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Ballyfitz advertised his Royal & SunAlliance Chase claims for the Cheltenham Festival with an all-the-way win in the Sir Tristram Ricketts Novices' Chase. Now unbeaten in two starts this season, the eight-year-old has been cut to 16-1 (from 25-1) with most firms for his March target.
Surprised to hear that he is still such a reasonably big price for the Festival, winning trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies said: "That was exciting. The bookies clearly weren't impressed but all he could do was give seven pounds to that lot and absolutely thrash them. I'm delighted with him. "The important thing is he really stays. Very few horses will jump round there in this ground and still finish on the bridle."
Referring to Ballyfitz's single mistake on the second circuit in an otherwise faultless round, he said: "In that ground you're always going to nudge a fence, you can't be perfect at every one. "He'll come back for the next meeting and keep practising here so we get it right for the Cheltenham Festival. " Asked if he thought his charge should be favourite for the Royal & SunAlliance Chase, Twiston-Davies joked: " I don't really give a monkey's.
No, I think he should be 50-1 and I'll have £100 on him. " Jockey Paddy Brennan added: "He did it very well and I'm really pleased for the horse and the yard. "He stays very well and we wanted a good test which is why I made the running. He does not need to go from the front as he has proved before - it is a question of keeping him in one piece and whether he is good enough for the Royal & SunAlliance Chase."
| 18 Nov 2008 | Punchestowns For Ladbrokes? |
| 18 Nov 2008 | Aigle D'Or Possible Champion Hurdle Contender |
| 17 Nov 2008 | Diamond Harry Cheltenham Festival Target Undecided |
| 17 Nov 2008 | Tatenen Arkle Favourite Likely to Head to Leopardstown |
| 15 Nov 2008 | Paddy Power Gold Cup could prove Decisive for Scoop6 |
| 14 Nov 2008 | Golan Way Reaches For Supreme Novices Heights |
| 11 Nov 2008 | Market Movers For Open Meeting |
| 11 Nov 2008 | Schelm Looking for Fourth Successful Raid |
| 11 Nov 2008 | Pipe New Horse Piraya Lines Up For Paddy Power Gold Cup |
| 10 Nov 2008 | Free World Odds Shorten for the Arkle Chase |
Following on from last year, we are delighted to announce that we are featuring horse racing tips from Channel Four Racing presenter, Tom Lee.
Tom appears on Channel 4's Morning Line & covers live Racing in the afternoon as well fronting RTE's Racing coverage in Ireland, his Cheltenham Festival Tips and previews of each day's Racing will be available during the Festival and supported with opinions and views from our Racing writers.
View Tom's Racing Tips
We now have the latest bookmakers betting odds for the main Cheltenham Festival Races.
These odds are updated regularily to ensure that you in touch with all the market moves in the build up to the festival.
The four days of the Cheltenham Festival play host to a number of high quality races:
