Horse Racing Tips: Frank Hickey’s 6 antepost fancies for the Cheltenham Festival

The weekend burst a few bubbles but Frank's hanging tough and has a double-figure shout in the Brown Advisory Chase.

By / Horse Racing Tips / 11 months ago

*Odds quoted on the widget are Future Racing / Antepost prices which means that if your selection does not run in the race for whatever reason – you will lose your stake under traditional Antepost rules.

Frank Hickey’s Cheltenham Antepost Tips:

Tuesday March 12, 1:30pm: Supreme Novices Hurdle – Ballyburn
Tuesday March 12, 2:10pm: Arkle – Blood Destiny
Wednesday March 13, 1:30pm: Ballymore Hurdle – Gidleigh Park
Wednesday March 13, 2:20pm: Brown Advisory Chase – Monty’s Star
Wednesday March 13, 4:10pm: Cross Country Chase – Minella Indo
Thursday March 14, 2:50pm: Ryanair – Classic Getaway

Paddy Power Media’s ‘From The Horse’s Mouth’ podcast ‘Cheltenham Countdown’ is back and that means we’ve also got ‘Cheltenham Countdown Extra‘ with our top trader Frank Hickey. He’s given us his early thoughts on potential antepost picks ahead of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival. 

Frank Hickey

Tuesday March 12, 1:30pm: Supreme Novices Hurdle – Ballyburn

Sometimes you just have to listen to what Ruby Walsh says and he’s been telling us how good Ballyburn is. I wasn’t disappointed with his run behind Firefox in December as the race wasn’t run to suit him. He bounced back at Leopardstown last month when winning by 25l.

Nicky Henderson has Jeriko Du Reponet and he’s looked good but he hasn’t beat anything. He can improve again and go well but if Ballyburn lines up in the Supreme, I can see him being really hard to beat and a shorter price.

Tuesday March 12, 2:10pm: Arkle – Blood Destiny

Due to Marine Nationale’s price, the Arkle looks to be an each-way antepost bet and I like Blood Destiny – although Sunday’s defeat puts a different slant on things now and we’ll have to see how he is. Marine Nationale will be hard to beat but he might not get there and if he doesn’t, Blood Destiny can take advantage. Following Mister Policeman’s run at Naas in early January (beaten on Friday), that has just strengthened my thoughts on Blood Destiny. Ruby has once said he’s on springs and he’s right! His jumping is a massive asset. Whether he can beat Marine Nationale I’m not sure but he’s worth looking at given how the prices are shaping up, if he’s ok after that shock defeat.

Wednesday March 13, 1:30pm: Ballymore Hurdle – Gidleigh Park

I’ve been toying with Gidleigh Park for a while and I’ve finally pulled the trigger and backed him. He’s been brilliant over both starts over hurdles and his Newbury win in December was against a decent field. It was a deep race and he’s won very easily by 9l. He’s a long way ahead of the rest of the English runners and there’s always chance of an Irish winner but I’ll give him a go.

      Wednesday March 13, 2:20pm: Brown Advisory Chase – Monty’s Star

      Monty’s Star for Henry de Bromhead is my Brown Advisory fancy. He jumped really well in his win at Punchestown on New Year’s Eve and he’s showing improvement. He beat Three Card Brag relatively comfortably that day and the Brown Advisory looks wide open. It’s there for the taking and Monty’s Star could be worth keeping on side as an each-way punt.

        Wednesday March 13, 4:10pm: Cross Country Chase – Minella Indo

        Delta Work has a couple of wins, but those victories were lacking major depth. There could be more depth with Conflated, Delta Work, Galvin and Minella Indo in here – and I’m on Minella Indo. He has a brilliant Festival record and his run at Cheltenham in December was decent when finishing fourth behind Latenightpass. At the prices, he’s the one to be with.

        Thursday March 14, 2:50pm: Ryanair – Classic Getaway

        Banbridge is a player and he’s on the up (won his seasonal debut at Kempton on Saturday) but he’s very ground dependent. If the rain comes, he could be a non-runner on the day, which would ruin our ante-post bets. I’ve actually had a small bet on Classic Getaway at 40/1. He’s got some solid form and he was really impressive when beating Haut En Couleurs in November. He then finished second behind Jungle Boogie at Tramore on New Year’s Day but he didn’t stay in the conditions. He has the ability to go really well in the Ryanair but I’m obviously concerned whether Willie Mullins will run him in it as the owners also have Allaho and Envoi Allen.

        Frank Hickey’s Cheltenham Antepost Tips:

        Tuesday March 12, 1:30pm: Supreme Novices Hurdle – Ballyburn
        Tuesday March 12, 2:10pm: Arkle – Blood Destiny
        Wednesday March 13, 1:30pm: Ballymore Hurdle – Gidleigh Park
        Wednesday March 13, 2:20pm: Brown Advisory Chase – Monty’s Star
        Wednesday March 13, 4:10pm: Cross Country Chase – Minella Indo
        Thursday March 14, 2:50pm: Ryanair – Classic Getaway

          *Odds quoted on the widget are Future Racing / Antepost prices which means that if your selection does not run in the race for whatever reason – you will lose your stake under traditional Antepost rules.

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