Sam King is back with three selections on day two of the Cheltenham Festival…
The Cheltenham Festival 2025 kicked off in super dramatic fashion yesterday. It's unlikely day two will match the same heights when it comes to drama, but there is some top-quality action on show and I'm back with a trio of selections for the seven-race card.
Willie Mullins has won the opening contest on Wednesday seven times (including the last three) and Final Demand can help continue his domination in the Turners Novices' Hurdle.
Dan Skelton will be hoping to break the run with his hugely-exciting novice The New Lion, but Challow Hurdle winners have a poor record in this and we're yet to really know what he can do off the bridle. JP McManus' latest recruit clearly possesses bundles of ability, but there's not much between himself and Final Demand at the top of the betting, and the latter makes more appeal.
The six-year-old son of Walk In The Park could hardly have been more impressive when making a successful hurdling debut at Limerick before readily landing an often-informative Grade 1 at the Dublin Racing Festival last month.
Paul Townend did have to push him out to score by a commanding twelve lengths on that occasion, but I think the experience he gained off the bridle will stand him in excellent stead here.
That latest success came over 2m6f on soft ground and with stamina likely to come to the fore on day two, this race could prove tailormade for him.
2pt win – Final Demand
Odds – 11/8
There's no Langer Dan to worry about this year as he heads to the Stayers' Hurdle, but Dan Skelton looks to have drafted in a fairly solid replacement in the shape of Be Aware. He looked to be crying out for this step up in trip after eye-catching efforts at this venue in November and at Ascot a month later and is understandably towards the top of the market.
That said, Beat The Bat makes plenty of appeal at the current prices, especially with bookmakers paying up to eight places.
The Harry Fry-trained contender much better than the bare result when fifth behind Nicky Henderson's well-handicapped Joyeuse at Newbury, staying on well in the closing stages despite some sloppy jumping.
That was just his ninth run of his career and it's entirely possible his jumping will improve now that he steps up in distance. He hasn't been seen racing on ground with good in the description since winning a maiden hurdle at Ascot in November 2023 and although it's tough to gauge what conditions will be like following a flurry of snow and sleet this morning, his current mark of 133 is too tempting to ignore.
1pt Each-way - Beat The Bat
Odds – 10/1
Mullins and Elliott have dominated the Weatherbys Champion Bumper in recent years, and they look to do so once more, especially if the betting is anything to go by. The duo appear to hold all the aces with the top four in the market all being houses at either Closutton or Cullentra.
Patrick Mullins gets first pick for the Mullins team and it's interesting he's sided with Copacabana, who was revealed as being JP McManus' only bet of the Cheltenham Festival in a Racing Post column earlier in the week.
The son of Blue Bresil could hardly have been more impressive when making a winning debut at Navan a month ago and providing ground conditions aren't too quick, he could have the class to make it two from two.
Patrick Mullins had a fair job pulling him up following his success at Navan and with once-raced winners having landed this prize on ten occasions, I wouldn't be overly worried about his experience.
1pt Win – Copacabana
Odds – 3/1
