Cheltenham Day 4: Dallas Des Pictons To Round Off The Festival

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the feature race on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival and the reigning champion Native River will ensure there is no hiding place. The likelihood of soft or perhaps even heavy ground is the key to the chances of the Colin Tizzard-trained chaser who is bidding to become the first horse since Best Mate to win the Blue Riband of jumps racing back-to-back.

The great Willie Mullins has never saddled the winner of the big race and he has four representatives led by Irish Gold Cup winner Bellshill, but it is fellow Irish raider Presenting Percy (3.30) who gets the each way vote.

The selection has won at the last two Festivals but has not run over fences since running away with the RSA Chase at Cheltenham 12 months ago. Some have knocked that form with runner up Monalee a non-stayer over 3m and I would have liked Al Boum Photo to have stayed on his feet with the latter having fell at the last when staying on in third.