DonaldMcCain

13.30 2m Grade 1 Hurdle
Hollow Tree
I don't think he needs soft ground but he handles it so well that the news they have been watering is encouraging. This will be a very different test to anything he has experienced before but he has a lovely way of going about things and I don't think it will faze him. He has had to do a lot of the work himself in his races up until now but he should get some company this time and he might appreciate running past horses, rather than being the target for them to aim at. It's clearly a very tough race but he's a Grade 1 winner who hasn't run a bad race since we had him and he shouldn't be far away.

14.05 2m Handicap Hurdle
Desert Cry
It's been a frustrating campaign for him as every time he has run in one of these big handicaps, they haven't gone a proper gallop. It would be a surprise if they don't go flat out here though and he deserves a change of luck - the worry for me is that Cheltenham might not be the ideal track for him but he takes his chance and if he runs as well as most of them have this week, he could go well. I still feel he is handicapped to win one of these competitive races.

15.20 3m2f Gold Cup
Weird Al
It's the Gold Cup and I am under no illusions about the size of the task he faces, especially if the obvious two run to their best. That said, his preparations for the race have gone smoothly and this has been the big target for him all year. He is in rude health at home, he should find the race being run to suit him and he goes well at the track. I can't be too confident - it's the Gold Cup after all - but I would think he had to have a good each-way chance at least.

16.00 3m2f Hunter Chase
Cloudy Lane
I have gone on record as saying he was my best chance of the week and that puts the pressure on! Look, he's a grand horse who has been a wonderful servant for us over the years and I am sure he will go well under these conditions. There's a huge field and you always need a bit of luck, but he has a history of running well in these big-field events and that wouldn't be the case for many of his rivals. He's got a rider who knows him, he jumps, he stays and fingers crossed he will justify the faith in him.

16.40 2m4f Handicap Hurdle
Bourne
He surprised us a bit at Ascot but that was his first run in a handicap and the stronger pace seemed to suit him very well. He's gone up in the weights as a consequence but he's lightly raced and improving and his recent work has been very good. Henry [Brooke] knows him well which is a bonus and he still has more improvement in him at this sort of trip. He's a lovely horse and you would have to think he would go close for the Timeform Betfair Racing Club under the conditions.

Tornado Bob
The season has been a disaster for him really - he had a horrible fall at Haydock and hasn't really got it together since. He didn't quite get home in the ground last time but the shorter trip and better ground should be in his favour. If he could bounce back to his best form he would have a cracking chance and it's good that John [Kington] can ride him as he has ridden him nearly every day for the last two years at home. He's obviously got a bit to prove but it would be nice to see him run a bit better as he has had a rough time of it this year.

17.15 2m Handicap Chase
Tara Royal
This has been the target for him for two years - he got injured last winter and missed a chunk of racing - and he comes here on the back of a good win at Musselburgh. He's up in the weights as a result and this track couldn't be more different, but I have never made a secret that I think a fair bit of him and he's flying at home. It is a very competitive event but the way things have been going this week, you couldn't discount him.

For more Festival betting articles, go to http://betting.betfair.com/horse-racing/cheltenham/