National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase Tips: Put a cool Theory into practice

Day one of the Cheltenham Festival closes with a fascinating National Hunt Chase, a novices handicap run over three miles and six furlongs. 

This race is in its infancy, having previously been run over a gruelling four miles and it looks set to be a high-quality edition.   

Our in-house Horse Racing tipster Owen McMahon has gone through the card for Tuesday's Races and made a selection for every race. Read who he's backing and why with our Cheltenham Day 1 Tips. Add to that former Jockey Katie Walsh has passed on her Cheltenham Tuesday Tips to us here at Betfred.

The Irish to end day one in style

Paul Nolan does not have the firepower of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott but this very shrewd Irish trainer is always to be feared when readying one for the Cheltenham Festival and in Iceberg Theory he has a very interesting young staying chaser on his hands who is worth siding with.

Like many in this race, Iceberg Theory comes here short on experience but all the signs point to him posting a much-improved effort over this marathon trip.

Iceberg Theory showed useful winning form over three miles as a hurdler but chasing was always going to be his game and he hasn’t looked back since being sent over the larger obstacles.

His debut over fences at Wexford saw him finish a promising second in that three-mile, one-furlong contest and he quickly went one better in a beginners’ chase over two miles and six furlongs at Limerick in May, form which has worked out really well subsequently.

He wasn’t seen again until November when overcoming a drop back in trip to go in on his handicap debut at Cork, coming through really strongly after the last to win emphatically.

That victory marked him down for the big staying handicap chases over Christmas but he hasn’t been seen out again and his revised handicap mark of 133 remains very workable.

On pedigree, it should come as no surprise that Noland has chosen to wait for this marathon contest as Iceberg Theory is a son of Flemensfirth, a noted stamina influence for chasers.

Add in the fact that Iceberg Theory already looks an assured jumper and it is clear he has a lot going for him.

Of course, there are plenty of other contenders in the race but Nolan’s patience could well prove very telling.

Down Memory Lane to go close

Gordon Elliott has enjoyed a fine season and his Down Memory Lane is one to be interested in here too.

This eight-year-old looked destined for great things when making a sparkling winning debut over fences at Navan late in 2024 but it hasn’t been plain sailing since.

However, he looked back to his best when very confidently ridden to land the Foxrock Handicap at Navan in December and his fine record when fresh sees him firmly in the picture for this contest.

That latest Navan victory was just his second in a handicap and he rates a big threat to Skelton’s Madara.

As befits a handicap of this nature, there are several others who command plenty of respect, notably fellow Irish challengers Mclaurey and Zurich, while of the home runners, Jipcot looks to have more to offer and needs factoring in.

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