Cheltenham Tips: Day 4 Friday Predictions & Latest Odds
The fourth and final day of my Cheltenham tips and it's Gold Cup day, bringing down the curtain to what has been an excellent festival once again.
We landed a good winner with Heart Wood yesterday, while Ballyburn gave us some each way returns in the Stayers, hopefully we can end the week with another positive effort.
Cheltenham Day 4 Tips
Seven races again my picks are below as well as odds from betting sites for the accompanying picks, and as ever, the full race card if you want to see it all in one place.
Just like the last couple of days, we've got plenty of Cheltenham free bets available on site for anyone looking to open a new betting account.
Tip 1 - 1:20pm Cheltenham
To kick off the day, it's the Triumph Hurdle and I came into the week split between two runners, Maestro Conti and Minella Study.
I'm with the latter, he beat Ammes who I backed in the Fred Winter, and he did nothing to enhance the form. However, he also beat Winston Junior last time out, and he was second in the Fred Winter, so gave that form line a really nice boost.
Minella Study gave Winston Junior a six and a half length beating, and was carrying 7lb more than his rival that day, with the Fred Winter run, I think that's a real positive for Minella Study.
Trained up north by Adam Nicol, had he been with a bigger yard, I think he might have been favourite for this.
- Minella Study (EW) 6/1 with bet365 (4 places)
Tip 2 - 2:00pm Cheltenham
A race for small stakes, and while I'm not sure he's incredibly well handicapped, I do think there's more to come from Wilful, who has a couple of good races in the book this year.
The Ascot success he had was in a very hot race, probably not far off this standard, while he didn't quite jump as well when finishing second last time out.
He's higher in the weights now, which tempers my enthusiasm, but he's still entitled to run well, and should be near the front, which has been the place to be so far this week.
- Wilful (EW) 14/1 with bet365/Unibet/Betfred (6 places)
Tip 3 - 2:40pm Cheltenham
When Dan Skelton has a horse he likes, he's often very bullish and sometimes you have to take things with a pinch of salt. However, the confidence he has around Panic Attack hasn't gone unnoticed.
I'll side with her, she's having an excellent season, and won at a lower grade last time out, to set her up perfectly for this.
Before that, a notably double in two big handicaps, the Paddy Power Gold Cup here in November, and the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury a couple of weeks later.
It's a step up, for sure, but I think there's more to come, and Dan Skelton certainly does.
- Panic Attack 5/2 with multiple
Tip 4 - 4:00pm Cheltenham
I'm going to spend most of Thursday evening doing a rain dance, and the more rain the better for my Gold Cup pick, Haiti Couleurs.
The softer it gets, the better for him, and not only that, but the more its an inconvenience to others too.
Same with the trip, the longer he goes the better, and this is a trip that finds out non-stayers, and there's a few amongst this field.
Some Gold Cup winners are full of class, others are just built to win a race like this, they stay strongly and they grind things out well, and that's exactly the profile of Haiti Couleurs. I don't think he's the most flashy, I just think he'll dig in at the right time, and do whatever it takes to get the job done.
Over three miles, there's four or five I'd back to beat Haiti Couleurs, but the additional two furlongs here are huge. Look for horses struggling up the hill, while Haiti Couleurs is coming into his own and staying on strongly, I just hope he's close enough to stay on past every other runner.
- Haiti Couleurs (EW) 11/2 with multiple
Tip 5 - 5:20pm Cheltenham
I was on the verge of picking something else in the Martin Pipe, with the Henry de Bromhead horses not running to form, but winning the Ryanair Chase leaves me sticking with Air Of Entitlement.
She won the Mares' Novices' Hurdle here 12 months ago, but hasn't kicked on since then, aside from one run where she was second two starts back.
It's a drop down in quality, and I am partly hoping the spring brings out more in her, but she is one that could be better than her current mark of 139.
Patrick O'Brien gave Ballyadam a great spin on Thursday, hopefully he can go well here.
- Air Of Entitlement (EW) 11/1 with Sky Bet (6 places)
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