Cheltenham November Meeting Horses To Follow: Weekend Tips From @RoadCheltenham

The Cheltenham November Meeting is always eagerly anticipated, with three glorious days of racing taking place at Prestbury Park. It’s always an informative fixture with a view to the spring, so there will undoubtedly be plenty of Cheltenham Festival clues.

Here, I focus on several horses to follow across all three days. Some runners will be with a view to this weekend while others will be very much on the radar for the spring. For the day-by-day selections across all three days, head to our Cheltenham tips for the November Meeting.

Saturday, 1.45pm – FOLIE GOLITH

I’m really excited to see how Folie Golith fares on Saturday, especially if both Kabral Du Mathan and Old Park Star stand their ground. She brings a wealth of experience to the race and the form of her Uttoxeter success was boosted by the Dan Skelton-trained Getawhisky in a Listed mares race at Bangor-on-Dee on Tuesday.

She gets 15lbs from her rivals and that could make a big difference, but I’m not actually too interested in betting her on Saturday. Instead, I’m very much looking at her for a big handicap in the spring – she has the rating to get into a Festival race and I’d be inclined to believe they may be giving her a run to see if she handles Cheltenham.

Saturday, 3.30pm – MONEYGARROW

Short enough in the betting here, I’ve been looking forward to seeing Moneygarrow for some time now and he could have a big race in him this year. With an official BHA mark of 133, he could easily be a 140+ horse and I’m expecting a positive run and hopefully he can blow the cobwebs away. I’m happy to let him go and win at 2/1.

This Shantou gelding would interest me massively for the Martin Pipe at Cheltenham in March if he ends up going down that route. He was travelling as well as any of his rivals approaching the final hurdle in the 2026 Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle but didn’t get home and 2m4f would be more like his optimum trip at this stage.

Sunday, 12.50pm – MOURNE CRYSTAL

I thought Mourne Crystal did an awful lot wrong on hurdles debut and I was shocked to see him there pitching in the closing stages of the race. With the experience under his belt, hopefully he’ll go and produce a more polished, professional performance in the opener on Sunday. I’m happy to give him the benefit of doubt for Ffos Las.
He had a huge reputation following a bloodless success in his point-to-point and this doesn’t look the strongest maiden hurdle in the world. I’d expect Mourne Crystal to be well supported and fingers crossed he can get the job done. With no market open as yet, I can’t comment on whether he’s a bet or not here but I’m expecting him to go very close.

Sunday, 2.35pm – HAVAILA

Hugely progressive in three runs in the spring, Havaila makes his seasonal debut in the lucrative handicap chase on Sunday afternoon. He’s gone from a mark of 116 in March to a career-high 139, but a 4lbs rise for his bet365 Gold Cup success at Sandown Park may prove lenient and he’s got a strong chance with his favoured conditions expected.
He’s won three of his five starts on good ground and he can give the Jamie & Josh Moore team their first major success since father Gary stepped down from training. Currently priced at 3/1 for Sunday’s race, you could see him winning here before going for a race like the Welsh Grand National – those mammoth trips should suit him down to the ground.