Today's Tote Placepot Tips for Cheltenham

Leg 1 Selections: Rexem

John McConnell has saddled the winner of this race for the last two years and he has an excellent chance to complete the hat-trick with REXEM. He’s taken really well to hurdles, in which he’s posted some decent times in winning his last two starts impressively from the front. I know they were minor events but he couldn’t have won either any easier and this race is likely to have been his target by his handler. He has penalties to carry but I like his race-by-race progress and is fancied to make his first trip to Prestbury park a successful one by burning his rivals from the front here. 

Leg 2 Selections: Coeur Serein, The Hollow Ginge 

COEUR SEREIN won three times over hurdles last year before a solid fourth in the Grade Two Persian War at Chepstow on his seasonal reappearance. Jonjo O’Neill’s eight-year-old showed a lot of promise in all three previous chase starts and would have won on chase debut without falling at the last fence. He then, however, had his confidence when fourth behind Corach Rambler over C&D, which is good form, given the winner went onto win the Ultima at the Festival in March. There’s every chance he has more to come back over the larger obstacles off an attractive mark and, if he puts it all together in the jumping department, he could pose a serious threat in the latter stages. 

THE HOLLOW GINGE was narrowly denied when second in this race twelve months ago and has an excellent record fresh which reads 3121U2 and is ten pounds lower than when running well in this last year. He is extremely well-treated at the moment due to a lacklustre effort last time but this is a huge drop in class, he handles the course and has lots going for him, so there’s every indication he will make the frame at the very least this time round with the possibility of going one place better. 

Leg 3 Selections: Knight Salute, Bella Scintilla 

I think  KNIGHT SALUTE could confirm the Aintree form with him here. He was awarded the Grade 1 Anniversary Juvenile Hurdle (dead-heated with former on the day) but he proved a revelation for connections last term. He won three other Grade Two events alongside his Grade One and six of his seven starts over hurdles, which is quite remarkable. His only defeat came in the Triumph Hurdle, where he wasn’t at his best due to not jumping as well as he could but he bounced back when last spotted and Milton Harris’ four-year-old is a leading contender.

BELLA SCINTILLA beat a subsequent winner on stable debut and this filly gets all the allowances with lots of improvement to come. She had a tendency to jump to the right in her latest start but she should take a massive step forward here and Tom O’Brien is an interesting booking for the ride. Joseph O’Brien has his team in excellent form and he clearly feels as though this filly is worth her place in the field on just her second start for connections, so in receipt of lots of weight from all her opponents, she shouldn’t be taken lightly. 

Leg 4 Selections: Effernock Fizz 

I am surprised to see EFFERNOCK FIZZ trading at large odds. Her latest front-running victory in the Welsh Champion Hurdle was an excellent performance, as she saw off some high-class hurdles such as Milkwood and Glory And Fortune. It remains to be seen if she can translate that form back over fences but she gets all the allowances, arrives on the back of a good victory and remains on a really nice mark, so if she can get into a fluent rhythm, this mare could take some passing on the front-end here. 

Leg 5 Selections: Mac Tottie, Streets Of Doyen 

MAC TOTTIE is better known for his exploits as a chaser, especially over the National fences, and connections are probably using this race as a prep-run but whatever way you look at this race, he’s massively overpriced for this. His record first-time-out isn’t great but the way he dominated the Topham last time was impressive and if he could reproduce that sort of performance back over hurdles, he wouldn’t be out of this by any means. His record in this sphere reads four wins from just eight starts and he’s Peter Bowen’s only runner on the card. I can see him going well on his return here. 

STREETS OF DOYEN ran quite well on stable debut three weeks ago and this former course-and-distance winner was third in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett last year. That is strong form in the context of this easier assignment and his mark of 136 is really attractive. The eight-year-old will love conditions, has the course form in the book and is the only one of these to boast Grade 1 form, so if he can build upon his latest start, he should firmly be in the mix here. 

Leg 6 Selections: Mahler Mission, Chemical Energy 

MAHLER MISSION developed into a pretty smart novice hurdler last term, winning valuable Listed and Grade Two events. He ran very well when seventh of 16 in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle here in March and has came out very well on these terms ahead of his chase debut against his experienced rivals. If he jumps as well as he did over hurdles, he could take some beating here. 

CHEMICAL ENERGY was also smart over hurdles and ran well when eighth in the Martin Pipe at the Cheltenham Festival. He improved enormously from his chase debut to win comfortably last time and should be able to go onto better things. However, this is a big step up in distance, so he still needs to prove his stamina, but if he does, he could be a lively player for the Russell and Elliott combination.