Read our guide below to get the latest Arkle Chase tips on Day One of the Cheltenham Festival.
Last year’s winner El Fabiolo looks set to run in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival, but Willie Mullins has plenty of chances in the 2024 revival.
Headline Offer: Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets
CLAIM OFFER
Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required. #ad
That yard enters Gaelic Warrior, Hunters Yarn, and Il Etait Temps among the 10 horses declared for the 2 mile race.
Paul Townend sticks with Gaelic Warrior, and we are inclined to put a poor performance at the Dublin Festival – where he unseated the rider – to one side. C
urrently at 10/3, a price just ahead of the 9/2 that Hunters Yarn commands. The latter is less experienced in this type of race but should go well.
Perhaps the most interesting of the Mullins runners is Il Etait Temps, a brave and bold second by a neck in the Irish Arkle and looking good for the finish here at 9/2.
Found A Fifty, the winner of that race, runs in this for Gordon Elliot, and among the potential victors is surely Quilixios from Henry de Bromhead with Rachael Blackmore aboard.
A horse to keep an eye on, having been aimed at this race, is Gavin Cromwell’s My Mate Mozzie.
We feel that if a surprise is to come in this race it will be this horse, ridden here by Keith Donoghue.
Selection: My Mate Mozzie
Day 1 Cheltenham featured races quick links:
- 13:30 Supreme Novices Hurdle Tips
- 14:10 Arkle Challenge Trophy Tips
- 14:50 Ultima Handicap Tips
- 15:30 Champion Hurdle Tips
- 16:10 Mares Hurdle Tips
- 16:50 Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle Tips
- 17:30 National Hunt Chase
On the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival, the first race over fences will be the Arkle Chase, a race for the best novice fence jumpers in the game.
As is often the case, the early favourite this season comes from the Willie Mullins yard, and that favourite is IL Etait Temps. However, he could be worth overlooking.
Sure, he’s proved to be a decent type since going over fences, but he doesn’t look the tidiest jumper, which could be a big problem in a race like the Arkle.
Moreover, he doesn’t have a great record (as a hurdler and chaser) on undulating tracks, so I’d argue that he’s perhaps not as ideally suited by Cheltenham as he is by other tracks.
Also trained by Mullins is Hunters Yarn, who for my money, is more worthy of support.
He’s only run twice over fences, falling on debut at Fairyhouse back in December, but he was travelling sweetly that day and would likely have won quite comfortably, while he looked a very smart type when making amends over a furlong further and the same venue last time out.
What I also like about Hunters Yarn is the fact that he’s the only Mullins entrant in the race who is only entered in this contest. The other runners all hold entries in other races, which suggests that this has been the plan for the unexposed seven-year-old all along.
If you’re looking for something at a bigger price, then Djelo, trained by Venetia Williams, merits plenty of consideration, especially at odds of 33/1.
Three wins and one place from five runs over fences, winning a Grade 2 at Ascot, he’s got plenty of quality, while he stays further, which is never a bad thing at Cheltenham.
In graded chases at the festival in recent seasons, Williams has seen a few of her horses run well and hit places at big odds, so don’t be surprised if this one goes well.
Best Bets – Hunters Yarn @ 11/2 & Djelo (each-way) @ 33/1