Nico de Boinville: “I think this looks a good opportunity for him”

12.35pm Cheltenham

Eagle Prince

He looked to enjoy a decent surface on the Flat and it was good when he won on his hurdling debut at Sedgefield last month. This will probably be the softest ground he has encountered and he clearly needs to improve a good deal, stepping up in grade, but the potential is there after just one start.

1.45pm Cheltenham

Mister Coffey

I think this looks a good opportunity for him. He starts his third season as a novice but he has any number of excellent efforts in his CV, perhaps most notably his second in the Kim Muir here. Ease in the ground is a plus, the trip is fine, as is the track, and he has a decent record when fresh. It’s a competitive race but he has a leading chance on his best form.

2.55pm Cheltenham

Chantry House

He hasn’t completed on his last three starts, so hopefully this spin over hurdles will prove to be a nice confidence-boosting start to his season. We know what a good horse he is over fences – he was rated 162 at one stage – so a hurdles mark of 147 is interesting for a horse who has an excellent record first time up. But the most important thing here is clearly something to build on for options down the line.

Unibet are paying an EXTRA PLACE in this race!

4.05pm Cheltenham

Easy Peasy

She came to us after winning her bumper in the summer and she did it very well at Plumpton in September. Obviously, this is light years away from a winning a four-runner race there but the guv’nor knows the family well – he has won with three of her half-sisters – and hopefully she can give a good account of herself in these much deeper waters.