The Tipsters Tips 25/26

[Eggs]

….ATRs James Flaherty with 3 for next season;

OLD PARK STAR​

Arkle Novices’ Chase​

Regular readers won’t be surprised that I’ve gone for Old Park Star of this year’s winners. I am a huge fan of this horse and have been since he made a big impression on me at Cheltenham in December. I went into the Supreme thinking he was the best horse in the race and while it was workmanlike, I loved how he hit the line.

Henderson’s comments in the build up to the Festival were slightly concerning for my ante-post play this year. He suggested the horse still has a lot of growing up to do and that he wouldn’t really come into his own until next year. I am excited as to just how high his ceiling may be.

It is always a risk to back novice chasers who haven’t jumped a fence in public, but I would be shocked if Old Park Star doesn’t turn out to be a very good one. Furthermore, he is in the perfect yard for the discipline and there is no doubt about his festival target either, assuming he’s good enough over the larger obstacles at two miles.

KOPEK DES BORDES​

Queen Mother Champion Chase​

I thought this was a remarkable effort in defeat considering it was a strong Arkle this year, run in a good time. Kopek Des Bordes showed his inexperience early and late in the race and both of those factors contributed to his defeat. Many will point to the final fence stumble, but the early part of the race was as important here I feel.

Some were critical of Paul Townend in the closing stages, but I think his confidence in the horse was a contributing factor. Perhaps it was over-confidence, but I think that alone speaks volumes. He may have underestimated Kargese to an extent too and after the stumble he was never going to rein her in before the line.

Not only is he the clear pick of this season’s novices for me, but he goes into a division that is open for a novice. Il Etait Temps was a clearcut winner, but I thought the race fell into his lap a little and the fact that Libberty Hunter finished second brings the form down a peg in my view.

It is certainly not an insurmountable task for a horse of Kopek Des Bordes’ ability to get to that level next season, with huge potential for improvement in him. I could see him being a short-price favourite for the race next year and while that is a risky position in that contest, I think the 9-2 available now in a place is decent value. If he reverses the Arkle form at Punchestown next month, that price could be a distant memory.

THE NEW LION​

Stayers' Hurdle​

It seems like we have been saying for years that this is an open division that requires some much needed new blood. After Bob Olinger won the race last year, I tipped Jasmin De Vaux in this column. This year, it was fellow veteran Home By The Lee that came out on top, in what was incredibly his fifth attempt to win the race.

I haven’t forgotten about Jasmin De Vaux, who I still feel would have gone close this year, but with his return from injury still uncertain at this point, I have gone down a different route. The update from Dan Skelton over the weekend suggested that The New Lion could be campaigned as a Stayers Hurdle horse next season and he would certainly interest me.

I haven’t always been his biggest fan, but I got him completely wrong last season at the Festival and suffered as a result. This year, I never felt he had the pace for a Champion Hurdle campaign, but he ran with credit once more last week. I think looking at his form though, he could certainly rattle the three-mile hurdling division.

He wouldn’t necessarily have to improve for the step up in trip, and if he produces the same level, it could be enough for him to go close. There is plenty of stamina in his pedigree to suggest that it is feasible and he has been strong at the finish over two miles and five furlongs in the past.

In particular, I think his Challow Hurdle effort from Newbury last year suggests it is possible (strong form with the likes of Wendigo and Regent’s Stroll comfortably brushed aside). The fact that it has been an early decision is a positive and if he was to win what looks like a warm Aintree Hurdle next month, he could shorten considerably for the Stayers'.

JAMES'S BEST BETS - CHELTENHAM 2027 (SCALE 1-5 POINTS):​

ARKLE CHASE​

1pt win OLD PARK STAR (9-2 bet365, 4-1 Betway, William Hill, 100-30 Betfred)

QUEEN MOTHER CHASE​

1pt win KOPEK DES BORDES (4-1 general)

STAYERS’ HURDLE​

1pt win THE NEW LION (16-1 general)
Ante-post tips: 2027 Cheltenham Festival

 

[Eggs]

…..SL tipsters picking their selections;

MYDADDYPADDY – Arkle Novices’ Chase (10/1)​

I’ve been a big fan of Mydaddypaddy all season and I’m of the opinion he would have gone very close to beating Old Park Star in the Supreme but for meeting with some significant interference on the run-in (replay below). He was being produced to make his challenge in between horses when that gap soon closed, receiving a hefty bump and losing a lot of momentum as a result. One of his main attributes over hurdles is his slick and fast jumping, and if he can translate that to larger obstacles, he’s sure to take high rank in the novice chase division next season. A tall, useful-looking sort, he’s very much in the mould of a chaser, and looks a most exciting prospect to me. Andrew Asquith

KOKTAIL DIVIN – Ryanair Chase (25/1)​

This year’s Ryanair Chase went to Heart Wood after the late withdrawal of Fact To File but I’d expect some fresh blood in the race next year and this year’s winning trainer Henry de Bromhead could have a new kid on the block for the contest in Koktail Divin. Only sixth in the Brown Advisory, he’ll have to improve, but it was a very deep renewal of the 3m novice chase and he looked all set to play a leading role when creeping up onto the shoulder of Kitzbuhel on the turn for home. He weakened after the second last, but it was a highly promising effort, 2m5f could be his trip and we know the owners are only interested in having Grade 1 runners. At 25/1, he looks a fun long-term investment. Ben Linfoot

LULAMBA – Ryanair Chase (8/1)​

Even a fortnight before the Ryanair takes place it’s a guessing game as to who’s actually going to turn up and, so far as this long-in-the-tooth analyst is concerned, the Cathcart was a better mid-range option at the Festival. That said, even a year in advance it seems likely that it’ll be Lulamba’s target at the 2027 Festival. It’s true that he’d probably continue to kick aside the best British-trained 2-milers if kept to that trip next season, but he’s plainly going to need longer distances to show what he’s really about judged on his Arkle performance and, given his trainer’s propensity for softly-softly campaigns ahead of the big day in March, it’s a little surprising that he’s as big as 8/1 for a race that really should be right up his street. Simon Walker

AIR OF ENTITLEMENT - Mares' Hurdle (12/1)​

Air of Entitlement won the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival and showed even better form by Timeform's reckoning when landing the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle last week. Air of Entitlement has already achieved plenty, but it's worth remembering she's had only six starts over hurdles so remains with the potential to raise her game further. She wouldn't need to find loads of improvement to make an impact in a Mares' Hurdle, however, as she's rated only 5 lb lower than the latest winner of that race, Wodhooh. Wodhooh, incidentally, won the Martin Pipe at the 2025 Festival. Tony McFadden

ESPRESSO MILAN - Brown Advisory (50/1)​

Espresso Milan didn't exactly enhance his credentials at Cheltenham last week but loads of quality future chasers have looked a bit lost in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle over the years, and Willie Mullins' horse is definitely one for the larger obstacles on looks. He'd won his first two hurdle starts quite cosily and no doubt the whole Festival experience will have put a few hairs on the six-year-old's chest. He's open to stacks of improvement after just three outings for Mullins (ran in bumpers for Fergal O'Brien) and his new yard has developed a bit of a habit of winning the Brown Advisory with a horse largely overlooked at the beginning of the season. The 50/1 available is my sort of price if looking to have a small interest this far in advance. Matt Brocklebank

NO DRAMA THIS END Brown Advisory (14/1)​

No Drama This End, sent off favourite for the Turners Novices’ Hurdle, was inconvenienced as much as any horse at the Festival by one of the many unsatisfactory starts. Finding himself some way back early on, things only went from bad to worse from then on as he was shuffled further down the field, but Harry Cobden looked after him in the end, pulling him up once he was clearly beaten. Frustrating for sure, but in the longer term, there’s no harm done to No Drama This End’s potential. There’s nothing wrong, either, with his earlier form, and he remains an exciting prospect for fences next season when three miles will suit. With better luck if going to Aintree in a few weeks’ time, his odds for the Brown Advisory seem sure to contract. John Ingles

 

[Exar Essay]

Is Koktail Divin just short of top class or is it the trip? The one point of view is that he's a 2m4f horse but I'm just not sure he's a proper Grade 1 animal. He's a very good horse, don't get me wrong, but he's 1 from 4 over fences and was 1 from 4 over hurdles. He's finished 4th and 6th in the two Grade 1's he's competed in a well held 2nd in a Grade 2. I think I'd want to see something from him in open company before getting involved for the Ryanair at 25/1, especially where the trainer has the reigning champion.