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Cheltenham Festival Tips

We are delighted to introduce our visitor's to our site's guest tipster, Channel 4 Racing and RTE Sport presenter Tom Lee. Tom will be guiding you through each of the week's races in his exclusive daily column where he will hoepfully direct you in the direction of a few winners.

Tuesday's Cheltenham Festival tips:

1.30 - Spinal Research Supreme Novices' Hurdle - 10 Get Me Out Of Here (each way) @ 5/1 with Bet365 and William Hill

2.05 - Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase - 9 Somersby (win) @ 4/1 with Ladbrokes and Victor Chandler

2.40 - William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase - 18 The Package (each way) @ 13/2 with Sportingbet

3.20 - Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle - 3 Go Native (win) @ 9/2 with  Ladbrokes or Wiliam Hill & 5 Khyber Kim (each way) @ 8/1 with Victor Chandler or Paddy Power

4.00 - Glenfarclas Handicap Chase (Cross Country) - 1 Garde Champetre (win) @ 9/4 with Sportingbet or William Hill

4.40 - David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle - 1 Quevega (win) @ 2/1 Bet365, Ladbrokes and William Hill

Read on for Tom's full preview of all six races and reasons for these selections...

Tom's Day One Analysis

The waiting, the anxiety, the excitement and the anticipation is finally over!

The greatest show on turf is upon us, and there's plenty of valid reasons to suggest this year's Festival could live long in the memory.

Any Festival at this most natural of amphitheatres is good, but this has got the ingredients to be truly special, with Tuesday placing Dunguib's reputation on the line, a mouthwatering Champion Hurdle packed full of potential winners, a cracking England v Ireland Arkle line up, a typically competitive William Hill Handicap Chase, Garde Champetre's return to his beloved banks course, plus the return after a 10 month absence of Willie Mullins' super filly Quevega in the Mares' Hurdle.

Make sense of that lot and you've survived day one!

1:30 - The Supreme Novices' Hurdle

Tuesday kicks off with the hugely anticipated Spinal Research Supreme Novices' Hurdle at 1.30pm run on the Old Course over an extended two miles, a race traditionally greeted with a roar to shake the Cotswolds as the tapes fly back and this fantastic fixture gets under way. There's nothing quite like it.

In fact the only thing I can vaguely liken it to is when my intoxicated acquaintance Lord Culcheth returned to the pool following a siesta and spotted a German trying to steal his towel from a sun lounger in Benidorm last summer. Not a pretty sight, unlike the vision of 18 crack novices' motoring towards the first hurdle ready to set the tone for the four days.

Bookmakers are praying for a result here, with Irish banker Dunguib set to cost them vast sums if he can get the meeting off to a flyer for favourite bakers.

Philip Fenton's seven year old Presenting gelding hacked up by 10 lengths in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper a year ago, before following up in even more emphatic fashion at Punchestown (a race subsequently take away from him after a banned substance was found to be present in a routine dope test).

Could he make the transition to hurdling? Wins in little more than a hack canter at Galway, Punchestown, Fairyhouse and Leopardstown gave us an answer and had punters drooling, especially as the latter performances came in Grade 1 company.

Are there any chinks in his armour? Perhaps. At the time of writing there is opposition to Dunguib in the markets with both Sportingbet and William Hill putting their heads above the parapet with even money quotes, possibly due to question marks about better ground, a fast pace, a bigger field and most importantly of all as far as I'm conerned his hurdling ability.

Maybe it's also memories of Cousin Vinny's win in the Bumper and flop in the Supreme Novices' which is discouraging?

Is he a bet at the price? Many of you will be happy to lump on and try and boost the war chest, but it may pay to box clever and take advantage of some startling bookmaker offers currently on display.

Anyway, as far as the firms as concerned there are no finer four days in any calendar year to try and entice some business from us wagon shunters, so make sure you benefit.

In my eyes the prices are about spot on, with Jonjo O'Neill's hugely impressive Get Me Out Here second in at a current best of 5/1 with Bet365, and William Hill.

Unbeaten, he posted a mighty display last time out to net the Totesport Gold Trophy under AP McCoy off a mark of 135, and this fluent hurdler has showed real relish for the task in five career wins to date.

Granted he did make a blunder at the last at Newbury, a mistake which would've beaten lesser animals, but I love the way he rallied, and in the end won going away.

If this was a handicap he'd be getting weight from Dunguib, but he does have a far superior jockey, and if he makes the frame that'll be just the ticket with Paddy Power offering a blockbuster money back special.

The Irish firm are only offering 4/1, but for once it may pay to swerve the better price: if Dunguib wins they'll refund all losing win singles and the win part of each way singles. A fantastic offer, and up to £200 which is reasonable given some of the gutless tactics displayed by some of their rival trading rooms.

So back Get Me Out Of Here each way safe in the knowledge that if Dunguib does turn on style, you've still got a healthy chance of a handsome return to get proceedings off to the best possible start, safe in the knowledge Get Me Out Of Here is more than capable of bagging this for himself.

Betfred are also trying to steal their thunder with a terrific concession of their own: back any horse in the Supreme with them (including Dunguib) and they'll refund your stake as a free bet if it gets beaten. Well worth a look if you're a fan of the Warrington firm and fancy taking out some additional insurance!

2:05 - The Arkle

At 2.05pm the best of the up and coming two mile chasers lock horns in the Arkle, and I fancy another strike for the 'home' team in the shape of Henrietta Knight's Somersby with Choc Thornton in the saddle.

Captain Cee Bee and Sizing Europe look set to provide stern Irish opposition, but my selection was very useful as a hurdler (third in last year's Supreme Novices' Hurdle), has taken to fences with similar enthusiasm to a Liverpool fan attacking an ambulance, and provides strong opposition to the favourite in a race where the market leader has only prevailed twice in 17 runnings.

Only seen twice over fences he was eyecatching on both occasions, the latter being when he saw off Crack Away Jack in taking style in the Henry VIII at Sandown pre-Christmas.

To my eye he looks to be the classiest of this select bunch. Back him to give Henrietta a return to the Cheltenham winners' enclosure at a generally available 4/1 (Arkle Odds Comparison).

2:40 - William Hill Trophy handicap Chase

Next up the small matter of 24 going to post for the William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase over the extended 3m, a race in which I have a strong fancy for David Pipe's attractively weighted The Package - they've had to be patient to get him here off a mark of 141, but that's exactly what the Nicholshayne team have managed, and he can take full advantage.

Despite being only seven The Package has plenty of experience in his locker and won a good race at Cheltenham's Boylesports Meeting in December.

Connections are understandably keen on his chances: back him each way at 13/2 with Sportingbet.

3:20 - The Champion Hurdle

Then at 3.20pm the one I'm really looking forward to: the Champion Hurdle, a race which has the potential to be an absolute thriller, with nine of the twelve well capable of gettings their hands on the prize.

Could we even see a wall of five or six at the top of the hill, Starluck cruising, Khyber Kim held up in behind, Go Native also waited with, Celestial Halo blazing a trail, Solwhit improving into contention......

How do I see it panning out? Regular readers of my column will know I backed Khyber Kim some time ago, and see no need to alter that opinion now.

He goes well fresh, loves Cheltenham, appears to still be improving rapidly, and also appears to have been underestimated by layers who seem more pre-occupied by some of his more showbiz rivals. At 8/1 each way with Victor Chandler or Paddy Power he still appears to be belting value.

If there is one to beat him I think the favourite Go Native is the one - a splendid winner of last season's Supreme Novices' I wouldn't like to be staring down the barrel of a £1m payout if he does win this, which is exactly what WBX owner Malcolm Gray will have to cough up if he prevails in the third leg of the betting exchange's triple crown (Fighting Fifth, Christmas Hurdle & Champion Hurdle).

With tonnes of natural speed expect him to come fast and late under Paul Carberry. What I really like is Go Native's versatility - he'll quicken off a fast pace, but if they go a crawl and it turns into a sprint he'll have them covered. Let's just hope they don't put too much water on to blunt his speed.

I wouldn't often advocate backing two in a race but here it seems wholly justified. Back Go Native to win at 9/2 with Ladbrokes or Wiliam Hill.

4:00 The Cross Country Chase

At 4.00pm the Festival snobs will be turning their noses up at the Cross Country Chase, burying it for not being a 'proper race'.

Smile like you would at a senile relative and back Garde Champetre to win this for the third straight year, and make it his sixth win over these unique Cheltenham fences.

Science was never a forte of mine at school, but combining the willing elements of this horse and Nina Carberry with a bunsen burner and a visit to the Cross Country fences at Cheltenham or Punchestown equals winner.

I looked long and hard at stabelmate L'Ami, but he often looks like he'd rather by putting his feet up and watching the others do the work and has a terrible strike rate for a horse of his whopping ability. Perhaps his wind op will make all the difference, but I couldn't be recomending an investment.

Therefore, make it pay and back Garde Champetre at 9/4 to defy the handicapper and lug top weight to victory with Sportingbet or William Hill.

4:40 David Nicholson Mares Hurdle

Lastly, a race I've been thoroughly looking forward to is the Mares' Hurdle run in memory of 'The Duke' David Nicholson run over 2m 4f at 4.40pm.

Despite an alarming drift in the betting (from 11/8 to 2/1) on Sunday nothing will stop me trying to cap a great day by backing Willie Mullins' Quevega to repeat her 2009 success in this race at odds of 2/1 with Bet365, Ladbrokes and William Hill.

Critics will point to an outstanding rival in Voler La Vedette, plus her absence from the track since May, but don't forget she was only seen once before last year's race.

Personally I can't have the idea of Voler La Vedette seeing her race out up the hill over this trip, but her presence in the line up means I'll wait to back Quevega 'til after the Champion Hurdle, as Voler La Vedette beat Go Native in the autumn and will shorten further if he wins the Champion.

Bring it on! Good luck!

Tom