Cheltenham Festival - Day Two – Copybet

The BetMGM handicap looks as competitive as ever but Willie Mullins’ Storm Heart looks the way to go in this two-miles five-furlong event.

Storm Heart kept the highest company as a juvenile and looks to have really come into his own this season. He landed a Limerick conditions event in December on his return over two-and-a-half miles then overcame the drop back to two miles to follow up in the Grade 3 Red Mills Hurdle at Gowran last month.

On that occasion, he did really well having conceded first run and scored going away so this return to a longer trip looks tailor-made for him.

Mullins is no stranger to success in this event and took the prize 12 months ago with Jimmy Du Seuil and could be celebrating once more here.

Dan Skelton enjoyed some great days in this race with the remarkable Langer Dan and his mare Kateira, who looks like she has been laid out for this all season, could emerge as the main danger in what promises to be a very strongly-run handicap.

The Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase over three miles and one furlong sees its biggest field in many a year and promises to be a tough test for these young chasers where any stamina concerns and jumping frailties will be exposed.

Gordon Elliott’s Romeo Coolio is likely to go off favourite having bypassed Tuesday’s Arkle for this event but, as likeable and talented as he is, this marked step up in trip means he could prove vulnerable late on and he is worth taking on with Wendigo.

Jamie Snowden’s likeable seven-year-old has shown some very useful form as a hurdler, coming in fifth in the three-mile Albert Bartlett here 12 months ago when suffering a poor run.

But he has always looked a fine staying chaser in the making on both physique and pedigree and hasn’t looked back this season since being sent over fences.

He announced himself on the chasing stage when winning a hotly-contested Grade 2 event at Newbury in November and followed that with a fine third in Kempton’s Kauto Star Chase on Boxing Day given he was a little tapped for toe on that much sharper track.

He completed his prep for this event when easily completing a simple task in a three-runner race at Ayr in January and this sound jumper should relish the extreme test the Brown Advisory presents for novice chasers.

The Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase is always one of the most strongly run races of the entire Cheltenham Festival and Release The Beast promises to be ideally suited by the demands of this two-mile handicap chase.

Paul Nolan’s seven-year-old didn’t go on quite as expected after getting off the mark over fences at Limerick late in 2024.

But his two efforts this term have been highly promising, most recently coming in runner-up in a strong two-mile one-furlong handicap at Leopardstown last month where he stayed on well late on having been forced to switch and lose momentum on the home turn.

This race and Cheltenham’s famed uphill finish should bring out the very best of Release The Beast’s late thrust and he can cause something of a surprise.