Cheltenham Tips: Local success beckons for team O’Neill in ITV crackers

Farewell, 2024, you've been great - now move aside and let 2025 stretch its legs. Jump racing's traditional New Year treat is a visit to Cheltenham no less on January 1, so let's do just that and look at the four contests being beamed live into our living rooms by ITV.

Relatively small but highly select fields are the order of the day, and many of the sport's big dogs are here - Nicholls, Henderson, the O'Neills and Skeltons; De Boinville, Cobden, Bowen; it's going to be electric. Curtain's up at 12:20 for a seven-race feast.

Horse Racing Odds

Today's Horse Races

13:30 - Our Power @ 3/1

A decent staying test over fences, with an attractive prize of around £26k to the winner.

Our Power runs in the familiar silks of owner Dai Walters, and Gold Cup-winning jockey Sam Thomas trains. In mid-December the 10-year-old gelding ran a blinder here in a Grade 3 Premier Handicap, just 3l behind King Turgeon, who was following-up after winning the Grand Sefton at Aintree. Mighty powerful form.

He'd been inactive for 377 days prior to that fine Chelters second, and returned with just about a career-best effort. He seems versatile ground-wise, claimer Dylan Johnston takes off a useful 3lb, and the jockey arrives for this fresh from a win at Catterick a couple of days ago.

Fantastic heat, with Venetia and Nigel T-D sure to have a big say in the outcome too (Cloudy Glen and Broadway Boy respectively); but I'm very hopeful.

14:05 - Springwell Bay @ 10/3

A classy handicap chase again, this time over a touch in excess of two-and-a-half-miles.

My selection Springwell Bay looks poised to strike for the O'Neill family, with the eight-year-old Kayf Tara gelding in fabulous nick in his three runs since reappearing for the season at Chepstow in mid-October.

A comfortable win that day on chase debut was followed by two further efforts at this very course, close-up on both occasions in novice company. This will only be race number four over the larger obstacles, and further improvement is most certainly possible for this progressive type.

His conqueror here in November, Hyland, has gone on to run The Jukebox Man to just over 2l in the Kauto Star at Kempton over Xmas, and apart from those splendid recent efforts he's a previous winner here over hurdles.

This one is my nap on the card, and what a tremendous contest we have in prospect. Springwell Bay runs in the familiar colours of Mrs Gay Smith, who had the superb Black Jack Ketchum with the yard back in the day among many other notables.

14:40 - One Big Bang @ 11/4

An open-looking staying handicap hurdle now, but one where a promising, mainly claimer-ridden seven-year-old gelding gets champion jockey Harry Cobden on his back for the first time.

One Big Bang is housed at James Owen's dual-purpose Newmarket yard (20% strike-rate in the last 14 days), and in two spins since reappearing in October has been a creditable second on both occasions.

Hard not to conclude that those runs will have left him cherry-ripe for this, and that the booking of the brilliant Cobden is the perfect additional element. He was less than 3l away from carrying off a £57k pot at Haydock 39 days ago, and this is an easier assignment.

The presence of topweight Twig (12st) helps in that he's 'only' carrying 10st 12lb, up just 3lb in the handicap from last time, and for me has a terrific opportunity on Wednesday.

15:15 - Lucky Place @ 3/1

Our lucky last in terms of the ITV races - a famous old Grade 2 contest over 2m 4f, the Relkeel Hurdle.

Some absolute superstars have won this in the past - how about the likes of Morley Street, Granville Again, and Bob Olinger? Relkeel won the Bula Hurdle here (another old Champion Hurdle legend) three times in the 1990s (the race is now called the International), and is remembered fondly courtesy of this fabulous annual test for five-year-olds and upwards.

Lucky Place represents trainer-of-the-moment Nicky Henderson (Constitution Hill and Sir Gino will have ensured a very happy Seven Barrows Christmas), and the six-year-old gelding bids to follow-up after winning a similar affair at Ascot 39 days ago.

He's gone up 5lb for that but can justify his Stayers' Hurdle entry by running a  blinder here, fingers crossed. He's not terribly well in with Langer Dan on their clash in the Coral Cup at the Festival but he's better than that now and can continue on that upward curve for his buoyant handler.

Horse Racing Tips from Betfred Insights.