Nick Luck’s William Hill blog: Sunday Cheltenham November Meeting Best Bets

William Hill ambassador Nick Luck previews day three of Cheltenham’s November Meeting, offering best bets for the ITV Racing action.

Sunday, Cheltenham

GAELIC PRIDE might be good enough to break maiden in the TV opener at Cheltenham today (1.15). There are all sorts of interesting options here, but the combination of his good run in the Aintree bumper and his decent second to a pretty smart horse at Fontwell makes him the sensible play.

JIG’S FORGE can making a winning chasing debut in a really tight little race (1.45). Ben Pauling is doing a nice line in novice chasers right now, and this one should be right up there amongst them judged on his smart hurdling form. His best run came at the Festival, while he’s already well proven in testing ground. He’ll want every bit of this trip, but it’s a good starting point.

DR T J ECKLEBURG looks a big price in the two mile handicap (2.20). This isn’t the most reliable line-up, and there are a fair few who might want to get on with it, which will suit the selection. He should be sharper for his comeback, where he was out of the weights and never in the hunt, and will enjoy the soft ground.

MARBLE SANDS is the potential joker in the pack in the big chase (2.55). He’s done all of his running well shy of this trip, but shaped more than once last year as though he’d be suited by it. If he is, he could be really well handicapped, and had a nice tune-up with a good run on the flat the other day. He goes particularly well for today’s rider.

MIRABAD can give the Skeltons another big payday in the Greatwood (3.30). He had a slightly unusual profile for previous connections, but showed more talent than this mark on more than one occasion, particularly in his slightly freakish win here. If he can reasonably expected to move forward a few pounds for the switch of stables, he should be very competitive, particularly with stablemate Knickerbockerglory likely to tow him deep into the race. That horse has claims of his own while, at a bigger price, I can see DEDICATED HERO getting a bit of the minor money.