{"id":45186,"date":"2024-12-11T15:11:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T15:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/?p=45186"},"modified":"2024-12-11T15:11:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T15:11:17","slug":"cheltenham-december-meeting-2024-day-1-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/blog\/cheltenham-december-meeting-2024-day-1-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheltenham December Meeting Day 1 Preview &#8211; Horses to Follow on Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-45201 size-full\" title=\"Cheltenham December Meeting\" src=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cheltenham_December_Meeting.jpg\" alt=\"Cheltenham December Meeting 2024 day 1 preview\" width=\"900\" height=\"597\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cheltenham_December_Meeting.jpg 900w, https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cheltenham_December_Meeting-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cheltenham_December_Meeting-768x509.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/>\n<p><strong>The Cheltenham December Meeting kicks off on Friday the 13th this year, but superstitious punters don&#8217;t need to trust entirely to luck. There are a host of handicaps on the card including a Cross Country Chase for the Crystal Cup.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Headlining the opening day of this two-day fixture is a Premier Handicap Chase over 3m 2f, meanwhile. Lots of old favourites take part in a middle-distance Veterans&#8217; Chase, so <a href=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/\">Cheltenham betting sites<\/a> might belie current downward trends in turnover.<\/p>\n<p>All the action takes place on the New Course, used for the first time this core National Hunt season. That also features a couple of handicap hurdles, a novice chase and novice hurdle. Our experts provide race by race analysis for the entire card below.<\/p>\n<h2>Cheltenham December Meeting Day 1 Preview<\/h2>\n<h3>12:10 &#8211; 2m 179y Class 3 British EBF National Hunt Novices&#8217; Hurdle Qualifier<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45139 alignright\" title=\"JP McManus silks\" src=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/JP_McManus.jpg\" alt=\"JP McManus silks\" width=\"129\" height=\"200\" \/>Disappointing turnout of four, given 16 held initial entries. Many of these want further in time or now, but Nicky Henderson has two wins in the last five editions. His JP McManus filly <strong>THAT&#8217;S NICE <\/strong>receives 7lb all-round from the other three runners. Four-year-olds have three victories since 2015 in this.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s Nice proved her stamina when beating a subsequent Listed scorer in promising fashion over 2m 3f at Warwick on her Rules bow. She&#8217;s the least exposed in the meagre field and open to the most progress. Her rivals all have claims, however, and Haydock Grade 2 second <strong>Country Mile\u00a0<\/strong>might be the biggest danger.<\/p>\n<p>Dan Skelton&#8217;s runner bumped into a now 135-rated rival on Merseyside last month.\u00a0<strong>Wingmen\u00a0<\/strong>has already won over 2m 4f around Navan, so this Irish raider might find dropping back in trip a little sharp for Gordon Elliott.\u00a0<strong>Palacio\u00a0<\/strong>made all around Chepstow at a big price last time, meanwhile, and steps into deeper waters now.<\/p>\n<h3>12:40 &#8211; 2m 4f 127y Class 2 SSS Super Alloys Novices&#8217; Chase<\/h3>\n<p><iframe title=\"A flying start for CALDWELL PORTER on his chase debut\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4sKvV9MjMs0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45196 alignright\" title=\"Sir Alex Ferguson silks\" src=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Sir_Alex_Ferguson_silks.png\" alt=\"Sir Alex Ferguson silks\" width=\"129\" height=\"200\" \/>The first potential superstar turning out on day 1 of the Cheltenham December Meeting is\u00a0<strong>CALDWELL POTTER<\/strong>. Now with Paul Nicholls, who took this race 12 months ago with Ginny&#8217;s Destiny, he finally steps up to the trip he&#8217;s been crying out for after a successful stable and chasing debut up at Carlisle.<\/p>\n<p>Caldwell Potter made all the running over 2m 1f and jumped slightly left, which won&#8217;t be an issue here. A Grade 1 novice hurdler when in the care of Elliott, he has a fitness edge over and experience of fences that\u00a0<strong>Jango Baie\u00a0<\/strong>lacks. Henderson has three wins in this contest since 2017, but it&#8217;s a tall order for his five-year-old to win first time out in this sphere against such talented opposition.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Springwell Bay\u00a0<\/strong>concedes weight all-round, meanwhile, and didn&#8217;t get home over 3m here in November. The Jonjo O&#8217;Neill runner drops back in trip and class, but race terms don&#8217;t exactly favour him.\u00a0<strong>Deafening Silence\u00a0<\/strong>needs to take a step forward from his third on chase debut around Haydock.<\/p>\n<h3>1:15 &#8211; 2m 179y Class 3 Catesby Estates Handicap Hurdle (0-140)<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45197 alignright\" title=\"Megsons silks\" src=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Megsons_silks.png\" alt=\"Megsons silks\" width=\"129\" height=\"200\" \/>History suggests only race-fit horses win this. November&#8217;s Old Course 1-2\u00a0<strong>WRECKLESS ERIC <\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Cavern Club\u00a0<\/strong>take each other on again with preference for the former. Although the O&#8217;Neill horse is 3lb worse off with James Owen&#8217;s bottom weight for a length victory, he appeals as the type to go on progressing in this sphere.<\/p>\n<p>There are dangers aplenty to Wreckless Eric in the first handicap of the Cheltenham December Meeting, however, and the well-in <strong>To Chase A Dream<\/strong> looks chief among them. Paul Collins&#8217; charge landed consecutive Carlisle races in this grade and Harry Cobden now takes the ride. To Chase A Dream has a 7lb penalty, but will run in future assignments off 3lb higher.<\/p>\n<p>Lightly-raced Henderson horse\u00a0<strong>Willmount\u00a0<\/strong>makes his handicap bow, but might find a lengthy racecourse absence problematic and an opening mark of 130 a tad too high.\u00a0<strong>Tintintin\u00a0<\/strong>ran a blinder when fourth in the Greatwood Hurdle here last month and now drops markedly in grade off an unchanged rating for Fergal O&#8217;Brien.<\/p>\n<h3>1:50 3m 2f Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Coming Soon Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe title=\"Full Race: Chianti Classico wins the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham | ITV Racing\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Y37Od-9aIdI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45179 alignright\" title=\"Chianti Classico silks\" src=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Chianti_Classico_silks.png\" alt=\"Chianti Classico silks\" width=\"129\" height=\"200\" \/>With three of the eight running from out of the handicap, the relentless progress of\u00a0<strong>CHIANTI CLASSICO <\/strong>may continue off topweight. Trained locally to the course by Kim Bailey, he won last season&#8217;s Ultima during the Festival and made all in the Sodexo Gold Cup on reappearance at Ascot. A career high mark of 157 simply might not stop Chianti Classico from going in again and he&#8217;s one of the worthy <a href=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/favourites\/\">Cheltenham favourites<\/a> here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>King Turgeon\u00a0<\/strong>has done nothing wrong in winning both of his starts this season, meanwhile. David Pipe&#8217;s charge is an improving chaser who, like Chianti Classico and others in the line-up, runs here after the Becher Chase was abandoned at Aintree due to Storm Darragh. Those two are well found in the market as they remain open to the most progress.<\/p>\n<p>Of the others running in the Cheltenham December Meeting day 1 feature,\u00a0<strong>Java Point\u00a0<\/strong>could take a step forward from his return to action in an amateur jockeys&#8217; race at the course last month. Henry Oliver&#8217;s nine-year-old finished in front of another local horse in <strong>The Newest One\u00a0<\/strong>that day. Both are slightly out of the weights, while the others don&#8217;t have much to recommend them.<\/p>\n<h3>2:25 &#8211; 2m 4f 127y Class 2 Middle Distance Chase Series Veterans&#8217; Handicap Chase (0-150)<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45198 alignright\" title=\"Torn And Frayed silks\" src=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Torn_And_Frayed_silks.png\" alt=\"Torn And Frayed silks\" width=\"129\" height=\"200\" \/>It probably makes sense to focus on the past course and distance winners here.\u00a0<strong>TORN AND FRAYED <\/strong>has an attractive racing weight and returned to form with a win over further at Warwick last time out. Trainer-jockey father-son duo of Nigel and Sam Twiston-Davies team up now with a horse who ran fourth off this mark in Grade 2 company here in April.<\/p>\n<p>Torn And Frayed hails from a local yard and might have one last hurrah in him up the famous Cheltenham hill. Festival conqueror\u00a0<strong>Shakem Up&#8217;Arry\u00a0<\/strong>now enters veterans&#8217; company for the first time following his success in the Plate in March. Harry Redknapp&#8217;s horse with the Ben Pauling stable has a mixed record fresh, however, and that&#8217;s a concern on reappearance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Seddon\u00a0<\/strong>is 3lb above his 2023 Festival Plate win, meanwhile, and jockey Ben Harvey no longer claims any weight off his back. Nonetheless, John McConnell brings him over from Ireland for what could be the last time. Fit off the Flat, Seddon could still deliver. Others to consider in a wide-open betting heat include Copperhead, Dashel Drasher, Eldorado Allen and Shan Blue.<\/p>\n<h3>3:00 &#8211; 3m 5f 56y Class 2 Glenfarclas Crystal Cup Cross Country Handicap Chase<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45199 alignright\" title=\"Stumptown silks\" src=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Stumptown_silks.png\" alt=\"Stumptown silks\" width=\"129\" height=\"200\" \/>Plenty of banks experience on show at the Cheltenham December Meeting. Elliott runs veteran <strong>Delta Work\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Coko Beach<\/strong>, but claims weight off their backs with conditional jockeys booked.\u00a0<strong>STUMPTOWN <\/strong>is the young pretender to them in Ireland, however, and has won races in the UK before for Gavin Cromwell. Still a seven-year-old, he has landed his last two Cross Country events at Punchestown.<\/p>\n<p>Stumptown and last month&#8217;s course and distance runner-up\u00a0<strong>Mister Coffey<\/strong> represent credible alternatives to the Elliott pair. Henderson&#8217;s runner doesn&#8217;t have to worry about being out of the handicap this time and is 2lb lower than in November. French raider\u00a0<strong>Iceo Madrik\u00a0<\/strong>used to be trained in the UK, but returned across the Channel and has since reinvented himself as a Cross Country horse.<\/p>\n<p>The concern with him is the six-year-old is 11lb out of the handicap. Iceo Madrik has a jockey who can claim 3lb off his back aboard here, yet that still leaves him more than half-a-stone wrong with official assessment. Dennis Murphy mare <strong>Three By Two\u00a0<\/strong>is 6lb out of the weights, but has lots of banks runs under her belt. Veteran\u00a0<strong>Latenightpass\u00a0<\/strong>should find this trip more to his liking too after good runs in this sphere last winter.<\/p>\n<h3>3:35 &#8211; 2m 7f 213y Class 2 Citipost Handicap Hurdle<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-45200 alignright\" title=\"Doyen Quest silks\" src=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Doyen_Quest_silks.png\" alt=\"Doyen Quest silks\" width=\"128\" height=\"200\" \/>Last month&#8217;s Old Course staying handicap hero\u00a0<strong>DOYEN QUEST\u00a0<\/strong>won with any amount in hand and may still be ahead of the assessor. The Shelton runner is 10lb higher in the weights now, but scored in such style that such a rise probably won&#8217;t stop him from going in again. Doyen Quest is definitely the one that they all have to beat in the Cheltenham December Meeting day 1 finale.<\/p>\n<p>It seems rough on\u00a0<strong>Gowel Road<\/strong>, so comprehensively beaten by the selection the last day, that the assessor upped him 2lb. The Twiston-Davies&#8217; horse is a consistent runner around this venue, though, and shortlisted again. Other dangers include those placed in November&#8217;s intermediate handicap\u00a0<strong>Long Draw\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Wonderful Eagle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t rule out a better showing from\u00a0<strong>Zain Nights\u00a0<\/strong>away from rain-softened ground if conditions dry out or remain good to soft. The betting also speaks in favour of <strong>Might I<\/strong>, but Harry Fry&#8217;s charge has stamina to prove.\u00a0<strong>Thanksforthehelp\u00a0<\/strong>took fourth in the race won by Doyen Quest, but also has a preferred engagement at Bangor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cheltenham December Meeting kicks off on Friday the 13th this year, but superstitious punters don&#8217;t need to trust entirely to luck. There are a host of handicaps on the card including a Cross Country Chase for the Crystal Cup. Headlining the opening day of this two-day fixture is a Premier Handicap Chase over 3m &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":45201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cheltenham December Meeting 2024 Day 1 Preview<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A complete race by race Cheltenham December Meeting 2024 day 1 preview from horse racing experts for all the action on Friday, 13 December.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/blog\/cheltenham-december-meeting-2024-day-1-preview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cheltenham December Meeting 2024 Day 1 Preview\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A complete race by race Cheltenham December Meeting 2024 day 1 preview from horse racing experts for all the action on Friday, 13 December.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/blog\/cheltenham-december-meeting-2024-day-1-preview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-11T15:11:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cheltenham_December_Meeting.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"597\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie Clark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jamieclarksport\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie Clark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/blog\/cheltenham-december-meeting-2024-day-1-preview\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/blog\/cheltenham-december-meeting-2024-day-1-preview\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jamie Clark\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/743f7f80557aed278cc473834130b304\"},\"headline\":\"Cheltenham December Meeting Day 1 Preview &#8211; 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Horses to Follow on Friday\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/#organization\",\"name\":\"cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/cropped-cropped-sbs-favicon-98x98-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/cropped-cropped-sbs-favicon-98x98-1.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/743f7f80557aed278cc473834130b304\",\"name\":\"Jamie Clark\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Jamie_Clark_pic-1-e1733229918452-240x140.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cheltenhambettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Jamie_Clark_pic-1-e1733229918452-240x140.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Jamie Clark\"},\"description\":\"Jamie Clark has been covering the Cheltenham Festival for over a decade, firstly during his time as the Sports Editor of Coral bookmakers. 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