Our form expert has four selections for the final day of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.
The Verdict: Friday March 14
0.5pts e.w. Gibbs Island in the 1.20 Cheltenham at 16/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4)
1pt e.w. Valgrand in 2.00 Cheltenham at 8/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5)
0.5pts e.w. Flicker Of Hope in 3.20 Cheltenham at 18/1 (Ladbrokes, Coral 1/5 1,2,3,4)
1pt e.w. Monty’s Star in the 4.00 Cheltenham at 14/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3)
Star to give Galopin a race for Gold
It has been a mainly triumphant week for the bookies at Cheltenham with Majborough, Constitution Hill, Ballyburn and Jonbon all beaten at odds-on and that means they go into the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup with their tails up.
Galopin Des Champs bids to stop the rot for the odds-on big guns as he attempts to make history by becoming just the fifth horse to win the race three times and after looking as good as ever at Leopardstown this season he’s an understandable 4/7 chance.
If he runs to form it’s hard to see anything beating him but I’m happy to have an each-way bet against him on MONTY’S STAR at 14/1 as he looks the most underestimated by the market.
Banbridge looks a doubtful stayer to me at this extended 3m2f trip and both of JP McManus' pair, Inothewayurthinkin and Corbetts Cross, probably needed a wet week to get into things.
Gentlemansgame has had plenty of chances now and the British-trained horses don’t look good enough, which only leaves Henry de Bromhead’s horse and he can give Galopin most to do.
De Bromhead’s horses have not been running well in the deep midwinter, but Monty’s Star returned with a promising second at Tramore on New Year’s Day and he ran well for a long way in the Irish Gold Cup, fading into an eight-length fifth after the last.
Of course, that leaves him with work to do with the winner, but he has very much shaped like he is coming on with each run and further improvement gives him a chance.
De Bromhead's team have run well again at Cheltenham this week and he landed the two previous Gold Cups before Galopin came along. Before that Monalee, Monty’s Star’s half-brother, ran a fine race in defeat in the Gold Cup.
That gives plenty of hope Monty’s Star will stay the trip and he handled good to soft ground well at Punchestown when a narrow second to Spillane’s Tower last spring, while the value of his Brown Advisory second to Fact To File was somewhat polished in Thursday's Ryanair.
If you don’t want to take on Galopin then consider Monty’s Star at around 11/2 in the betting without the favourite market, but I’m always more than happy to go for the jackpot in these situations.
The Verdict: Back MONTY’S STAR in the 4.00 Cheltenham
Flicker to fire in Albert Bartlett
De Bromhead also has an excellent chance of winning the Albert Bartlett again after The Big Westerner ran away with the best trial at Limerick in December, but she’s been well found in the market.
It wouldn’t surprise me if she justified favouritism but she does have to prove herself on better conditions and she is short on experience after just three runs.
Experience has counted for plenty in this race most years and with that in mind Mark Fahey’s FLICKER OF HOPE could be a player in this.
The six-year-old has been a revelation coming through the ranks and while he took a while to get to grips with racing over an inadequate two miles he has taken off since going up in trip.
The winner of four races in his last six starts, including three times over three miles, he significantly proved himself up in grade at the Dublin Racing Festival when third behind Perceval Legallois and Gaoth Chuil.
The former is a genuine Grand National hopeful and the latter is a Leopardstown specialist, so that was a really good run and he probably hit the front too soon before coming back at the winner towards the line.
That was on ground Timeform described as good to soft and he just looks like he stays all day, while getting Keith Donoghue on him could spark further improvement for all that good claiming jockey Aidan Kelly did nothing wrong on him.
The Verdict: Back FLICKER OF HOPE in the 3.20 Cheltenham
Island looks hot in the Triumph
I might be a sucker for punishment taking on both Galopin Des Champs and East India Dock each-way, but I loved the way JCB Triumph Hurdle.
This feels more like an old school Triumph with 18 runners in the field, the biggest line-up since 2012, and with the hustle and bustle in mind I do wonder if experience from the Flat will come in handy like it always used to.
That hasn’t been the case in recent years as the National Hunt-bred horses have dominated the slightly smaller fields, but it has a different make-up this year and I’m happy to have an ex-Flat horse on my side.
East India Dock is obviously one of those, but Gibbs Island had 16 starts on the level and he was at his best when second in a 20-runner handicap at Leopardstown last October, handling the big field well.
Rated 84 on the Flat, he looks an even better operator over hurdles and he won well at Sedgefield on debut from subsequent two-time winner Surrey Belle, before his impressive Victor Ludorum win.
Quick and slick over his obstacles at Haydock, that form has been boosted by the runner-up as well and he looks well equipped to take on the demands of this year's Triumph.
The Irish challenge looks unusually lacking in quality and while East India Dock and Lulamba are the high-profile Brits, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gibbs Island get involved.
The Verdict: Back GIBBS ISLAND in the 1.20 Cheltenham
Skelton at it again in the County
The William Hill County Hurdle has fewer runners than the Triumph but the Irish challenge is very strong with Kargese, Lark In The Mornin, Absurde and McLaurey heading the betting.
Any of that lot could win but they do have to take on another Dan Skelton County Hurdle special in VALGRAND who is worth siding with at 8/1.
Skelton loves this race having won it with Superb Story, Mohaayed, Ch’tibello and Faivoir, while L’Eau du Sud was a 7/2 second last year.
All bar Faivoir of his winners came into the County fresh off three or four month breaks and so does Valgrand after he ran twice in two weeks in December.
Those runs did him the world of good from a handicapping point of view as he was dropped 5lb to 134 and that rating gives him a right chance on his best form.
His best form came at Cheltenham on good ground at the October meeting where he won by 17 lengths, looking a possible Supreme horse, but it’s no surprise that Skelton has aimed him here.
With the ground in his favour that gives him more than hope against the brigade from Ireland and 8/1 looks a very fair price.
The Verdict: Back VALGRAND in the 2.00 Cheltenham
Preview posted at 1600 GMT on 13/03/25
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