Experts' Best Bets: Keith Melrose's Cheltenham Day 3 tips & huge 417k/1 acca!

Cheltenham Festival is an event that stretches beyond the usual horse racing enthusiasts. It draws crowds from across the sporting world, all keen to place a few bets and enjoy the spectacle.

Here at FST we’ve got you covered, with daily Cheltenham tips and expert picks from Racing Post’s Graeme Rodway, Robbie Wilders and Keith Melrose.

Don’t forget to check back throughout the festival for all the latest free bets and special offers.

Where to bet on Cheltenham

Plenty of bookmakers offer some excellent deals for Cheltenham and bet365 is right up there, as they are offering £30 in free bets if you place £10 on any race at the festival. Claim the offer below!

Back our huge 417,660/1 Cheltenham Day 3 Super Mega Acca!

13:30 – Turners Novices’ Chase

Tip – Mighty Potter at 11/10

Gerri Colombe was the moral winner of yesterday’s Brown Advisory here and his stablemate Mighty Potter is deemed the better horse. He should win this. Those who fancy an each-way bet, in a race that has a good shape for such a play, should look at Stage Star

14:10 – Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle

Tip – Hector Javilex at 16/1

Quite a lot of these have been saved for the spring in the expectation of good ground. A wet forecast puts a real spanner in the works and may play into the hands of Hector Javilex, who won a strong race here on New Year’s Day in soft ground.

14:50 – Ryanair Chase

Tip – Shishkin at 5/6

Barring mishap, Shishkin ought to brush aside this field as he is one of the best chasers in training. Admittedly, he is no stranger to a bad run and did just that at last year’s Cheltenham Festival, but without that doubt he would be a lot shorter, arguably as short as stablemate Constitution Hill was on Tuesday.

15:30 – Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle

Tip – Flooring Porter at 11/2

There are doubts over all the market principals here, including two-time defending champion Flooring Porter but in his case the downsides are mild and the upsides are obvious. In an admittedly open race, he deserves to be favourite.

16:10 – Magners Plate Handicap Chase

Tip – Fugitif at 10/1

There has been a lot of hype around So Scottish, who has been trained specifically for the race, but he needs to improve by a fair amount and punters are being asked to put a lot of faith in him. Conversely, Fugitif is an improver with good course form who might still have a bit in hand on his current handicap mark.

16:50 – Dawn Run Novices’ Hurdle

Tip – Luccia 13/8

There had been talk of Luccia taking on the boys in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle on Tuesday. She handsomely won an open-sex race last time and the opposition from Ireland does not look that strong this year, so she could take some stopping.

17:30 – Kim Muir Handicap Chase

Tip – Dr Kananga at 33/1

In soft ground at Cheltenham, leaders do really well in handicap chases. Dr Kananga fits the bill and was improving at this time last year, yet he runs off the same handicap mark now and every drop of rain will help.

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