Festival Update winner Meetmebythesea @ 9/1

Meetmebythesea (advised antepost @ 12/1 in the February Update) ensured that a well executed plan came to fruition in the Jack Richards Novices' Handicap Chase on the third day of the Cheltenham Festival on Thursday. As discussed in the November Update, the six year old has been aimed at the two and a half miles event all season. Twice a winner over two miles at Wetherby and Ayr earlier in the campaign, Ben Pauling's gelding qualified for this by lining up in the Grade 2 Game Spirit Chase at Newbury last month. Rated 139, he was lining up here for only the second time over the trip and the ex-pointer relished the step up in distance. Always to the fore under Ben Jones, the J.P.McManus owned runner jumped superbly and readily saw off the prolonged challenge of Gold Dancer before bounding clear on the run-in to win by nearly five lengths. Advised in the Festival Update, he defied a drift in the market and returned at 9/1. 

Subscribers to the February Update have had a profitable Festival with ante post selections Saratoga (advised @ 12/1) and Meetmebythesea (advised @ 12/1) both scoring. Thank you very much to those clients who have emailed since, it is greatly appreciated. 

Having decided to not get involved in the other races on Thursday in the Update, the decision was vindicated with White Noise (40/1) winning the Grade 2 mares' novice hurdle and Home By The Lee (33/1) landing the Stayers' Hurdle at the fifth attempt. Joseph O'Brien's gelding became the second eleven year old to win the prize since 1986. Good luck if you found either of those two, plus Ask Brewster (22/1) in the Kim Muir.

The Ryanair Chase was won in emphatic fashion by Heart Wood providing Henry De Bromhead with a welcome winner. A distant second behind Fact To File in the same event twelve months earlier, he took advantage with Willie Mullins' runner being withdrawn. Earlier in the day, Gordon Elliott belatedly got off the mark for the week with Wodhooh scoring at the Festival for a second time. Last season's Martin Pipel Conditional Hurdle winner proved too strong for her six opponents. Both winners produced good performances but neither race set the pulse racing.