Timeform UK SmartPlays: Friday October 19

Racing returns to Cheltenham today

Jumps fans could easily get lost in today's fine Cheltenham card, but we're also taking in a selection from Wolverhampton as part of our SmartPlays.

We have to wait until 16:30 for the first of today's selections, which comes from Cheltenham. Normally maiden hurdles wouldn't make the most attractive of betting heats, especially one as competitive as this, but we can see an angle here. With the market currently headed by horses with doubts over them - Population could be in need of a real speed test over hurdles, Titan de Sarti has been something of a disappointment and Landscape is a completely unknown quantity - there's plenty of attraction in going with Court Minstrel. A winner of two Ludlow bumpers last season (and runner-up to a very good prospect in between), Court Minstrel was fourth to The New One in Aintree's champion bumper last spring, finishing eight lengths ahead of Population, and, with his credentials all pointing towards a successful career over hurdles, he looks good value to make a winning debut.

Our next selection comes up much more quickly, in the very next race in fact at 17:05. It's a race for amateur riders, so being a safe conveyance is a big advantage, and although Hunters Lodge has made just one appearance over fences thus far he jumped masterfully when slamming another unexposed sort at Market Rasen late last month. The step up to a stiff three miles will only suit this stoutly-bred point winner, who may well end up in top staying handicaps by season's end, and we're hopeful that he can take another step towards that today.

There's a fair gap, in terms of circumstances as well as time, to our final selection, which runs in a five-furlong nursery at 18:50. No jokes about Ovett being suited by middle-distances, please: he's a sprinter through and through on all the evidence we have so far, in fact he probably struggled to see out six furlongs at Ascot last time, pulling much too hard early on. He enters nurseries fairly well treated on his maiden win at Lingfield and, with this C&D placing the emphasis firmly on speed, everything looks in place for Ovett to put up a very bold showing.

Timeform SmartPlays

Back Court Minstrel @ 7.413/2 in the 16:30 at Cheltenham
Back Hunters Lodge @ 6.86/1 in the 17:05 at Cheltenham
Back Ovett @ 5.39/2 in the 18:50 at Wolverhampton

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