CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL WEDNESDAY - RACEBETS REVIEW

1:30 NH CHASE - As expected, these races are a nightmare. The top-3 were not even in the top-10 of the ratings and I think I'll be giving these a slightly wider berth in the future.

14:05 BALLYMORE NOVICE HURDLE - I'd been backing Mikael D'Haguenet for this and the Albert Bartlett for over the last few weeks at highs of 7 and it ended up being one of my biggest wins over the first two days as my confidence grew stronger and stronger closer to the day of the race. Also had the forecast and nice to see the ratings get the 1-2-3 if not exactly in the right order but in the order I expected.

14:40 RSA CHASE - A win for the 2nd on the ratings Cooldine and I was a bit gutted I did not cover on him at least but I didn't get too heavily involved here. He looks a proper chaser and is likely to be a strong candidate for the Gold Cup next season. Very impressive 16 length winner and a lesson to learn, top-class jockeys rarely make the wrong decision when deciding between 2 horses !

15:20 CHAMPION CHASE - A stroll for the clear top-rated Master Minded with the 2nd and 3rd on the ratings filling 3rd and 2nd. Was a bit of a shame that Petit Robin could not have won in the market without the fav but I had done it each-way anyway so no loss on the race, in fact did the exacta with both. A great return from Well Chief. Roll on the hat-trick next year.

16:00 CORAL CUP HURDLE - At last something to shout about as Ninetieth Minute scored in the Coral Cup. Despite being rated 4th on the ratings, it emphasised how important the stats were as he had no negatives and was chased home by the clear stats-runner Mirage Dore. I also had the exacta up in this race after throwing those two and the top-2 on the ratings in for a full-cover perm which paid a very healthy 123 quid. Another lesson learnt, beware big weighted runners on sticky ground in this race.

16:40 FRED WINTER HURDLE - Good to see Saticon and Ski Sunday running on late, Ski Sunday met plenty of trouble while Saticon raced wide most of the way round...could perhaps been a different result if Thornton had been on board Saticon or if Ski Sunday had a clearer run but the winner Silk Affair was a good one and at least each-way bets were landed at big odds.

17:15 FESTIVAL BUMPER - Well I won't be going to church any time soon but I think I will pay more attention to form of this race next time as he had a lot of previous winners beaten off last time and the phrase "not extended" is always a good guide but I still say it's a difficult race to get right more often than not.

Again, a pleasing day for the ratings with the main bet winning, a big priced outsider scoring in the Coral Cup plus a couple of big odds each-way pokes. Roll on tomorrow.