Cheltenham Festival 2019 Day 1 Tips – Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

A total of 18 hopefuls will line up at the starting tape in an attempt to win the 2019 Cheltenham Festival curtain raiser and mark the beginning of what is sure to be a fascinating, highly charged, sometimes trying, but hopefully very memorable four days.

The top horse Al Dancer is the current favourite following his recent win at Ascot but there would look to be value around in the race outside of him at the top of the betting.
Maybe the quick return to action came too quick for Getaway Trump, who was fourth to Al Dancer, but Paul Nicholls’ charge getting well stuffed at Kelso since Ascot doesn’t give that form much of a boost.

Klassical Dream has been thrown in here rather than the Ballymore on Wednesday for Willie Mullins and is the mount of Ruby Walsh over Aramon.

Elixir De Nutz could prove to be the best of the local challenge for Colin Tizzard and Tom O’Brien as he looks to bring up a four-timer.

JP McManus has purchased Fakir D’oudairies since he bolted up here on Cheltenham Trials Day and JJ Slevin has kept the ride on Joseph O’Brien’s four-year-old who will aim to defy the stats and win the Supreme as a four-year-old with a valuable 8lbs allowance.

This definitely looks like a race for the bookmakers and a conservative each-way approach might be a bit of a boring start to the biggest racing week of the year but it’s best advised.

Klassical Dream sticking at this trip might not be a bad thing on this ground but the thought was that he would be better over further and…

a chance is taken on Vision D’honneur to run a big race here for Gordon Elliott.

The trainer won this race famously two years ago with Labaik and has opted to stick a tongue-tie on Vision D’honneur for the first time in the Supreme. The formbook tells us that Vision D’honneur finished behind Klassical Dream in both meetings they’ve had and therefore it is very hard to confidently predict a reversal, but Elliott was waxing lyrical about this horse after he won at Punchestown and that Klassical Dream form could prove to be the best around.

The Mullins runner is 5/1 whereas Elliott’s charge is a 12/1 shot and he’s getting a proper ease in the ground for the first time. If the softer ground and the tongue-tie can bring about any improvement, he can at least close the gap on Klassical Dream and at the prices maybe he is just worth chancing with an each-way bet.

Recommended Bets:
Vision D’honneur each-way (12/1) – Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

*Prices correct at time of publication.