better side, keep an eye out for Music Drive at a big price. He finished well in a slowly run race last year despite losing his position over the first few fences, then beat Aintree winner Gracchus de Balme over course and distance in May. It was Ellie Callwood’s first ride in the race and both horse and rider will have improved for the experience. He has been targeted at this race, but does want better ground.

Bet: Panda Boy @ 5/1 1pt win

5.20 Martin Pipe 2m41/2f

The boys' race - always bittersweet. Though it is closest to the Spring Equinox there always something rather autumnal about it as it all wraps up for another year. Last chance saloon for those who haven't saddled (or backed) a winner at the meeting. It is a race I usually don't spend much time on but it has also been one of my luckiest. Probably no coincidence there - analysing a race to within an inch of its life often leaves you poorer.

Philip Fenton is a shrewd trainer and this may have been the plan for KARL DES TOURELLES, who reverts back to hurdles having tried and failed over fences. He travelled beautifully into the Pertemps last year but didn't quite see out the trip. That form has worked out reasonably well and he runs off just 1lb higher here. He has been very quiet this season but showed glimpses of a return to form when backed in a handicap at Naas and Gavin Brouder is a good booking.

Bet: Karl des Tourelles @ 14/1 0.5pt each-way Selections:

1.20 Selma de Vary @ 6/1 1pt win

2.00 Secret Squirrel @ 12/1 1pt win (NAP)

Sixandahalf @ 14/1 1pt win

2.40 -

3.20 Spinningayarn @ 16/1 0.5pt each-way

4.00 The Jukebox Man @ 7/2 2pt win

Grey Dawning @ 18/1 1pt each-way

4.40 Panda Boy @ 5/1 1pt win

5.20 Karl des Tourelles @ 14/1 0.5pt each-way