JLT Novices Chase Betting Tips for the Cheltenham Festival

JLT Novices' Chase preview and betting tips for the Cheltenham Festival where Wonderful Charm is the current favourite, but will he open our Cheltenham tips for day three?

The newly named JLT Novices’ Chase (formerly known as the Jewson Novices’ Chase) opens the third day of the Cheltenham Festival on Thursday 13^th March and we have got free racing betting tips for the race. 

This race is run over 2m4f on the Cheltenham New Course and represents the perfect stepping stone for horses looking to go on to contest either the Ryanair or the Gold Cup later in their careers.

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The market is currently headed by a group of top quality horses with Wonderful Charm and Felix Yonger both at a best price 6/1 at the head of the market.  Nicky Henderson’s Oscar Whisky (10/1 Ladbrokes) is a top class hurdler, winning five Grade 1 races, who has started his career over fences very well.  Despite losing on debut to the very handy Taquin De Seuil, he bounced back from this defeat and went on to win a further two contests.  His most recent victory came in the Grade 2 Dipper Novices Chase at Cheltenham, where he was able to turn the tables on his early season conqueror and fend off the strong AP McCoy drive.  He is clearly a horse with a lot of potential and his record at Cheltenham is very formidable, yet he’s not my idea of the JLT Novices Hurdle at this stage and has drifted from 5/1 in recent weeks.  

Closely matched on form, Taquin De Seuil (9/1 William Hill) is likely to feature in this race after a comprehensive victory at Haydock in bottomless ground.  In terms of his claims for the win, he holds as good a chance as Oscar Whisky.  Both head-to-head contests between these two horses have been fiercely contested and have given very close finishes.  Similarly to Oscar Whisky, this horse has the potential to be a great chaser but faces strong opposition and we are looking elsewhere for our Cheltenham tips in this one.

Funnily enough, my preference for a betting tip is with WONDERFUL CHARM (6/1 with Winner), a horse previously beaten by Oscar Whisky over fences.  This Paul Nicholls’ inmate has jumped superbly well in the main and was an easy winner over (another Nicky Henderson runner) Bears Affair on chasing debut, winning by a sum of eight lengths.  This was followed by a victory in two Grade 2 races before he faced Oscar Whisky in his last outing.  Although Oscar Whisky proved victorious, it was a valiant effort from the Nicholls’ runner considering he had to concede 8lbs and only lost by half a length.  The stronger pace offered in a big field race will definitely play to this horses' strengths and if Wonderful Charm can settle well, his jumping is a major asset and makes up our idea of the JLT Novices’ Hurdle at this point.

Finally, Harry Fry could be represented by his French import Vukovar (9/1 Betfred).  Although he has only had two runs so far this season, he built on his defeat to Mr Mole by crushing the Nicky Henderson trained Open Hearted by twenty lengths.  Clearly this is a smart import, yet it is difficult to fully quantify his form and it would be a big ask for a horse who has only run twice in this country to then go on to win the JLT Novices’ Chase. 

This looks like a highly competitive renewal with plenty of this season’s novices showing good form and holding strong claims.  On the balance of what has been achieved to date, our Cheltenham betting tip for the JLT Novices Hurdle is Wonderful Charm.  I’m confident that the horse will continue to improve and should arrive at the Festival fully tuned up.

JLT Novices' Chase Betting Tips

Wonderful Charm – click here to bet at 6/1 with Winner.

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