No Marine Nationale at Cheltenham! This 6-1 Arkle contender can get the job done

The Arkle market has been shaken up thoroughly by the news that long term ante-post favourite Marine Nationale will be missing the race. It’s now wide open and could become an entirely different race. With this in mind, you may want to consider some different form lines.

We’ve picked out a thoroughly unexposed chaser that could be anything and one for each-way players that can outrun his odds. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing as well as our Cheltenham Festival page.

Arkle Challenge Trophy

Hunters Yarn isn’t a perfect candidate by any stretch of the imagination but this could be an imperfect race. The market leaders are very closely matched on form and you wouldn’t want to pick between them for that reason.

Willie Mullins’ seven-year-old was well fancied for the County Hurdle last year but frankly his jockey never put him in the race at any point and I would suggest you ignore that run. He was very impressive at Fairyhouse last time out and he beat a couple of useful sorts easily despite a shuddering mistake at the second last.

A faller at the last when well in control on chase debut before that, the fortunate winner of that race ended up 40 lengths clear of the rest. There obviously needs to be significant improvement in the jumping department but he’s entitled to find it with more experience.

The fact of the matter is that none of these will trouble El Fabiolo in the 2025 Champion Chase but Hunters Yarn could prove to be the best of an average bunch in this division.

Each-way play

My Mate Mozzie is already a course and distance winner and his run behind Found A Fifty at Leopardstown over Christmas was solid. He doesn’t have a great deal to find on that evidence and he appears to offer some each-way value. Marine Nationale’s absence could persuade connections to come here rather than take up the handicap option.

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.