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It could be the old champ, it could be the reigning champ, or it could be any one of the potential heirs to the throne. It's Master Minded versus Big Zeb and co. in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday at Cheltenham. RUK analyst Graham Cunningham has his eye on the ones to be with and those to oppose on day two of his Festival Foursome feature.


1: Paul Nicholls feels Master Minded is one of his bets of the week in the Champion Chase at 15:20, but I can't forget the way Big Zeb powered clear of him in this race last year and the stage looks set for a repeat performance.
Forgive the fact that Colm Murphy's gelding was mugged late by Golden Silver at Punchestown last time. Barry Geraghty clearly went for home too soon on testing ground that day, but drying conditions are perfect for Big Zeb. In short, 3.9 or bigger is very fair.


2: It's easy enough to see Ireland having a major say in the Neptune Novices' Hurdle at 14:05. Choosing between a posse of raiders with strong form and huge potential is less straightforward, but Oscar's Well has thrived on winter ground and made some smart rivals look pedestrian at Leopardstown last month to power clear in the Deloitte Hurdle.
As with so many in this field, he has a different question to answer on this faster surface. But trainer Jessie Harrington is confident he will handle it. And if that's the case then anyone who lays Oscar's Well at 4.5 and bigger is taking a hefty risk.


3: Taking two against the field looks a sensible option in the Fred Winter Hurdle at 16:40 and Plan A and Tenor Nivernais look a likely pair for slightly different reasons.
There is no flash story with Tenor Nivernais other than that he lines up with solid form against older horses and shapes as if this demanding track ought to see him improve further.
This looks very much Plan A as far as Plan A is concerned. Switched to Gordon Elliott by an owner who has won this race before, he quickened up smartly to win at Gowran on his latest start and is another whose best is yet to come.


4: The Festival Bumper at 17:15 is always a complex problem, but Knight Pass has looked among the cream of the British crop ever since he bounded clear of a useful field at Sandown and nothing he did in landing the odds at Southwell detracted from the impression that he's good enough to go very well against a field featuring any number of unknown quantities.


5: Excuses have been made for Golden Silver's two heavy defeats at Cheltenham, but I'm not sure I buy into them.
Granted, his record in Ireland is impressive and he beat Big Zeb two starts ago, but he looked flattered coming from well back that day. The leaders won't stop in front of him this time and I'm keen to take him on in the place market at 4.0 and under.


6: Boston's Angel has several likeable attributes, not least that he jumps well, stays strongly and battles hard once things get tough. However, Jessica Harrington's gelding hasn't had much in hand in winning a couple of Grade 1 contests on deep ground in Ireland and this represents a much sterner test. Time For Rupert looks very solid for one of the places, while Wymott, Wayward Prince and Aiteen Thirtythree all have solid claims. Add in the fact that Boston's Angel ran poorly on his sole previous visit here and he's worth laying for a place at around...


7: Wille Mullins has a superb record in the Bumper and Allure Of Illusion is bound to corner support as a result, but I'm not convinced. Perhaps it was inexperience and a little traffic trouble that caused this gelding to only scramble home on his Killarney debut. However, the fact is he needed six stern cracks to beat some very ordinary horses narrowly and there doesn't seem much downside in taking him on for a place in this infinitely deeper race.


8: Oscar Magic is another with place lay potential in the Bumper. Granted, he made a promising start to his career with a decisive Kempton success, but he was receiving 10lb from the runner-up there and I suspect this might be asking too much too soon.

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