The weather forecast is promising for the weekend so fingers crossed racing at Cheltenham Racecourse goes ahead on Saturday and we are confident that it will. As ever, the Irish are never afraid to venture across the Irish Sea to this meeting and they have four very strong contenders. They combine to form a tasty accumulator. Check out our ITV Racing tips for the weekend.
Joseph O’Brien won this very race in 2019 with Fakir D’oudairies and sporting the same JP McManus colours, Comfort Zone bids to match him. Useful on the Flat, he won on hurdling debut impressively at Navan in November and he went on to land a Chepstow Grade 2 when last seen. He was workmanlike that day but has to be respected.
There are several Irish contenders as per usual in the Cross Country Handicap Chase, but Delta Work is the horse that they all have to beat. It won’t be an easy task to concede weight to most of the field but the five-time Grade 1 winner is a class apart and won the Cross Country at the festival last March.
We are taking on Energumene with our Nap of the Day but there is no doubt that Willie Mullins’ star is going to be a tough horse to beat. Last season’s Champion Chase winner is the top rated runner in the field, but the only blemish in his career came in this race last year. Nonetheless, he will take stopping.
Noble Yeats won the Grand National at Aintree last April and got back to winning ways after a small blip in a Listed race at Wexford before producing a dominating display in the Many Clouds again at Aintree when last seen. He could be a genuine Gold Cup contender this year and for all he needs to improve on official ratings, he might just do that here.
If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.