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Gerri Colombe can maintain his unblemished record in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham.
The Gordon Elliott -trained seven-year-old has cruised through from the point-to-point field to bumpers, hurdles and the novice chase division, all without suffering a loss in eight starts.
Over fences he is already a dual Grade One winner, taking the Faugheen Novice Chase at Limerick by four and a quarter lengths before landing the Scilly Isles at Sandown in February.
At Cheltenham he will step up to three miles, a trip over which he won a point-to-point, and he is likely to encounter the soft ground that he has shown he can cope with before.
The pointers provided by his pedigree are also positive, with Saddler Maker producing a host of soft-ground loving stayers such as Bristol De Mai, Discorama and Alpha Des Obeaux.
Barry Connell's Good Land can strike in the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle.
The seven-year-old has had a near-flawless season, the only defeat being a first-fence unseat on his debut run over hurdles at Fairyhouse in December.
After that he was an eight-length winner of a Leopardstown maiden and then a Grade One victor in the Nathaniel Lacy at the same track in February.
His first Leopardstown victory saw him beat subsequent runaway Thurles novice winner Embassy Gardens, and he is another proven to have handled soft ground and a longer trip with both ease and professionalism.
Edwardstone is fancied to return to winning ways in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase for Alan King after losing out to Editeur Gu Gite on his last start and unseating the time before.
Last season's Arkle hero, he was an easy Tingle Creek winner when starting his campaign but departed early in the Desert Orchid Chase at Christmas and was then just defeated in the Clarence House the following month.
That latter loss was by just a head, however, and now Editeur Du Gite's front-running ways are slightly more familiar, it is likely that Edwardstone will be ridden to suit and he can claim another Festival success.
Galvin looks like being another Elliott-trained winner of the Glenfarclas Chase over the cross-country course. Not far off Gold Cup standard at his best, he has stablemate Delta Work to beat.
Paul Nolan has not always been blessed with the rub of the green at this meeting, so with that in mind HMS Seahorse would be a deserved winner of the Coral Cup.
And if the market vibes of recent days are anything to go by, he has every chance, with course experience from his close fourth in the Fred Winter last year another positive.
The Mullins family have a close association with the Weatherbys Champion Bumper and Fun Fun Fun is particularly salient as she was bred by Patrick, son of master trainer Willie.
A 10-length winner of her maiden bumper run, the five-year-old then went on to win again when taking a Grade Two mares' event at Leopardstown in February.
She is taken to beat the boys at Prestbury Park.
SELECTIONS:
CHELTENHAM: 1.30 Good Land, 2.10 GERRI COLOMBE (NAP), 2.50 HMS Seahorse, 3.30 Edwardstone, 4.10 Galvin, 4.50 Final Orders, 5.30 Fun Fun Fun.
HUNTINGDON: 1.50 Not Another Muddle, 2.30 Odin's Quest, 3.10 Space Voyage, 3.50 Fortune Cookie, 4.30 Bignorm, 5.10 Rock On Tommy, 5.50 Stop Loss.
KEMPTON: 6.00 Through The Ages, 6.30 Woodstock, 7.00 Brave Emperor, 7.30 First Emperor, 8.00 Forever Dreaming, 8.30 Early Morning Dew.
NEWCASTLE: 5.05 Land Legend, 5.40 Old Smoke, 6.15 Furniture Factors, 6.45 Star Shield, 7.15 Lord Rapscallion, 7.45 South Dakota Sioux, 8.15 Rockley Point.
DOUBLE: Gerri Colombe and Edwardstone.
