Skip to main content
Cheltenham Festival 2024 preview with Farringdon: Day 2
El Fabiolo

Disclaimer: Compulsive gambling can harm your health and relationships, and leave you in serious debt. If you have a problem with gambling and you’d like to stop, support and treatment is available. To find information, support and counselling on gambling addiction, please visit the NHS website: www.bit.ly/NHSGambling

WITH a dry day forecast for this afternoon after all the recent rain, the ground is likely to be very gluey with the turf having been opened up as well, so today is a card to tread carefully with. Still, I expect the feature event, the Queen Mother Champion Chase (3.30), to go the way of the long time favourite EL FABIOLO.

Many have questioned his jumping at times, and although Edwardstone is sure to set the pace here, I am sure that both Alan King and Tom Cannon will be very wary about going too quickly which will put less emphasis on jumping accuracy. The selection is the class act here and will be better suited to this testing surface more than his arch-rival, according to the marketplace, Jonbon.

If you delve deeper into the form on the rest of the card, there are certainly plenty of heavy ground specialists, none more so than COKO BEACH in the Cross Country Chase at 4.10. At his peak he hasn’t delivered at the top table as much as Delta Work, Minella Indo and Galvin have, but he is still only nine and at the top of his game, whereas his rivals are all on the downgrade and, most important of all, will not be suited by further rain, whereas Coko will absolutely relish these conditions.

Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Morning Star call for advertising
More from this author
Iberian ridden by Tom Marquand wins the Betfred Champagne St
Horse Racing / 29 March 2025
29 March 2025
Including races at Doncaster, Kempton and Curragh
Theatre Man ridden by jockey Harry Bannister in the Jm Finn
Horse Racing / 22 March 2025
22 March 2025
Including races at Newbury, Kelso, Bangor and Wolverhampton
Ioupy Collonges ridden by Ben Bromley (right) on the way to
Horse Racing / 15 March 2025
15 March 2025
Including races at Uttoxeter, Kempton, Newcastle and Wolverhampton
Galopin Des Champs ridden by Paul Townend (right) on their w
Horse Racing / 13 March 2025
13 March 2025
Cheltenham Festival preview with Farringdon: Day four
Similar stories
Paul Townend aboard Lossiemouth after winning the Close Brot
Racing / 12 March 2025
12 March 2025
Willie Mullins trained horses on the gallops at Cheltenham R
Racing / 11 March 2025
11 March 2025
Uncle Bert ridden by jockey Jordan Nailor on their way to wi
Racing / 7 December 2024
7 December 2024
Including races at Aintree and Sandown
Weveallbeencaught
Racing / 27 April 2024
27 April 2024
Including races at Sandown, Haydock, Ripon and Wolverhampton