Cheltenham Festival Trials’ Day: Three each-way picks to follow

There will hopefully be Festival pointers aplenty at Cheltenham on Saturday, as they host their annual trials’ day meeting. It’s the Gloucestershire course’s final fixture before the big one in March and there will be plenty of chances to impress.

We have five Grade 2 races to look forward to; the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle, Cotswold Chase, Unibet Hurdle, Cleeve Hurdle and the AIS Novices’ Hurdle.

Expert each-way fancies for Cheltenham Trials Day

Our expert has picked out three strong fancies at each-way prices who may have been unfairly overlooked in the betting.

12.05 Timeform Novices' Handicap Chase - Quebecois @ 20/1

The opening race is a thoroughly competitive novice handicap, which has been won by some smart horses over the years. Paul Nicholls has won two of the last three renewals and Quebecois could be set to win it for Team Ditcheat once again.

Yard form is a slight concern, with just one winner from 35 runners in the last couple of weeks, but that’s not uncommon, as it’s often flu jab season for Nicholls' horses at the start of January. This horse looks every inch a chaser and we haven’t seen the best of him yet.

He looked very smart when winning a maiden hurdle at Chepstow last season and won again in a competitive race at Ayr in April. His most recent run at Sandown was too bad to be true and you can put a line through that. A mark of 135 shouldn’t be beyond him.

Skelton star drops back into handicap company

1.15 Betfair Exchange Handicap Chase - Boombawn @ 16/1

Things have gone almost perfectly for Dan Skelton this season and he has developed a sizeable lead at the top of the Trainers’ Championship. A spring challenge from Willie Mullins is surely coming, but Skelton may have built up an unassailable lead by then.

Boombawn can come out on top in this £100,000 race with the return to handicaps likely to suit the nine-year-old. He has been competing in graded races this season and although he hasn’t been quite up to winning, the son of Dylan Thomas hasn’t disgraced himself either.

His fourth in the Old Roan Chase on seasonal debut was a fair effort and he wasn’t beaten far when third in the Silviniaco Conti Chase last time out. Skelton’s gelding was a Grade 2 winner over fences as a novice and should be very competitive in this grade.

Value in the AIS Novices' Hurdle finale

4.10 AIS Novices' Hurdle - The Blue Room @ 11/1

This race is probably a little more open than the betting suggests and the Olly Murphy-trained The Blue Room shouldn’t be a double-figure price. The form of his Chepstow win looks really solid, as the second and third have both won since.

Going up against Britain’s best 2m4f novice hurdler at Sandown after that, he lost little in defeat that day, especially as No Drama This End has since won the Challow. He was five lengths behind the winner and probably wasn’t helped by a mistake at the second-last.

Further progress can’t be ruled out and he brings a smart level of form to the table. Murphy’s six-year-old won’t need to find much in order to be competitive.