‘They’re not here for a day out’ – Irish raider Lucky 15 at Cheltenham on Friday

Racing returns to Cheltenham this week and the two-day Showcase meeting kicks off on Friday. The Irish love to come over for every Cheltenham fixture and there are no fewer than 11 Irish-trained runners on Day 1. Clearly they’re not here for a day out so we’ve picked out four of the most interesting raiders and combined them into a Lucky 15. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.

1.50 Cheltenham

Path d’Oroux is yet to win over fences, despite possessing a substantial mark of 144 in this sphere. That being said, his form in big handicaps at Cheltenham and Aintree suggests he’ll be getting off the mark before long. This looks like a good opportunity and the handicapper reckons he’s the best horse in the race.

2.25 Cheltenham

Dancing On My Own won this race off a 2lb lower mark last term and he should appreciate the decent ground here. Having won that race by two lengths, an extra 2lb is unlikely to be too problematic and another big run could be on the cards.

3.35 Cheltenham

Ceanndana has been the model of consistency since May and it’s hard to knock his three wins and two seconds in five starts. He’ll need to take a step forward on the evidence of his narrow success off 112 at Sligo earlier this month but Ross O’Sullivan’s gelding appears to be progressive.

4.10 Cheltenham

Minella Sixo was a narrow winner of his sole Irish point and was subsequently sold for £115,000. Gordon Elliott’s five-year-old was an easy winner on hurdling debut at Fairyhouse last time and the step up in trip looks likely to suit.

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.