Adrian Wall’s three Cheltenham Festival contenders to watch out for this week

Cheltenham November meeting weekend is always one of the highlights of the jumps season. Not only do we have some top class action from Prestbury Park to look forward to, we also have brilliant racing in Ireland. The feature race at the other side of the Irish Sea is the prestigious Morgiana Hurdle. That race will give us some clues about the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle in March. We have picked out three horses due to run this week that could also win at the Festival in March.

My Drogo

Dan Skelton has changed tact this season, pretty much forfeiting a guaranteed bunch of winners in the summer to make sure his horses are flying fit at the business end of the season. It is a risky ploy but Dan means business. My Drogo could be a serious contender for the Marsh Novices’ Chase in March. His only blemish came on debut at Cheltenham but he has won all four starts since, including a nine length Grade 1 success at Aintree when last seen. He should win the November Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham on Friday.

Third Time Lucki

Sticking with the Skelton theme, Third Time Lucki could be the team’s runner for The Arkle. Fourth to Ferny Hollow in the 2020 Champion Bumper, he finished sixth behind Belfast Banter in the County Hurdle in 2021. He couldn’t have been more impressive on chasing bow at Cheltenham last month (remote second has won since in Ireland) and he seems to have all the gears for two miles around Prestbury Park. The one to beat on Saturday and a live Arkle contender.

Put The Kettle On

Henry de Bromhead’s special mare has an incredible record around Cheltenham, now unbeaten here in four starts which include a pair of Grade 1 wins. Last season’s Champion Chase winner won this race last year on seasonal bow. It is worth pointing out that she can hit a flat spot in her races and usually trades quite high in-running on the exchanges so don’t be afraid to put in a back at a large price on Saturday. She doesn’t do it the easy way but around here you can bank on her.

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.