Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle Tips: Can Thomas land his first trained winner at the Festival?

The penultimate race on Day 3 (Thursday) at the Cheltenham Festival is the Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle (16:40 GMT) which covers three miles on the new course at Prestbury Park.

Below you will find my Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle tips.

Our in-house Horse Racing tipster Owen McMahon has gone through the card for Thursday's Races and made a selection for every race. Read who he's backing and why with our Cheltenham Day 3 Tips. 

Added to that, former jockey Katie Walsh runs through her Cheltenham Thursday Tips for Betfred.

Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle Odds

C'est Different @ 15/2

Sam Thomas, the Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning jockey with Denman in 2008, is hoping to land his first Festival champion as a trainer on Thursday with C'EST DIFFERENT.

The six-year-old gelding is four-for-four in handicaps heading to GL50 and his two most recent triumphs at Market Rasen (eight-and-a-half lengths) and Newbury (five-and-a-half lengths) were comfortable around the three-mile mark.

In 23 of the past 32 renewals, the champion had previously won over this distance. C'est Different fits the bill quite nicely as a result. He is consistently seeing off his rivals with strong finishes and so he heads to Cheltenham with big claims.

After eight starts to date, the son of Manatee holds serious potential and I am expecting another big performance from him here.

Each-way - Absolutely Doyen @ 12/1

Paul Nicholls landed his first win in this race with Monmiral in 2024 but last year's entry, Henri The Second, couldn't make it consecutive victories for the British trainer.

ABSOLUTELY DOYEN may not be towards the top of the betting for Thursday but he looks like he can be a big player for this yard. The six-year-old gelding is five-for-five since switching over from Fergal O'Brien's stable in October.

His previous three victories have come over three miles, including the Wincanton qualifier. Absolutely Doyen has been finishing off his opponents in style in recent months, and up the Cheltenham hill, he could be a problem for the leading contenders in this field.

Harry Cobden is in the saddle, two years after winning this race with another star from the Manor Farm Stables. At 12/1, this looks a good each-way bet.

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Super Extra Place Race - Paying six places instead of four at 1/5 odds

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