I’ve got FIVE top Cheltenham Festival ante-post punts – and some Christmas winners up my sleeve

THE busy festive racing is upon us – so we need to lock in the prices of a few horses at Cheltenham Festival!

Let’s have a fiver each-way on Home By The Lee (25-1, Stayers Hurdle) and Stellar Story (20-1, Albert Bartlett).

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Mullins will unleash a number of his top horses – and some unknown stars – over Christmas[/caption]

A tenner win on Mighty Bandit (8-1, Triumph) and Daddy Long Legs (12-1, Supreme).

And a fiver win on Firefox (10-1, Supreme and Ballymore).

This all thanks to my friends at Betfair, who are giving me a £50 charity bet every week.

Meanwhile, it’s the time of year for giving and, hopefully, receiving.

Christmas dinner is always special — and you can’t knock (another) decent pair of woolly socks from the beloved mother-in-law!

But we all know the festive period is all about the racing — and the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day promises to be the ultimate Christmas cracker.

Bravemansgame, Allaho, Gerri Colombe and Shishkin are all entered to show up — my idea of the winner?

I would love to see big Gordon Elliott run Gerri because I think he would get the perfect set up with Allaho and The Real Whacker setting this up for a proper dour stayer.

The return of the Messiah himself, Constitution Hill, will no doubt bring festive cheer to racing fans.

But for me, it’s the action at Leopardstown and Limerick next week which will give us Festival clues.

So instead of a list for the main man in the North Pole, here are a few horses I hope can pay for the Christmas celebrations.

Giovinco (Kauto Star at Kempton) and over at Leopardstown: Mighty Bandit (Juvenile Hurdle), Daddy Long Legs and Firefox (Future Champions Novice Hurdle), Home By The Lee (Christmas Hurdle) and keep an eye out on Johnnywho in the Challow Hurdle at Newbury a week today.

Finally I would like to wish everyone a happy Christmas and most important of all — happy punting!

Festival clue

Nine of the past 10 winners of the Stayers had run at Cheltenham before.

One to watch

KEEP an eye out on all the Maiden Hurdles and Beginner Chases at Leopardstown and Limerick over the Christmas period.

This is the time of year when Willie Mullins unleashes the big guns.

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