Cheltenham tips for Saturday: Adrien the star on a top day at HQ

Nicholls’ rep taken to reverse placings with former foe

The Masterson Holdings Hurdle catches the attention of punters on a busy afternoon at Cheltenham which refuses to be over-shadowed by goings on in South Yorkshire.

Due to post at 3.00, the winner of this Class Two event contested over two-miles looks to be Adrien Du Pont who already boasts a Grade One medal.

That stand-out result from four career outings came in the Future Champions Finale Juvenile Hurdle over this trip at the start of the year when beating Richard Hobson’s Chic Name by a margin of note at Chepstow. Despite seeming to shift to his left heading for the winner’s post, he was spotted staying on and more improvement is expected of the four-year-old.

We saw evidence of that when scoring a double at Ascot in the spring at the Coutts Juvenile Handicap Hurdle when trotting home a six-length winner. The reappearance of Paul Nicholls’ hopeful is sure to attract plenty of attention in the betting ring pre-race as punters look to put their trust in him to pick up where he left off, and the early market seems to be a supporter of that theory.

Our pick’s only career defeat came when finishing as runner-up behind Sceau Royal, who re-opposes here, around Cheltenham almost a year ago. But Adrien Du Pont has had an easy time of things over the summer and has shown enough since to suggest he’s more than capable of overturning that defeat.

Don’t call it a comeback

Earlier in the day we get up-and-running with the opening race on the card at 1.50, the 3m 1f Randox Handicap Chase, where Henryville is picked out to get us off on the winning foot.

The Noel Fehily ridden eight-year-old has been knocking on the door of late, threatening a return to the winner’s enclosure, and it can’t be far off. He was last seen handling himself well when ending fourth at Chepstow a fortnight ago and if he keeps going the way he has, this race looks well within his grasp. The course should suit and he’s worth a play.

One more thrown in For Good Measure

Lastly, a worthy mention is given to For Good Measure in the 4.05 Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle, discussed over the 2m 7f trip on good ground.

Philip Hobbs’ gelding has let punters down in the past, when losing out at Market Rasen last time despite going off as joint-favourite, but he was narrowly beaten that day by Kelvingrove, seeing his lead snatched away in the closing seconds of the race and is capable of better.

He did manage back-to-back wins last winter and has placed on each of his two most recent starts, suggesting a third career victory is in the making. He’s only been moved up 4lbs and still looks a bit better than his mark.