Templegate’s 14-1 Arkle ante-post tip with Sir Gino OUT of Cheltenham Festival

IT was inevitable that one of the Festival hotpots would be ruled out and let’s hope Sir Gino is the only one to miss his target.

His absence should have blown the Arkle wide open but he’s just been replaced by another hotpot in Majborough who is now 8-13.

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L’Eau Du Sud looks a few steps behind Sir Gino and Majborough after his solid but not spectacular Kingmaker win at Warwick at the weekend.

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He looked tired in the closing stages as his pretty modest rivals closed up.

I would swerve the Arkle after this and go for the Melling at Aintree instead.

The flatter track there is better suited to his front-running style too.

But Sir Gino being out means he’s at least got place claims at the Festival at around the 5-1 mark.

Ballyburn is suddenly 4-1 second favourite for the Arkle but is likely to tackle a longer trip if his Willie Mullins stablemate remains fit.

Maybe Nicky Henderson will drop Jango Baie back in trip and go for this over the Brown Advisory but I’m not sure that’s wise.

Gavin Cromwell could have an interesting one in ONLY BY NIGHT.

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She would get the 7lb mares’ allowance and she landed a Cork Grade 2 smoothly before a battling win at Exeter on Sunday.

She obviously has the Mares’ Chase as an option but connections might fancy their chances here.

If you can get 14-1 non-runner, no bet she looks the solid each-way option.

The best performance of last weekend came from a horse that will almost certainly be missing from the Cheltenham Festival.

JOYEUSE was the easiest winner of the William Hill Handicap – the former Tote Gold Trophy – that you will ever see.

She cantered all over them and didn’t break sweat in landing the £87,000 spoils.

As it stands, this relative of champion hurdler Epatante can’t run in a Festival handicap because she needs another run to qualify.

In the good old days, plenty of trainers would be firing her at the Imperial Cup at Sandown before following up in the County Hurdle but that’s not Nicky Henderson’s style.

This was a Graded-class performance in winning by eight lengths and there is a Grade 3 hurdle at the Grand National meeting over 2m4f that’s been won by the likes of Langer Dan off a similar mark as she’ll have after this.

Looking for a possible Festival horse, I was very impressed by the way ANDASHAN won at Kempton on Friday.

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I know it was a modest contest but he pulled Rex Dingle’s arms out for much of the way and still had almost 20 lengths in hand.

If he pops up at the Festival he would be a huge price and could be under-rated.

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