Horse Racing Tips
Cheltenham Tips Friday: November Meeting Day 1 Predictions (2025)
Steve Mullington previews the action on Day 1 of the Cheltenham November Meeting.
Marketed as “Countryside Day”, the first day of Cheltenham’s popular November meeting includes two Graded contests – The Shloer Steeplechase (Grade 2) (Registered as The Cheltenham Chase) and The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle Race (Grade 2) (Registered as The Hyde Novices Hurdle).
Here, I go through each race at Prestbury Park on Friday – with a selection for every race at the fixture…
1.10pm – 2m5f Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (Class 3) (3yo+ 0-125)
There’s a very tricky handicap to start off proceedings on Friday and jockey bookings are incredibly important in a race of this nature.
Therefore my eye is taken to Kayley Woollacott’s EL CAPITAINE who will be ridden by the thoroughly talented Tiernan Power Roche in this 2m5f contest.
The seven-year-old has won seven of his eight point-to-point starts, with his first start under Rules also producing another victory at Newton Abbot. He’s an each-way play all day long for me.
1.45pm – 2m4f Veterans’ Handicap Chase ( (Class 2) (9yo+ 0-150)
Ten-year-old DREAL DEAL has certainly had some colourful trainers and owners down the years, but it doesn’t detract from the fact that he’s still a solid performer.
Now into the veteran stage of his career, the ten-year-old can go well under his regular rider Simon Torrens.
2.20pm – 3m1f Novices’ Chase (Listed Race) (5yo+)
WADE OUT (NAP) gutsily rallied to beat the well-touted Wendigo in a Beginners’ Chase three weeks ago at Worcester, and can build upon that experience.
As long as the Shantou-gelding doesn’t get out of his ground too early in this race, Sean Bowen can hunt him around sweetly, ready to pounce in the closing stages.
2.55pm – 2m Shloer Chase (Grade 2) (4yo+)
Nicky Henderson’s star two-miler JONBON has won this Grade Two event the past two seasons before going on to bigger and better things, and unsurprisingly he is back again, in his traditional seasonal curtain raiser.
He should take all the beating and is available at a shade of odds-on in our sports betting market.
3.30pm – 2m5f (Old) Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2) (4yo+)
Last season’s Champion Bumper runner-up HEADS UP, returns to Prestbury Park as a winning hurdler, having won a maiden at Listowel in September.
John McConnell has had a fair degree of success at Cheltenham in recent times, especially when sending his horses over for these October and November fixtures, and this five-year-old appears to be on the up and up.
4.00pm – 2m½f Valda Energy Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (3yo+ 0-125)
A large field of 18 runners line up in the lucky last, and sneaking in right at the bottom of the handicap, on no kind of weight, is the 2024 Cesarewitch winner ALPHONSE LE GRAND for Tony Martin.
The six-year-old simply cannot be ignored with everything in his favour, and the Sea The Stars-gelding can finally register his first victory over timber today.
Our horse racing betting compilers have him generously priced up at 4/1 as I write.
*Odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*
