Cheltenham Festival tips: Three to consider Non Runner No Bet following weekend's racing

BLOOD DESTINY at 14/1 in the Arkle

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The Arkle was blown wide open following Marine Nationale’s odds-on defeat in the Irish version on Saturday and I’m not exactly scrambling to get on board with the revised 5/1 about Leopardstown winner Il Etait Temps, who won at the DRF last year too, only to come up well short at Cheltenham.

Willie Mullins seems to retain plenty of faith in third home Facile Vega but he just looks to be crying out for a trip to my eyes and, with Gaelic Warrior surely sticking to right-hand tracks in the near future, it could be worth chancing one of the outsiders from Clossutton.

Hunters Yarn made a good impression at Fairyhouse and is 8/1 with a couple of firms offering NRNB, but in the hope of some more wet weather and the prospect of a bold, front-running ride, BLOOD DESTINY may be the bet at this stage, especially with the money-back concession as he’s not guaranteed to line up in this race.

If he does then the current 14/1 would look like a decent bit of business as he appeared to be in need of a return to the minimum trip when just outstayed by Spillane's Tower over the extended two miles and three furlongs in a Punchestown Grade 3 last month. His jumping is a massive asset and that should take him a long way in an Arkle - particularly this year’s edition.

CORBETTS CROSS at 4/1 in National Hunt Chase

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Emmet Mullins CORBETTS CROSS is another who didn’t run at the Dublin Racing Festival, or in Sandown’s Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase which had been mooted, but he wouldn’t have looked out of place at either venue last weekend and the fact he’s been declared for Wednesday’s ‘Rated Chase’ at Fairyhouse under Derek O’Connor speaks volumes in terms of future plans.

He now looks like being JP McManus’s number one hope for the NH Chase at Cheltenham and, providing all goes well in his prep this week, we could be looking at quite a short-priced favourite for the three and three-quarter mile contest at the Festival.

Already rated 150p with Timeform, the Grade 1 runner-up has already achieved enough to suggest he can win that race and there’s clearly a good chance he still has further improvement in him this spring.

If only the bookmakers were offering NRNB on the Grand National at this stage too as the current 40/1 in places could be quite tempting…

MAJBOROUGH at 10/1 in JCB Triumph Hurdle

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I don't think enough has been made of MAJBOROUGH's superb effort in Saturday's Spring Juvenile Hurdle, the French import beaten just a length and three-quarters on his belated Irish debut following 307 days out of action.

There was market support beforehand so a big run was clearly expected but I thought he jumped brilliantly for the most part and really stuck at it once headed by his stablemates Kargese and Storm Heart.

They clearly all have a job on in attempting to lower the colours of Nicky Henderson's Sir Gino in this year's Triumph but if he's to be beaten at Cheltenham then it will surely be the Leopardstown race that throws up the winner.

With the prospect of loads more improvement to come on a stiff New Course at Prestbury Park, the strapping Majborough looks the one to be on at a double-figure price.

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