Cheltenham November Meeting Day 3 Tips: Selections for the Greatwood Hurdle & Schloer Chase

The final day of Cheltenham’s November Meeting takes place on Sunday and there is certainly an argument the organisers have saved the best until last, with a host of high quality horses lining up at Prestbury Park.

Shloer Chase Tip

14:20 - It’s a small but select field for the feature race of the day, with the disappointment of only seeing four runners tempered by the quality of the two mile chasing stars facing off. A case can be made for any of the quartet, however Politologue for Paul Nicholls looks overpriced to get the better of Put the Kettle On in the battle of the most recent Champion Chasers.

The likeable grey has a superb record when fresh, winning all bar one of his last five seasonal reappearances.  The small field will be of no concern for the veteran around Cheltenham and his bold front-running style will put his rivals under pressure they may not be able to cope with as the race intensifies.

Nicholls had intimated a bid to retain his Tingle Creek crown would be Politologue’s starting point this season, before the supposed strength of the field in the Sandown showpiece became apparent in recent weeks.  Switching the 10 year old’s target here and denying him the opportunity to defend his title speaks volumes about the trainer’s faith in his chance of glory at Prestbury Park under Harry Cobden.

Greatwood Hurdle Tip

14:55 - Punters are often wary of backing horses off a long break and West Cork hasn’t been seen on a racecourse for a whopping 631 days. With that being said, if you could choose a trainer to bring one back with a bang, Dan Skelton would be pretty high on your list of targets and If the Lodge Hill team think West Cork is going to fulfil the promise he showed as a novice hurdler then a mark of 134 should be no obstacle here.

A glance through the gelding’s form from early 2020 shows a demolition job at Huntingdon when upsetting the since-proven extremely talented Mister Coffey. That was a fiendishly impressive performance and if Skelton harbours any Cheltenham Festival ambitions for West Cork he will have to start rising up the ratings soon. Winning this valuable handicap would be the perfect start.

The obvious danger to the selection is Nicky Henderson’s No Ordinary Joe, the 4/1 jolly, and if he has improved considerably from his last performance he will be a tough rival to pass. However, providing West Cork is cherry ripe for his reappearance he could show the class to make a mockery of his mark.  He is worth backing to do just that at a price of 6/1.

Sky Bet Supreme Trial Novices’ Hurdle Tips

15:30 - Another small field contest here in the last race over obstacles of the day and indeed the meeting. The claims of I Like To Move It for the Twiston Davies team are obvious, with an impressive dismissal of the highly regarded Tritonic over course and distance just 22 days before this race. However, I am not sure the Alan King runner was at his best that day and am willing to take I Like To Move It on here.

Of the four runners, it is the Olly Murphy trained Washington that appeals most. His latest performance at Bangor showed bags of potential as he was green as grass throughout the contest and looked like a tough ride for Aidan Coleman for much of the race. It was pleasing to see the style and speed in which he pulled away from his rival at the last and that aspect of his performance gives grounds for optimism that he will relish the famous Cheltenham Hill. If he has improved again for the experience last time out and ironed out a few quirks, he should go close here.

Coleman and Murphy have been in good form recently and it is expected they can round off the meeting on a high with Washington putting in a capital performance to mark himself as a real contender in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle odds.