Welcome to BetVictor’s Cheltenham Festival Day 1 Timeform tips.
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Big-race Verdict
15:05 Cheltenham - Tuesday 16th March
Honeysuckle
Champion Hurdle favourite hard to oppose under Rachael Blackmore
Honeysuckle
Champion Hurdle favourite hard to oppose under Rachael Blackmore
Honeysuckle made it 10 from 10 under Rules when winning her second successive renewal of the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown last time, putting up the best performance of her career to beat Abacadabras by 10 lengths.
That form identifies Honeysuckle as very much the one to beat if running to the same level at Cheltenham, where she is already a winner having landed the Mares’ Hurdle at last year’s Festival.
For context, Honeysuckle is 3 lb clear of defending champion Epatante on Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings, while the likes of Goshen will also need to improve to concede 7 lb to a mare of Honeysuckle’s calibre.
The Banker
15:40 Cheltenham - Tuesday 16th March
Concertista
Willie Mullins hotpot looks to have great chance
Concertista
Willie Mullins hotpot looks to have great chance
Concertista continues to progress and showed smart form when completing the hat-trick in a Grade 3 at Leopardstown last time, giving weight and a six-and-a-half-length beating to some useful rivals.
That form is comfortably superior to anything her 10 rivals here have achieved, even Roksana, who struck in this Grade 1 two years ago.
Crucially, Concertista’s trainer Willie Mullins has won nine of the other 13 renewals of this race, while we already know that the track holds no fears for Concertista given she began her recent winning sequence with an impressive victory in the Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at last year’s Festival.
Handicap Hotshot
16:15 Cheltenham - Tuesday 16th March
Houx Gris
Paul Nicholls set to land a fourth Boodles Handicap
Houx Gris
Paul Nicholls set to land a fourth Boodles Handicap
Paul Nicholls has already trained three previous winners of the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle in Sanctuaire (2010), Qualando (2015) and Diego du Charmil (2016), who were all lightly raced French recruits.
Nicholls has a similar type here in Houx Gris, and he showed a lot of promise when third on his British debut in the Grade 1 Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow.
He travelled strongly for a long way and was still in contention before hitting the second-last and tiring afterwards. He should have more to offer for this yard and commands plenty of respect from an opening handicap mark of 128.
Video preview from Timeform's Adam Houghton
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