*Paddy Power is now Non Runner Money Back for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. That means that if your selection does not line up in the race you back it in for any reason – you will now get your stake back. TC’s apply.
*Paddy also has the more traditional ante-post market where you will lose your stake if your selection doesn’t run in the race for whatever reason.
Paddy Power Media’s ‘From The Horse’s Mouth’ podcast ‘Cheltenham Countdown’ is back as host Tom Nugent picks the brains of top amateur jockey Patrick Mullins and well-known journalist and broadcaster Rory Delargy for their best Cheltenham betting tips.
In the sixth episode of this year’s series, the gang have looked at the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase ahead of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.
PATRICK MULLINS
Ballyburn is very good. He has a sixth gear. He wouldn’t blow you away at home and you see it on the track as well, he doesn’t hit that sixth gear straightaway, it does take him maybe 10 strides, but when he does, he takes off.
I don’t think fences improve him, he gets from A to B. I don’t think he gets faster or is going to be a better horse over fences. What I liked about him in Leopardstown at the Dublin Racing Festival (DRF) was he met the last on a kind of awkward stride, he could have done something silly, he didn’t, he got in tight, snapped up very clean, lost a little bit of ground, but picked up again afterwards.
His pedigree is all stamina.
I don’t think Kempton was ever going to play to his strengths, but it made a man of him.
He probably learnt a lot there that he wouldn’t have learnt going around in an easier race.
Of course, the slight drawback is that he was quite keen over 2m 5f at the DRF, which is probably from having raced over 2m at Christmas. Hopefully with that under his belt he will settle effectively and race efficiently over 3m, but you would have loved in an ideal world another run over 3m to really just baton down the hatches on him settling properly.
But fences probably do help him settle and he definitely lifts his head a little bit when he sees one, which obviously makes it easier for the jockey, he stops leaning on you. But I think he’s got the most natural ability in the race definitely.
Dancing City different to Ballyburn
Neither of them are particularly flashy – Dancing City could be really suited by this race. The bigger the jumps, the better he is, the further distance, the better he is.
He is the most efficient horse for this race. The way he settles, the way he jumps, the way he stays. So that’s what you’re looking at maybe, the one who suits the race against the one with the most ability.
That’s going to bring them closer together. Neither of them are particularly flashy at home, but Dancing City obviously won at all the Spring Festivals last year, besides Cheltenham.
I’m not sure there was any real reason why he got beat at Cheltenham last year, but it will be a fascinating contest.
Closutton dark horse
We have four nice chances in this race – High Class Hero comes into it as well on good ground. He was second to Dancing City in Punchestown last year, only half a length behind in a 2m Grade 1.
But he needs good ground – he’s quite a light-framed horse. I rode him in the Albert Bartlett last year, it was soft ground all last year in Cheltenham and he was too keen. I just thought on his Punchestown run, he’s a big price and he could probably, you’d imagine, be ridden to run well. I could see him sneaking into an each-way place if the ground is good – he does need good ground to be at his best.
On the line of form through Dancing City, he’d be a horse that would probably be ridden to run well and when there’s four or five kind of fancied ones, they can get racing and get going early and you can sneak in behind them.
*Paddy Power is now Non Runner Money Back for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. That means that if your selection does not line up in the race you back it in for any reason – you will now get your stake back. TC’s apply.
*Paddy also has the more traditional ante-post market where you will lose your stake if your selection doesn’t run in the race for whatever reason.
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