After the thrills and spills of the opening day of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, race fans are treated to another brilliant curtain raiser with an all-star cast assembled for the Turners Novices’ Hurdle (1.20pm).
The unbeaten Final Demand, imperious at the Dublin Racing Festival, tackles leading British novice The New Lion, himself yet to taste defeat in four starts, three over obstacles.
Willie Mullins’ Closutton base have always held Final Demand in high esteem, and he certainly vindicated the faith last time. He is a banker for the placepot, and his chief rival in the Cheltenham odds should also be included as insurance.
At the time of writing, seven runners are listed on betting sites for the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (2.00pm), all Irish trained, meaning there are just two places up for grabs.
Ballyburn could well secure one of those spots, but in the off chance he doesn’t stay as strongly in this as he has been doing over shorter trips, let’s add Better Days Ahead and Gorgeous Tom as a precaution and hopefully we can double up.
The Coral Cup (2.40pm) is notorious for providing shocks, but it will be a surprise if the progressive duo Be Aware or Impose Toi don’t take a hand in the finish given the record of their respective handlers.
If there is to be a shock, then Beckett Road could provide it given he looked an improved horse over two-and-a-half miles at Fairyhouse last month and he has already beaten the well-fancied Bunting.
Stumptown is reported to be one of his stable’s strongest fancies of the week in the Glenfarclass Cross Country Chase (3.20pm) and the course and distance winner could repeat his display here before Christmas when accounting for Mister Coffey and Busselton.
The wheels will seriously have to come off for Jonbon not to place in the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (4.00pm).
Although the nine-year-old has recorded better data away from Cheltenham, he is 8-8 with Nico de Boinville on board so he ought to take all the beating as he searches for an elusive first Festival success.
Jazzy Matty, a former winner at the Festival when landing the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle under the much-missed Michael O’Sullivan two years ago, looks to have had the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase (4.40pm) as a target all season.
As a lightly raced chaser with some experience of Cheltenham, he makes some appeal on horse racing betting sites and is added to the perm alongside the talented, if enigmatic, My Mate Mozzie who should relish the likelihood of a strong gallop.
Last year’s winner Unexpected Party is being brought to a peak by his shrewd handler and, although no horse has gone back-to-back in this race in more than 60 years, he should go close to rewriting history.
Cheltenham Day Two Placepot Perm
1.20
- 1 Final Demand
- 10 The New Lion
2.00
- 1 Ballyburn
- 2 Better Days Ahead
- 4 Gorgeous Tom
2.40
- 11 Impose Toi
- 17 Be Aware
- 12 Beckett Rock
3.20
- 1 Stumptown
- 11 Mister Coffey
- 12 Busselton
4.00
- 4 Jonbon
4.40
- 3 My Mate Mozzie
- 7 Unexpected Party
- 15 Jazzy Matty
2x3x3x3x1x3 = 162 lines
Responsible Gambling
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