Cheltenham Tips: Andy Holding's Thursday Racing Tips

A race the visitors have done rather well in over the last decade or so and their grip on the trophy could be further tightened by GABBY’S CROSS (tipped at 10/1), who has been pacing his box waiting for a crack at this prize ever since qualifying at Punchestown back in November. 

Sent off a strong 9/2 second favourite behind the well-treated Jody Ted at the Co Meath venue, Henry de Bromhead’s inmate was noted going well on the home turn but while the eventual winner got a dream run around the outside, he got boxed in on the fence and ended up giving away a deficit he couldn’t quite overcome.

That said, the way he stayed on in the latter stages suggested he may have had a larger say in the outcome with a clearer run and with the race working out well with both Shadow Rider and Alpesh Amin scoring recently, his performance in defeat reads better than it did at the time.

Rated 140 over fences, connections have clearly gone out of their way to not ruin his current mark of 127 over hurdles by keeping him fresh and with some of his better performances in the past coming in well-run, big-field handicaps (won 20-runner Galway Blazers in 2022), the nine-year-old looks poised to put up a bold show under ideal conditions. 

One of the key aspects to winning this race, as are most on the New Course chase track, is being up with the speed and PROTEKTORAT (tipped at 9/1) has a profile to suggest he could have a bigger say in the outcome than his current odds suggest. 

Campaigned mainly over three miles in the last two seasons, Dan Skelton’s inmate big day came when he landed the Betfair Chase back in 2022 but since then, he hasn’t really gone on to hit the heights connections were anticipating.

Flopping in the same race this season, the son of Saint Des Saints, however, has been more like his old self since and his latest effort when third to Shishkin in the Denman Chase supplemented his previous good display behind L’Homme Presse. 

Looking back at his back catalogue, some of his best performances when he was rising through the ranks came over today’s track over 2m4f and given the natural verve he is showing in his last few races, dropping back to that sort of trip should turn out to be a wise move.

A field bar a few full of rouges and vagabonds, seems ripe for some younger blood to come through and stake their claim a division lacking any standout performer in recent times and CRAMBO (tipped at 11/2) appears one who can put his head above the parapet. 

Unlucky not to land a hugely-competitive handicap at Haydock earlier in the season (didn’t handle the tight track), Fergal O’Brien’s gelding was given the chance to prove himself against some of the very best stayers in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot a month later and, having travelled well throughout a race run at a sound clip, he showed admiral battling qualities to beat Paisely Park, who is the benchmark for all the best form in this division over the last few years. 

Kept fresh ever since, he arrives here as one of the few in the field with the potential of more to come and with today’s galloping track likely to play into his strengths, anything other than a massive run has to go down as a bitter disappointment for all concerned. 

THEATRE MAN (tipped at 9/2) fits quite a few of the key stats for this race, being a novice with C&D form and providing he is capable of running to the level he scaled here on trials day, the eight-year-old can provide his up-and-coming handler with a breakthrough success.

A useful novice hurdler, Richard Bandey’s gelding has always had the look of a chaser and although he’s yet to win in three starts, the standard of his efforts read well.

His latest performance when staying on strong to chase home Ginny’s Destiny two months ago was a sign of a horse who relished the nature of today’s track and even though it may have been tempting to step him up in trip to contest the Ultima on day one, the prevailing conditions should make this a sufficient enough test.