Cheltenham November Meeting Saturday Tips: Four To Back On Big Day Of Action

Day Two of the November Meeting at Cheltenham comes to us on Saturday and is arguably the biggest day of the festival. A bumper crowd is expected at Jumps Racing HQ and there could be some brilliant contests for the throngs of fans to enjoy. Billy Grimshaw has four he thinks are worth backing on the card...

13:10 Cheltenham - Wienerberger Amateur Jockeys' Handicap Chase

Read To Return has been well supported for this race and is now favourite at the time of writing. Tony Martin's six-year-old could well be chucked in off just 115 in here, and he has a 7lbs claimer on board to lighten the load still further, but for all the potential his win last time out at Killarney is nothing special and he's one I'm happy enough to take on now handicapping for the first time.

Manofthepeople was on the shortlist for Fergal and Fern O'Brien, but I was dissuaded by the presumption we are going to see a real battle for the pace here judging by the profile of a lot of entrants which can often lead to amateur riders going too hard on prominent sorts. This led me to look for a stalker and I didn't have to look far in truth, with STRICTLYADANCER the obvious choice. He was last seen finishing fourth here to Mole Court, who reopposes, however I would be confident Christian Williams' charge was the best horse in the race that day but he was undone by the way it played out.

Mole Court finished two lengths ahead of our pick, but Strictlyadancer was by far the best of the horses held up with the front three all being prominent throughout. I think in this race stalkers will have the advantage rather than the leaders, and coupling this with the fact Mole Court has a 4lbs weight swing to contend with, I can see that form being reversed. Mole Court's task to uphold the form is made even tougher now Williams has booked talented 7lbsclaimer Ed Vaughan for Strictlyadancer, the 2021 winner of this race. Everything looks set up for him to regain his title here, and if not I'd be flabbergasted to see him out of the frame so he makes for a confident  each-way play to kick things off.

Billy has penned a preview of the Paddy Power Gold Cup, which is the feature race on the card on Saturday. He makes a detailed case for his selection THE REAL WHACKER and you can see why he thinks Patrick Neville's charge can defy top weight in the piece below...

14:55 Cheltenham - Paddy Power Games Handicap Hurdle

Plenty of chasers are intriguingly making their return to action here in this handicap hurdle, and if we knew they were cherry ripe for this contest they'd look very well handicapped. Shan Blue will surely have bigger fish to fry back over fences as the season progresses, but it would be no surprise to see him go out to the front and make a bold bid here for the Skelton team, while Chantry House is of course a Turners winner in years gone by and has a decent class edge for Nicky Henderson. Again though, one must conclude he is using this merely for fitness.

Placenet has rocketed to favouritism for David Pipe and does look well handicapped, but I'd prefer to back the horse he has usurped as market leader and that is BUDDY ONE. He will have to contend with top weight here but Jack Gilligan is a capable jockey and his 7lbs claim helps offset that negative. His third in last season's Martin Pipe reads very well now and at still just six years of age I'd be surprised if he doesn't still have plenty of improvement in him. He is clearly on a steep upward curve judging by his fantastic win at Galway three weeks ago and with an undulating track like this looking sure to suit, he is the most likely winner to my eye despite the 9lbs rise in the weights for him to contend with.

15:30 Cheltenham - Paddy Power Intermediate Handicap Hurdle

Depending on how Captain Teague performs on Friday, Resplendent Grey could drift or shorten for this race as he was second to the Nicholls star at Chepstow last time out. In the fullness of time we will see what merit running Captain Teague to seven lengths means, but of the two market leaders I'd be more inclined to back him than Springwell Boy for Jonjo and Jonjo. This is his first start of the season and while he looks a decent prospect, he is priced up far too short considering his body of work.

Rock My Way's form fell off a cliff after winning a good race here in January of 2022, and it will take a brave punter to back him again. However, if he can find the form he showed that day then he is interesting at 14s. If he drifts much further he may get a token pound on the exchange win-only, but my main fancy in the race is GYENYAME for an in-form Joe Tizzard. He was no great shakes on the flat when in the care of Andrew Balding, but with every run over obstacles he has improved and it was hard not to be taken with his 26 length demolition of a Wincanton 2 and a 1/2 mile race back in March.

The step up in trip clearly suited then, so it was interesting to see his reappearance run back over the minimum trip at Exeter, which he predictably found tough. Nevertheless there was promise in that effort as he did all his best work late to snatch fourth, and the form has worked out quite well. He then bumped into a hat-trick hunting Oscar Moonshine and ran brilliantly to stick with that rival, only losing out narrowly and the pair pulling well clear of the field.

He was given just 3lbs for that effort which I think is more than fair, and hopefully here Brendan Powell rides him more positively and makes use of his evident stamina to take some of the opposition out of their comfort zone. At 6/1 he is another obvious each-way play, but I do like his chances of winning the race too for a team that have targeted these early Cheltenham meetings in the past.