Rory Delargy’s New Year’s Day ITV Racing tips
13:30 Cheltenham – Broadway Boy
13:45 Musselburgh – Sweet Fantasy
14:05 Cheltenham – Springwell Bay
14:20 Musselburgh – Indian Louis (each-way)
14:40 Cheltenham – Strackan
15:15 Cheltenham – Langer Dan
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
13:30 Cheltenham – Broadway Boy
Chantry House seems to have lost his way. He was well-beaten over hurdles last time and is now switching to chases for the first time in a while. Cloudy Glen is best running fresh, having won a veterans chase from Good Boy Bobby at Haydock, but I would not expect him to be in the same form second time out.
Similarly, Our Power ran a cracker on his return at Cheltenham, but Sam Thomas gets his horses spot-on the first time, and I don’t think he will improve. Bowtogreatness pulled up in the Rehearsal at Newcastle last time out, and he’s probably at his best on better ground,
That makes BROADWAY BOY the most appealing by a fair way. He lays it on the line from the front and has run two good races this season. He probably needed one over course and distance on this return, albeit on the old course.
He was beaten by 12 lengths that day and stepped up when finishing an excellent second to Kandoo Kid in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury.
He also has a lot of good form around Cheltenham and likes to dominate races. Although he has 12-stone on his back here, he has more than enough ability to beat the rest of this field, especially as there are question marks in one form or another against most of them.
13:45 Musselburgh – Sweet Fantasy
I like SWEET FANTASY, who is useful even if she was a tad out of her depth at Wetherby on her return in that Listed Mares hurdle on Charlie Hall day. She caught the eye at the December Cheltenham meeting, though.
That was a handicap hurdle run at a moderate pace where they sprinted from the home turn, and you could’ve thrown a blanket over most of the field.
Those who were held up were at a disadvantage, and Sweet Fantasy was held up last of all that day to get her to settle with a hood. She settled well but was coming from too far back. She didn’t finish strongly up the hill either, but Musselburgh is sharper, and I don’t think she’ll be held off the pace as much here.
The form has also worked out to some extent, as Royal Margaux, whom Ruby and I were with that day, has run well to be placed since. With jockey Alex Chadwick claiming 5lbs off her, she looks well-handicapped in this race.
14:05 Cheltenham – Springwell Bay
I was keen on Gemirande at Cheltenham last time and backed him on the morning when he drifted. He got the run of the race on the ground he likes, but he has disappointed once or twice on deep ground. It’s soft now, with quite a lot of rain expected across the UK, so that’ll count against him for me.
An 8lb rise in the weights is also a lot, considering he won that day because he got a superb ride from Charlie Deutsch, not because he was well-handicapped. He’s right back up in the weights after a slightly disappointing campaign last year, which makes him beatable here.
Marble Sands is interesting enough, too, having run well in the Rehearsal last time, but SPRINGWELL BAY is fairly handicapped based on what he’s done. He ran well in a novice chase here when he was second to Jango Baie, giving chunks of weight away, having won a Listed novice chase on debut at Chepstow.
He has plenty of form around Cheltenham, including on bad ground, so he looks well-treated and is open to more improvement as a chaser. Given he’s been a sound jumper so far and won’t mind if the ground gets soft. He’s the one for me.
14:20 Musselburgh – Indian Louis (each-way)
I’m going for an outsider at the bottom of the weights. INDIAN LOUIS is 8lbs wrong, which doesn’t give him a lot of a chance, but he has improved of late, and he’s a better horse when he is allowed to bowl along in front.
Hopefully, he can do that here. Half Shot will want to go forward, too, but I’m hoping Indian Louis can make the running because he has been a better horse over fences when doing that.
He ran very well at Carlisle when he had High Moon behind him. He’s weighted to reverse that form, but I think Indian Louis might do better again.
That was a stronger race than it looked on paper, so although he might look to have his work cut out for him off an 11lb higher mark, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him run above himself and go well here.
14:40 Cheltenham – Strackan
I have little confidence in finding value with him as the second favourite in the market, but I will take a minor chance on STRACKAN over One Big Bang here.
My selection has a bit to find in the ratings, and he is stepping up in class, having won at Bangor. That was a likeable performance and suggests the penny is dropping for him. He ran well to be second in his reappearance at Worcester and has won both starts since.
He’s gone up in weights and class but is capable of better, whereas most of this field is reasonably exposed.
15:15 Cheltenham – Langer Dan
The horse to be with is LANGER DAN, and by a long way as well. No one wants to back him this time of year or in a race like this because they assume he’s being handicapped for the Cheltenham Festival, but he’s clearly not in my view – you don’t try to get a mark by running the horse in Grade 1 and 2 hurdles.
He started his season in the long-distance hurdle at Newbury and was below form, but he hasn’t disgraced the current price of around 7/2. I think he represents value.
It’s not like he disappeared after winning the handicap at Cheltenham. He went and competed in Grade 1 and 2 company and was unlucky not to win at Aintree. He then ran a cracker to be second at Sandown on the season’s final day in a Graded hurdle.
Dan Skelton has said he’s a spring horse, so if you take that on board, you would think this is not the time to be involved with him, but, running in a Grade 2 with Harry Skelton saddling him, he’s probably in reasonable form. I’m not mad to have a bet, but, at the prices, that’s where you have to go.
Rory Delargy’s ITV Racing tips
13:30 Cheltenham – Broadway Boy
13:45 Musselburgh – Sweet Fantasy
14:05 Cheltenham – Springwell Bay
14:20 Musselburgh – Indian Louis (each-way)
14:40 Cheltenham – Strackan
15:15 Cheltenham – Langer Dan
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at the time of publishing but subject to change.
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