Ahead of day three at the Cheltenham Festival the OTB Sports resident racing nerd Thom Malone has his daily selections.
Any good team needs a leader and Envoi Allen will lead off for Team Ireland and this trifecta. The horse is now in the care of Henry de Bromhead, but that has proven no barrier to success this week.
This star is unbeaten and already a dual Cheltenham Festival winner. Given the prices of some favourites already this week, his price is almost acceptable even at odds-on. Expect Envoi Allen to continue the Irish dominance this week.
Paisley Park & @AidanColeman final schooling prep ahead of @CheltenhamRaces festival, joined by Water Wagtail who is also a very special fella here at Bonita Racing Stables 😍🐎 #TeamLavelle pic.twitter.com/xc5HCX3REm
— Emma Lavelle (@ELavelleracing) March 12, 2021
The Ryanair Chase at 2.30 is the second grade one race of the day, and again Irish trained horses dominate the top of the market.
Min won this race last year but he could be usurped by his stablemate with Allaho and Melon also in the mix. The drying ground and positive tactics could help Melon break his Cheltenham Festival duck. He looked certain to win at Christmas but probably over-raced for a time.
The better ground and shorter trip will suit as and Melon can oblige in the Ryanair.
The feature race of the day is the Paddy Power Stayers Hurdle and the last two winners of the race line up again.
Lisnagar Oscar and Paisley Park are both by the same sire, Oscar and take each other on again. Multiple winners of this race are common and the preference is for Paisley Park to regain his crown.
He flopped in the race last year and is another who benefitted from the pandemic, allowing him plenty of time to adequately recover. He looked back to his brilliant best when taking the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot. He has had plenty of time to recover and no Thyme Hill makes the task easier.
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