Huge Lucky 15: Four Irish raiders to keep an eye on at Cheltenham on Friday ☘️

Friday is understandably the weaker of Cheltenham‘s two-day December meeting. This has drawn the interest of some Irish trainers and there are nine raiders set to take their chance. We’ve picked out four particularly interesting ones which could be worth keeping an eye on. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.

12.05 Cheltenham

Soldante benefitted from Mark Walsh’s error of judgement when getting the better of Jolie Coeur Allen on hurdles debut at Tramore last time. The front two were clear of the rest that day and he’s entitled to progress on just his second hurdles start. This is a competitive race and you would imagine significant progress is required but he shouldn’t be underestimated. His jockey’s claim cancels out half of his 6lb penalty, which could prove useful.

1.15 Cheltenham

Thecompanysergeant is the top weight in this race, with a British rating of 134. He has run well at Cheltenham in the past, finishing third behind Encanto Bruno in a bumper here in October 2022. A two-time hurdle winner already, he may have been overlooked and is available at a massive price.

1.50 Cheltenham

La Malmason has faced some difficult tasks over fences so far and the and the switch to handicap company is a big plus. Her best effort over fences so far came when third behind the useful Found A Fifty at Down Royal last month. Gavin Cromwell’s charge won’t find anything of that calibre here and she’s entitled to run a huge race.

3.00 Cheltenham

Minello Indo won the Gold Cup here back in 2021 and has failed to really hit the heights since. The Cross Country is a rather unique test that has the potential to reignite his fire. Going up to an extended 3m5f for the first time here, his profile and style of running suggest it should be right up his street.

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