Ginger Joe - Betting Tips for Cheltenham - Wednesday 17 April 2024

A brilliant midweek card at Cheltenham tomorrow

There is some excellent midweek racing happening at Cheltenham tomorrow. I have three selections that I fancy quite strongly and it’s also quite a decent card for punting.

One thing I have spotted over the recent months is that Gavin Cromwell and jockey Keith Donoghue are rapidly becoming a formidable partnership. In fact, they have done remarkably well with their runners at these types of meetings. Tomorrow they run Encanto Bruno, Final Orders and Stumptown and it’s not outside the realm of possibility that they could see all three in the winners’ enclosure, so they’re all worth a close watch in the market.

There is one that I am particularly sweet on, which I will go onto in a moment, but before that, a quick reminder that the final big Jumps meeting of the season begins in just two weeks time. Naturally I’ll be all over that, and I’ll let you know exactly what I have coming up for you towards the end of the week.

Free bets for Cheltenham?

Courtesy of Ladbrokes you can bet £5, and you’ll get £20 in free bets. Use them for my midweek prospects, or save them for the weekend.

13:30 Cheltenham - Novices Hurdle 2m 4f

The opener at Cheltenham tomorrow is a very intriguing race and I had this down to two initially before making my final selection. The horse that I think will come up second-best is Nicky Henderson’s Peaky Boy. He definitely has a chance and is open to a ton of improvement. He has had three starts so far for Seven Barrows and has improved for each of them, but the concern for me is he still looks a little bit ,and I’d like to see a bit more maturity from him before backing him.

I’m sure the one to be on here is Encanto Bruno, for Gavin Cromwell. This one loves fast conditions and he sets a very good standard in this race. He is a strong travelling gelding, who already has a course and distance win to his name and he has no problem accelerating up the Cheltenham Hill. We saw how much he enjoyed it here back in November and the fact that he comes here fresh is a big plus too.

14:05 Cheltenham - Handicap Hurdle 2m 4f

This Handicap Hurdle is ultra-competitive and you can make a fair case for most of the runners. Windtothelightening could be overpriced, as he was progressing nicely last year and has enjoyed two really good runs over course and distance. He may not be far away with that experience, and is likely to resume progress on a faster surface.

Invasion looks well-treated for the Chris Gordon team and he was eased down to win at Plumpton last month. He went up 7lb for that and this is a better race, but he has plenty of talent and it’s unlikely that this fella has finished improving just yet. The one I want to take a chance on though is Doyen Quest, who runs for the Skelton team. He is a really strong finisher, and although untried on a faster surface, I think he will relish these conditions. He is still unexposed as a six-year-old, but I think Doyen Quest is the one to be on here.

14:40 Cheltenham - Handicap Chase 2m 4f

Next up we have the first Chase of the day and In Excelsis Deo is the favourite. This one is surely going to win one of these Handicaps sooner or later, but he has proven difficult to win with. He is generally a strong traveller but is prone to throwing in one too many mistakes, which is a worry at such a short price in this field. Final Orders, who runs for Gavin Cromwell, should go well, as he always seems to run his best races when fresh. He is probably the class angle in the race and on a going day, he will be hard to beat.

But my pick is Idalko Bihoue who could still be open to improvement and he is a very likeable type. He won here over the three-mile trip back in October and I don't think the drop back will bother him much at all off his weight. He is definitely going to appreciate the fast surface more than most, and the fact that he is still unexposed and coming here fresh should give him a massive chance for the Twiston-Davies team.
Betting tips for Cheltenham on Wednesday

• 13:30 - Encanto Bruno (NAP)
• 14:05 - Doyen Quest
• 14:40 - Idalko Bihoue

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