Andrew Mount's Racing Tips 13.03.2024

It’s Day Two of the Cheltenham Festival (Wednesday, March 13th) where Andrew has three recommended bets/trades. 

CHELTENHAM 3.30

CAPTAIN GUINNESS is going to struggle to beat EL FABIOLO in the Champion Chase, but Henry De Bromhead’s nine-year-old look set to run a big race and can perhaps pick up the silver medal, as he did 12 months ago when finding only Energumene too good. Rachael Blackmore’s mount was reportedly post-race normal when pulled up as the 6-4 favourite at Leopardstown over Christmas but showed more with a third to El Fabiolo at the DRF. He also ran well at the Cheltenham festival in 2020 and in 2021 and second place is again a realistic target. In fact, he might be ridden for that position. Buy at 9 in the Sporting Index 50-25-10 market or back him at 9-2 in the ‘without Fabiolo’ market.

Recommendation: Back CAPTAIN GUINNESS in Cheltenham 3.30

CHELTENHAM 4.50

I had MADARA labelled as a small-field horse after he unseated his rider in an 11-runner handicap chase at Cheltenham’s October meeting and felt vindicated in that belief when he was only sixth of 11 at the November meeting. He bounced back to score in a field of just seven runners at Cheltenham’s December meeting and surprised me when following up at the Dublin Racing Festival. Not only did he beat the Irish in their own back yard, but he did so in a big field (11 ran), over tricky fences and won with something up his sleeve. James Reveley, on board that day, reportedly asked to ride him at the Cheltenham festival before he’d even dismounted and the 10lb rise might underestimate his superiority. Buy in the Sporting Index 50-30-20-10 market or take a fixed odds price (13-2 at the time of writing).

Recommendation: Back MADARA in Cheltenham 4.50

CHELTENHAM 5.30

The Champion bumper is usually an Irish benefit, but I can’t resist a small interest on the Nicky Henderson-trained KINGSTON PRIDE. The five-year-old beat subsequent Listed bumper winner The Enabler in his sole point-to-point start before changing hands for 200,000euros and was sent off as the 8-11 favourite for a bumper on Lingfield’s Polytrack on his rules/stable debut. He could only finish second to Fergal O’Brien’s Tripoli Flyer but wasn’t helped by racing prominently on the inside rail where the surface was at its deepest. There are question marks over the form of the Henderson yard but there’s compensation in the price (25-1 with Sporting Index at the time of writing) and he can be backed in the fixed odds betting or bought in the 50-30-20-10 market.

Recommendation: Back KINGSTON PRIDE in Cheltenham 5.30

Please note that the picks recommended in this blog post are based on past performance and should not be considered a guarantee for future winning outcomes, and it is important to remember that spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses larger than your initial stake/deposit. The views within this preview are those of Andrew Mount, professional tipster and journalist, and not those of Sporting Index.