Q1 What is your best bet of the Festival?

I like Ahoy Senor in the Brown Advisory - he was never going to be suited by Kempton, so his defeat at the hands of Bravemansgame is easily excused and his other runs have suggested he is potentially top class. I think the more galloping nature of Cheltenham will be much more up his street.

Q2 Of the short-priced favourites, who is the most opposable?

It may sound a bit odd given she is unbeaten and her opposition is largely exposed as being not good enough, but I’m not a fan of Honeysuckle at the current price. I didn’t particularly like her finishing effort at Leopardstown last time and I wouldn’t want to be betting a 1/2 shot when you have a potential star like Appreciate It in opposition. Willie Mullins has shown time and again that he can win at this meeting with a horse off a long break.

Q3 Will the Irish dominate to the same extent as last year?

Yes. More and more British trainers are realising that they are really up against it here in the championship races and many of them are sensibly waiting for calmer waters at Aintree.

Q4 Who stands out for you in the handicaps?

Commodore looks an interesting horse at a big price in the Kim Muir if he goes there. Jumping is so important here and he was electric over course and distance when last seen in December.

Q5 Who is a good bet in the leading trainer and leading jockey markets?

I’m not sure there are too many clever angles here - maybe Gordon Elliott could give Willie Mullins a run for his money in the trainer market and Rachael Blackmore is a possible against Paul Townend for the jockeys, but I don’t think I will be playing in these markets.

Q6 Can you offer a friendly piece of advice on how to approach the week?

From a punting perspective I think the key thing is to keep an open mind. Too many people approach the Festival with preview night b******s ingrained in their mind. This horse is a ‘certainty’, another one ‘can’t win’ etc. Try to look at a race afresh when you see the final field and decide on your selections based purely on the price - quite often a horse that looks a lay a week out can become a value bet if the market over-eggs a drift.

Q7 Give us a trixie for the week?

Ahoy Senor - Brown Advisory

Appreciate It - Champion Hurdle

Fantastikas - Ultima Handicap

Q1 What is your best bet of the Festival?

I like the look of Andy Dufresne in the Grand Annual. He has always been highly thought of by connections and has more than a hint of unfinished business about him. He has only been seen once this season but I think this may have been the plan for quite a while and he could well be a Grade 1 horse in a handicap.

Q2 Of the short-priced favourites, who is the most opposable?

I think Constitution Hill is an opposable favourite in the curtain raiser. He has looked good twice at Sandown but the form isn’t anything special and we have been here before with impressive Tolworth winners. I am sure he is a good horse but his price looks incredibly short and I expect whatever Willie Mullins runs to go off favourite.

Q3 Will the Irish dominate to the same extent as last year?

Yes I think they will. They seem to have just a different calibre of horse generally at the moment and I think it will be just as ugly for Team GB this year as it was last.

Q4 Who stands out for you in the handicaps?

As well as Andy Dufresne I am also keen on The Shunter if he is allowed to take his chance in the Coral Cup. He has a split mark between hurdles and chases and his hurdle mark of 148 looks generous. He has won two high quality handicaps at the course now and he looks to have gone a bit under the radar.

Q5 Who is a good bet in the leading trainer and leading jockey markets?

Gordon Elliott looks the only conceivable danger to Willie Mullins. Given his strength in depth in the handicaps there could be a small bit of value in his price. Paul Townend should be very hard to beat in the jockeys.

Q6 Can you offer a friendly piece of advice on how to approach the week?<

Bookmakers will be falling over themselves for customers during the week so there will be plenty of value on offer. Look out for extra places and usually there is value perming up slightly longer priced horses in each-way multiples who have shown festival form before.

Q7 Give us a trixie for the week?

Andy Dufresne - Grand Annual

The Shunter -Coral Cup

Queens Brook - Mares Hurdle

Q1 What is your best bet of the Festival?

Riviere D’etel in the Arkle. I just think the Irish form is the strongest on offer and for me she’s the standout contender from Ireland. I thought she was extremely unlucky not to win last time and if her jumping holds up she’ll take the beating.

Q2 Of the short-priced favourites, who is the most opposable?

I’d say Bob Olinger, providing Galopin Des Champs turns up. I’ve just never been in love with his jumping, and it could be put under extreme pressure here with the way Galopin Des Champs jumps.

Q3 Will the Irish dominate to the same extent as last year?

I think they’ll win the Prestbury Cup comfortably, though I don’t expect them to dominate to the same extent. The UK handicapper has made some major changes to how he handicaps horses, particularly novices, so I expect the UK horses to perform much better in the handicaps on the week. Something like 18-10 is what I’m predicting.

Q4 Who stands out for you in the handicaps?

He’s favourite but State Man could prove to be a handicap blot in the County Hurdle, while Langer Dan has been very fairly treated by the handicapper this year. One at a price that I like the look of is Commodore for Venetia Williams, with the Kim Muir looking his most likely target.

Q5 Who is a good bet in the leading trainer and leading jockey markets?

I can’t find any reason for taking on Willie Mullins and Paul Townend this year with the firepower they have. Gordon Elliott is the only one I can see contending though I’m not sure I’d advise a bet.

Q6 Can you offer a friendly piece of advice on how to approach the week?

Watch as many replays as you can and focus on horses that jump well generally. The Festival races tend to be a different game in terms of the pace of races, so if you can’t jump well in normal races, you might get found out at the festival.

Q7 Give us a trixie for the week?

State Man – County Hurdle

Commodore – Kim Muir Handicap Chase

Riviere Detel – Arkle Novices Chase

Q1 What is your best bet of the Festival?

It would be too easy to nominate one of the would-be bankers so instead I will go with Klassical Dream in the Stayers’ Hurdle. Like many I thought of this race the moment he crossed the line at Punchestown last year. He has to put the poor Gowran Park run behind him but it was very tacky ground that day and he might still have been feeling the effects of the Christmas Hurdle win a month earlier when he poached a very early lead. I think at 5/1 he is a good each-way punt.

Q2 Of the short-priced favourites, who is the most opposable?

As it’s day two and with plenty of time to retrieve potential losses I think we’ll take a chance and be against Facile Vega in the Bumper. Visibly impressive at Leopardstown, he is very short at around evens as the second favourite American Mike has done nothing wrong plus there is also his stablemate Redemption Day who too was very easy on the eye when wining at the Christmas meeting at Leopardstown.

Q3 Will the Irish dominate to the same extent as last year?

The Irish will dominate but I’m not sure they’ll get as many wins on the board as last year. British trainers have a few short priced ones, namely Shishkin and potentially Bravemansgame in the Brown Advisory, while Edwardstone has a favourite’s chance in the Arkle and the two Henderson horses in the Supreme. Hillcrest should go close in the Albert Bartlett while they will also win a fair share of the handicaps.

Q4 Who stands out for you in the handicaps?

Gaelic Warrior in the Boodles has the potential to be absolutely anything. Winter Fog has been gambled from a double figure price to 5/1 favourite for the Pertemps Final and has to be respected, given connections. State Man will be a big player as well.

Q5 Who is a good bet in the leading trainer and leading jockey markets?

The Mullins and Townend combination are 4/11 8/11 respectively. Enough said.

Q6 Can you offer a friendly piece of advice on how to approach the week?

Bet responsibly and within your means. Simply enjoy it.

Q7 Give us a trixie for the week?

Constitution Hill - Supreme

Gaelic Warrior - Boodles

Klassical Dream - Stayers

Q1 What is your best bet of the Festival?

Hardly original, but Honeysuckle in the Unibet Champion Hurdle. With the valuable weight allowance and the fact her main market rival was all set to go chasing earlier in the season she’ll take a serious amount of beating.

Q2 Of the short-priced favourites, who is the most opposable?

I think Edwardstone wouldn’t be bombproof in the Arkle. It’s perfectly possible that the Irish Blue Lord/Riviere d’Etel form line might be just stronger than what we’ve seen of the English horse.

Q3 Will the Irish dominate to the same extent as last year?

The simple answer is probably! The handicapper doesn’t look to have hit the Irish any harder than usual this time around and the English will be lucky to find seven or eight winners if our betting is anything to go by.

Q4 Who stands out for you in the handicaps?

State Man was considered as having a reasonable chance in the Supreme and a mark of 141 seems very fair, he’ll be a very warm order for whichever race he lines up in I would have thought.

Q5 Who is a good bet in the leading trainer and leading jockey markets?

Gordon Elliott at 3/1 seems the value play to me against Willie Mullins in the trainers’ market. With that in mind I’ll double down on that by selecting Davy Russell (6/1) in the jockeys’ race. A lot will depend on Elliott’s ability to keep firing in the handicap winners, as he has done in previous seasons.

Q6 Can you offer a friendly piece of advice on how to approach the week?

Pace yourself! - It’s a long week and sometimes you’ll have to wait two or three days for your best bets to be running.

Q7 Give us a trixie for the week?

Ebasari – Boodles Handicap Hurdle

Honeysuckle – Champion Hurdle

State Man – County Hurdle