‘Don’t rule these horses out’ – Three key Irish raiders at Cheltenham on Friday

There’s plenty of Irish representation at Cheltenham on Friday and the Irish trainers involved will be looking to take advantage of the fact that no Willie Mullins runners will be present. We’ve picked out three particularly interesting Irish raiders that look dangerous.

It would be unwise to rule these horses out and they could be worth a closer look. The ITV cameras are back out and four of the six races on Friday will be televised live. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.

1.45 Cheltenham

Buddy One is a previous course winner and he stays the three miles here well. This son of Sans Frontieres won a handicap hurdle at this meeting off a mark of 147 and a similar effort here would surely give him every chance. A little disappointing at Wexford last time, he does need to prove he’s as effective over fences.

2.55 Cheltenham

Conflated is a two-time Grade 1-winning chaser and that makes him easily the best horse in this race. His rating of 166 means four of the nine runners are out of the handicap here and that could be to his advantage. If he takes well to this unique test, a long overdue return to winning ways could be on the agenda.

4.00 Cheltenham

Chutzpal represents the bang in-form Henry de Bromhead yard and it’s hard to argue with a mark of 119. He didn’t get out of second gear when winning a Bellewstown handicap by 12 lengths in August and his trainer has done well at this meeting in the past. Mike O’Connor’s 3lb claim will certainly come in handy and Chutzpal should be in the mix here.

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