King keen on Franchoek…no surprises there but doesn’t think he’s any value. Mick says still no decision on where Binocular will go. Thinks Celestial Halo is better than Doncaster but needs to be. Tom thinks Celestial will need ot improve. Points out that Katchit was 7/1 last year so agrees with Kingy that no value. Tom likes the Pipe horse Ashkasar….King not convinced though as his second to him is not a good horse. King and Tom like Five Dream and King says he has heard tonight he runs in this. Paul Ryan likes Won In The Dark and says not given a hard race last time. Could be the best of the Irish. Also says he thinks 9/4 is the right price.

Alan King says MWDS will run in World Hurdle with Choc riding work tomorrow and assuming that goes OK. He wants to get him back and thinks he has better chance than BB. He must be on drugs! 🙂 He can’t see Blazing Bailey beating Inglis. Not good vibes for my fancy BB at all. I reckon Choc will ride MWDS. Mick likes Inglis and thinks he is 2 stone better than anything else in race and will win – good to hear a firm opinion like that. Paul Ryan can’t see Hardy Eustace staying at all and throws in the horse box joke. Likes Inglis too (a lot!) but not Kasbah Bliss. King is at last complimentary about BB at the end of this piece and says he’s tough but repeats he won’t beat ID.

Paul Ryan likes Zarito. Says there has been money for Cousin Vinny. Apparently, Noel Meade prefers his runner Corski Royals? in this to Harchibald’s chances. Mick rides Gold Award (done nothing wrong – arrgh). Mick thinks English challenge is weak. Tom Segal thinks the Irish will win and has a word for Ed O’Grady’s Cockleshay Bay? Kingy likes Apt Approach and says it’ll be an Irish 1,2,3. Also says Nina Carberry likes Cottage Oak.

Alan King says Group Captain doesn’t set the gallops alight but has improved a lot. He will like the big field and he is very happy with this progressive horse. Wants good ground. Mick Fitz has riden work on Aigle D’Or and said ‘Wow’ afterwards. Thinks he’ll stay and that he is a very good horse. He says he feels like he’s had a ‘kick in the balls’ when he heard AP was back :-). Paul Ryan likes Forpadydeplasterer although is a bit cautious about all Irish novices. Mentions Venalmar and says some money for it today. Thinks form about Trafford Lad is a bit sketchy. Tom Segal has tipped Forpadydeplasterer and is sticking with it. Thinks this is a much better race. Mike Catt likes Breedsbreeze.

Mick says he’ll be riding Kybher Kym and seems confident but says he needs to ride the horse he was on at Newbury and not Doncaster. Home work of KK has been good. Paul Ryan doesn’t think the Irish Challenge is as good as usual. Recent money at Paddy Power has been for KK. He thinks Captain Cee Bee has a good chance. Also mentions Muirhead. Ryan thinks an English horse will win. Tom Segal gives a good word to the top 5 in the betting! and finally comes down in favour of Fiveforthree. King thinks 543 will run in Ballymore. Kingy likes Blue Bajan and notes that stable is back in form but comes down on Kybher Kym.

On the panel tonight we have Mike Cattermole in the chair with Alan King, Mick Fitz, Tom Segal (Pricewise) and Paul Ryan from Paddy Power. The Catt is very casual with tatty jeans. Tom Segal is also wearing jeans – don’t they know this is Regency Cheltenham? 🙂 Kingy needs to go shopping in Beechwood Acade. Paul Ryan is suited and booted. Mick Fitz likewise.

Ed has taken the stage and is booming into the microphone. Old course is and cross-country is good, good to firm in place with the new course good, good to soft in place. His forecasters are telling him to expect up to an inch! of rain with serious rain. He says ‘scarily windy’. He doesn’t
think weather will dramatically effect the going.

Welcome to tonight’s Official Preview live from The Centaur, Cheltenham racecourse. On the panel tonight we have Mike Cattermole in the chair with Alan King, Mick Fitz, Tom Segal (Pricewise) and Paul Ryan from Paddy Power.

The panel are all having trouble getting taxis so the preview will be starting at 7.45pm at the earliest. Back to the bar….

I’m all hooked up in The Centaur, Cheltenham racecourse, ready to bring you live coverage of tonight’s Official Preview, sponsored by Paddy Power. The fun starts at 7.30pm. Before that, a quick weather update -a mainly sunny day with a heavy shower mid-afternoon. I hope to get accurate and up to date going news from the horses mouth, the Clerk of the Course later. There is some horrendous weather forecast for Sunday and Monday so let’s hope it doesn’t materialise. Back online in an hour…unless anything dramatic happens before then. In the meantime I’m off to the bar.