Key Points
- Full coverage of Day 4 at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival
- Betting tips for all seven races on Day 4
- Win and EW predictions for Gold Cup Day
It’s Cheltenham Gold Cup Day
This year’s Cheltenham Festival seem to take forever to get here, and now, here we are on the final day – but it’s all set to be a very exciting day of racing action.
The main event is The Cheltenham Gold Cup, where Galopin Des Champs returns in a bid for his second consecutive victory in this race. But he is going to need to be in tip-top form to repeat last year’s victory, as there are some very good horses in the lineup this year.
Beyond the Gold Cup, we have three other Graded races on the final day, plus two Handicaps and the historic Hunters Chase where we get to see the amateurs put it all on the line to try and win a historic Festival race. I am going to preview each race and give you my verdict plus an each way selection in each race to try help point you in the direction of a few winners.
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13:30 The Triumph Hurdle 2m
The opener on Day 4 is the Triumph Hurdle and there has been a massive shake up in the betting markets due to long-term ante post favourite Sir Gino being pulled out on Thursday morning.
This has really opened up the race, and the new favourite is now the JP McManus-owned
Majborough, who ran a big race to finish third on his stable debut, which was a very deep race run in Grade 1 company. He finished just a couple of lengths behind Kargese and Storm Heart, so he’s sure to have come on plenty for that run.
Kargese
is in the lineup too, and after winning the Spring Juvenile at the Dublin Racing Festival, she sets a very good standard here. She’s an excellent traveller and likely to appreciate the undulations of Cheltenham, so she ticks more boxes than many in here.
Storm Heart
also runs here and he is partnered by Paul Townend, who is sure to bring out the best in her. He ran on nicely to finish second in the DRF Spring Juvenile after being held up and if the same tactics are used again, you could well see him flying to the line.
Nurburgring, for Joseph O’Brien, is the best of the rest, although I feel he falls short on class. The soft ground may help his cause, but it won’t help his lack of natural ability.
GJ Verdict
With most punters hoping that the DRF results will take a different turn, and see Majborough cross the line first, I still think the one to be on here is Kargese, with Storm Heart next best.
- Win: Kargese
- EW: Storm Heart
14:10 The County Handicap Hurdle 2m 1f
The County Hurdle is always a very competitive race and there are plenty in the race with chances.
L’eau Du Sud
who runs for the seemingly unstoppable Skelton team, has been well-supported, and he looks to have been well-treated by the Handicapper too. However, his price has gone, and I want to take him on here.
Faivoir
is another horse trained by Dan Skelton. He won this race last year and with the form they are in this week, you have to consider him at a double figure price. He’ll be partnered by Tristan Durrell, as Harry is taking the ride on the favourite.
Looking beyond those, I see a potential winner in the shape of
King Of Kingsfield. He brings Graded form into this race after finishing third to Ballyburn at the DRF. Although he was 14 lengths back, he finished very strongly and that form looks good to me.
GJ Verdict
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see King Of Kingsfield get his nose in front here, but I’ll be expecting to see Favoir hot on his tail.
- Win: King Of Kingsfield
- EW: Faivoir
14:50 The Albert Bartlett Handicap Hurdle 3m
I’ve been looking forward to the Albert Bartlett this year for some time now. It looks like we have a really good crop of Novices here and you could fancy four or five in the race with so much Graded form on offer.
High Class Hero
is one I latched on too very early in the season. He’s one that always seems to do only what he needs to do to win. So, he’s not spectacular and he doesn’t win by wide margins either, but he is a proper galloper and looks to have the ideal profile for this race. If he is ridden from the front and jumps well, you won’t find many that will pass him.
Dancing City
won the three-miler at the Dublin Racing Festival, where he beat Predators Gold, but the form hasn’t totally worked out for him and he may be one of the more vulnerable sorts who needs things to go his way. I don’t see him as being ideally suited to Cheltenham.
Readin Tommy Wrong
is the mount of Paul Townend and he doesn’t get it wrong. He won the Lawlors Of Naas at a big price, so you could question if connections fancied him that day, but a repeat effort would of course make him hard to beat. He is another good traveller and should go well here.
Gidleigh Park
is well-supported for Harry Fry, but I think we will see better from him next season when he goes over fences, so I wouldn’t back him myself. The main British contenders here are
Captain Teague
and
Johnnywho, based on their Challow form, but both will need to improve to get competitive here. Readin Tommy Wrong seems the safest option here.
GJ Verdict
To me, Readin Tommy Wrong seems the logical pick here, unless of course the highly dependable High Class Hero can get the better of him.
- Win: Readin Tommy Wrong
- EW: High Class Hero
15:30 The Cheltenham Gold Cup 3m 2f
The main event of the entire Festival week is the Cheltenham Gold Cup and long-time favourite
Galopin Des Champs
is going to be very tough to beat once again.
Fastorslow
has actually beaten him twice, but that one was put firmly in his place at Leopardstown, and this step up in trip is not sure to suit Fastorslow either.
Bravemansgame
is probably over-priced, but Galopin Des Champs already has his measure, so you’ll be playing for places if you do decide to back him. Neither
Gerri Colombe
nor
L’Homme Presse
have the finish to compete here in my opinion, and even though they will both stay, I think the 3m 2f is stretch too far for this pair.
The horse I think has a big chance at a big price is
Gentlemansgame, who beat last year’s Gold Cup runner up and very unexposed over this trip. He has a very strong finish, which is more than most have and for me he is the main danger to the favourite.
GJ Verdict
Galopin Des Champs will be very tough to beat here, but I’m convinced that Gentlemansgame won’t be going down without a fight.
- Win: Galopin Des Champs (NB)
- EW: Gentlemansgame
16:10 Hunter Chase 3m 2f
Last year’s winner,
Premier Magic, is back representing the small Bradley Gibbs yard and he was incredibly gutsy to make it across the line last year. If he turned up in similar form he would not be far away, but it does look a classier renewal this time.
I think
Ferns Lock
is going to be popular with the punters too. He’s a very solid type and looks like the one who’ll pick up a place. However,
It’s On The Line
is the one to beat for me. He is a recent JP McManus purchase, who is now trained by for Emmett Mullins.
It’s On The Line finished second in this race last year and but he beat Ferns Lock last time out and I think he will improve for that experience again. He idled towards the finish that day, but picked right up when Ferns Lock started to close in on him.
GJ Verdict
I’m expecting an epic battle to take place here, but I see It’s On The Line easily taking advantage over Ferns Lock on the run in.
Win: It’s On The Line
EW: Ferns Lock
16:50 The Mares’ Chase 2m 4f
We have a small but strong lineup in the Mares Chase this year and I am going to take on
DInoblue, who the hot favourite here. She hasn’t run over this trip before and just looks like she is more of an out-and-out two-miler to me. That said, she is trained by Willie Mullins, so she does have an obvious chance.
Allegorie De Vassy
is the biggest danger, and she finished second to Impervious in last year’s renewal. She travels quite well round Cheltenham and is probably being slightly underestimated here, despite having a lot of ability. A repeat of last year could see her go close again.
Limerick Lace
has plenty of stamina and she will run her race, but I think she falls short on class here compared to those at the top of the market.
Brides Hill, who is running for Gavin Cromwell, is a nice improver and I was very impressed with her win at Huntingdon.. She will be staying on late in the day and with her still being unexposed, it’s unlikely we have seen the best of her just yet.
GJ Verdict
If Brides Hill gets to the front, she will win from there. She has a ton of stamina, and knows how to finish too. Next in line, I see Allegorie De Vassy, but not necessarily too close behind the winner.
- Win: Brides Hill
- EW: Allegorie De Vassy
17:30 The Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle 2m 4f
The final race of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival is a very deep Handicap Hurdle, with two very well-supported runners at the head of the market.
Quai De Bourbon
represents the Willie Mullins team. He has had just two starts this season and comes here unbeaten. It’s highly unlikely that he has reached the ceiling of his ability yet, and he is handicapped to go well.
Waterford Whispers
is the second of those two and he has come in for a ton of money over the last couple of days. He has a similar profile to Quai De Bourbon and is another fast improver, having won both of his starts this season, before running a big, eye-catching race next time out at Leopardstown.
However, this is a competitive race and there is some really good value on offer elsewhere.
Better Days Ahead
has some form that ties in with this year’s Supreme winner, Slade Steel, which certainly brings him into the mix, and at a double figure price, but I have a different ace up my sleeve.
The one here for me here is
Answer To Kayf. He is very much on an upward curve and looks the best-handicapped horse in the race to me. He will relish these conditions and will be strong all the way through the line.
GJ Verdict
Answer To Kayf is my NAP of the day. He’s a very uncomplicated horse and I think he will run a big race to close off the Festival in style. In fact, I put him ahead of joint-favourite Quai De Bourbon, who I fully expect to be a length or two back at the business end.
- Win: Answer To Kayf (NAP)
- EW: Quai De Bourbon
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