As a bookie you always go into the festival with a battle plan, and I was at the Cheltenham preview evening at Towcester on Wednesday night sounding out friends from around the industry for the inside track.

First off here’s a couple of horses I’ll be laying big time next week.

My plan is to hit the ground running and lay Dunguib in the Supreme Novices. I think he’ll start odds against and not the silly odds you can get now. Why? Well he’s a soft ground bully, he can’t jump and his jockey’s a novice!

Another big lay will be Denman – it looks like nobody wants to back him this year after the AON so we might have to push the price out to get some money in the satchel.

Get the Value and Back Early!

The best tip I can give punters is to remember that totesport are going Non Runner No Bet.

This is great value for money and you’ll get prices that’ll be long gone by race day. Last year 24 out of 26 winners paid out more if you backed them early so it pays to get your cash on now.

Khyber Kim is a case in point. At 7/1 for the Champion Hurdle he’ll only get shorter. Same applies to Alfie Sherrin in the Pertemps Hurdle. He’s owned by Harry ‘the dog’ Findlay and won’t start bigger than 7/2 on race day as his connections are big players in the betting jungle.

On the other end of the scale I think Solwhit, Rite of Passage (ridiculous price), Long Run and Karaback will drift over the next few days.

Gary’s Bankers…

My banker for the week has to be Big Bucks to retain the World Hurdle. He’s 4/7 right now but looks more like a 4’s on shot to me.

Kalahari King (7/1) looks a great each way bet in the Queen Mother. Twist Magic can look very dodgy at the start, I don’t think Big Zeb will get round and Barker would have more chance with Ronnie Corbett on board!

For my last banker I’m backing Tataniano (7/1) to finish the week on a high in the Grand Annual. Connections have opted for this race over the Arkle and he’s sure to be popular in what is now the ‘get out stakes’.

Ones to Watch

For the Arkle I’ll be going for Sports Line. If he’s as big as 8/1 on the day you can find me in the Best Mate enclosure handing out free toffee apples. Later on it’s the Cross Country Chase – otherwise known as the JP McManus Benevolent Fund – where I expect Garde Champetre (2/1) or L’ami (10/3) to win another one for JP.

Another solid looking bet would be Character Building (11/1) in the William Hill Trophy. He also looks a good weight for the National and will be a big hope for David Pipe.

For the Albert Bartlett we’ve already seen money for The Betchworth Kid (8/1) and it’s fair to say we’ll be waving the white flag if that one romps up the hill!

The Fox Hunters Chase is usually a lucky race for me and last year I backed Cappa Bleu for a small fortune. This year I’m going for Kilty Storm (12/1). He didn’t perform well under Martin Pipe but went back to Ireland and has been burning it up in point to points ever since. If the ground is soft by Friday 12/1 looks great value to me.

And finally the big one…!

As I said earlier I’ll be laying Denman big time this year for the totesport Gold Cup while Kauto Star looks the class of the field to me. I think an each-way bet on Tricky Trickster (16/1) and Imperial Commander (10/1) will give you two great runs for your money. I was chatting with Paddy Brennan at Towcester and he tells me Imperial Commander is the fittest he’s ever been, unlike this writer!

Enjoy the build up to the festival and I’ll be back on Tuesday to give you some more thoughts on the day one action.

In the meantime, be lucky!
Gary