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Ruby Walsh has described him as his best ride of the week and thousands of punters will simply lump on and expect an 11th win in succession. But Big Buck's is unlikely to toy with this year's World Hurdle rivals in the way he has dismissed overmatched rivals so far this season. Grands Crus looks a stern rival to the champ as he bids to win Cheltenham's day three showpiece for a third year running and RUK analyst Graham Cunningham expects a classic showdown as he continues his Festival Foursome feature.


1: Loosen My Load has had very little publicity in the run up to the Jewson Chase at 13:30, but he's struck me as the ideal type for this for quite a while now.
In the words of trainer Henry de Bromhead he's "a savage jumper" and he's also a proven Cheltenham performer who relishes good ground.
The form he showed when third here in November was franked when Captain Chris won the Arkle here on Tuesday and I'll be looking to take the best win and place prices with a view to trading out short in the run.


2: Chartreux has been in my notebook for the Pertemps Final at 14:05 ever since his highly promising third behind stablemates Ashkazar and Junior here on New Year's Day.
As ever, there are any number of serious dangers in the best staying handicap hurdle of the season, but Chartreux is far less exposed than most with a high cruising speed and ample scope for progress.
He set sail for home too early last time, so a more patient ride looks needed here. Either way, his win and place prospects look bright.


3: The Nick Williams-trained Gauvain has been my idea of the best win and place longshot of the Festival in the Ryanair Chase at 14:40.
Granted, Poquelin's fine course form makes him a very solid favourite, but Gauvain showed how well he handles Cheltenham last November and looked right back on song when a strong-travelling second to the high-class Riverside Theatre in the Betfair Chase at Ascot.
Riverside Theatre is absent here and all in all this looks one of the weakest Grade 1 contests of the week. Add in the fact that the normally cautious Williams seemed unusually confident last week and Gauvain continues to catch the eye at double figure prices.

4: It's a price thing again in the World Hurdle at 15:20. Put simply, if Grands Crus nudges 4.0 he will become very tempting.
And I suspect he might drift in the Betfair market once the Big Buck's legions get to work.
Make no mistake, BB is a formidable hurdler who will be mighty hard to beat as he bids to continue his domination of this division.
But Grands Crus has rampaged through the handicap ranks season and made some smart horses look third rate in the Cleeve Hurdle here on his latest start. He's only just behind Big Buck's on that form and the speed he shows suggests he ought to be just as good on spring ground as he is on soft.

5: Noble Prince might represent a value place lay in the Jewson on the basis that these demanding fences might pose him problems.
His running ability isn't in doubt and he turned in a fine effort over hurdles here last year when fifth in the County. He also holds Loosen My Load on Leopardstown chase form, but the ground will be very different this time around and Noble Prince's deliberate technique might hold him back if the pace is generous.


6: Knockara Beau is the place lay contender in the Pertemps Final for the simple reason that he needs to run a heroic race to make the first four from an official mark of 156.
Ability to handle Cheltenham isn't an issue and nor is his willingness to battle once things get tough.
However, Knockara Beau has been hiked a further 8lb for his gutsy all-the-way Carlisle success. That makes him vulnerable and I'm happy enough to go to around 5 to be against him.

7: Kalahari King is the place lay candidate in the Ryanair.
Such a strategy comes with risks as he boasts an admirable Festival record and his canny handler Ferdy Murphy pulled another Festival rabbit from the hat with Divers on Tuesday.
However, assessing how good KK is nowadays isn't easy. Perhaps he will revive for the return to the Fez. But at around evens to make the first three I'm happy to be against him.


8: Galant Nuit is the last appealing place lay angle of the day in the Kim Muir at 16:40.
Many a Festival regular will be drawn to him on the basis that he's trained by Ferdy and only 1lb higher than when coming home strongly for third in this race last year.
However, Galant Nuit looked flattered by the bare result that day, picking up the pieces after being badly outpaced coming down the hill, and even with Nina Carberry on board again that tendency to be chopped for speed could cost him dear this time.

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