Cheltenham Thursday – A Difficult day for punters!

At the halfway stage of the Cheltenham Festival punters will always take stock of their funds and some will be playing with the bookmaker’s dough or chasing it to get back level.

However, if you have had a tough Tuesday and Wednesday, things don’t get any easier when you venture on to Thursday where handicaps and novices will have you panting for air.

Day three’s opening contest is always a tricky race where smart novice’s who haven’t made the grade for the elite races battle it out down the handicap route. You only have to look at the ante-post market and see bookies go 8-1 the field to show how wide open it is.

Race two then sends you into another handicap minefield with a field of 20+ runners likely to go to post in the Pertemps Final. Currently 12/1 the field, the race has historically been won by a well-handicapped up-and-coming star and is another trappy race.

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Third on the card is the Ryanair Chase which sees seasoned campaigners battle it out but with Poquelin heading them at 4/1 favourite is still not an easy race to win. Competitors who elected to bypass the Gold Cup will take their chance and this year’s renewal looks another wide open contest.

Finally, a less tricky conundrum to deduce with the World Hurdle as Big Buck’s embarks on his quest for a hat-trick and for all money he looks to be the one at Evens.

To finish the card you then return to the handicap sphere with the Festival Plate and the Kim Muir Challenge Cup. Even if you have anything left in the coffers you will be stuck for a selection with ante-post favourites being chalked up at 14/1 and 10/1 respectively.

So, a top quality day’s racing can turn into a punting nightmare and Thursday is definitely the toughest for the gallant punter.