Racing expert Dave Massey shares four selections for Saturday’s Cheltenham Showcase Meeting, including his headline bet in the opening handicap chase and a promising Pertemps qualifier contender.
13:10 Cheltenham – 2m4f
I wouldn’t be looking too far down the market to find the winner here, it looks priced correctly, with my shortlist of As Legends Have It, Rockonliam and Lisbane Park all amongst those towards the head of it.
Preference is for As Legends Have It, who improved tremendously in the spring, really getting the hang of fences when scoring at Stratford (by seventeen lengths) and again at Uttoxeter, beating Daytime Dreaming, who had won his previous two starts, and Caughtinyourtrance, who has won twice since and is now rated 127.
The reason for making him the headline bet is the lack of pace on here, with only himself and possibly De Temps En Temps going forward, and the latter was held onto last time in an attempt to try and settle him better. I’d have no problem if the latter went on and As Legends Have It took a lead, he’d be quite happy doing so. Ground won’t be an issue and he ran well first time up last year when a close third to John Barbour at Uttoxeter over hurdles. He ticks plenty of boxes and I have no doubt he’s still well handicapped.
| Dave’s tip | As Legends Have It |
14:20 Cheltenham – 3m
Love a Pertemps Qualifier, me.
The game here is – and I’m assuming we are properly soft by this point – finding something with a progressive profile that will go on the ground, and that ideally needs to go up a few pounds to actually get into the final proper come March. On those criteria, you don’t have to look hard to find Seaniecon, and the only question is whether he’ll be ready to go on his seasonal reappearance.
Given he was only beaten a neck on his seasonal debut last year that would give you some hope he’ll be fit. He won in desperate ground at Hereford in February before finding the drop back in trip against him at Uttoxeter next time; he was then fifth in the 3m Grade 1 Novice Hurdle at Aintree (was a paddock pick) and arguably a little unlucky at Punchestown on his final start of last year, not getting a clear run but staying on all the way to the line. He opens up this season from a mark of 127, and that looks very workable indeed.
| Dave’s tip | Seaniecon |
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14:55 Cheltenham – 3m1f
Before you go piling in on Here Comes Georgie on his first start for Dan Skelton (having left Dylan Cunha) bear in mind his previous trainer thought soft ground at Doncaster would be too much for him to handle, making him a non-runner there on account of the ground back in January, and I’d argue Cheltenham soft will be deeper than Doncaster soft, where it never gets that bad in the winter. This is his first try at a trip in excess of 2m4f too, and all in all there are enough question marks for me to try and take him on here.
Indeed, maybe don’t watch the left hand, watch the right one, as Skelton has Diamond Dealer in here too, and for all Harry Skelton deserts him (Tristran Durrell rides) I’d say he has a better overall profile for this, having won first time up last year, just failed to win over 3m in soft ground at Wetherby in February and won on his final start of the year at Kelso, taking one of the Go North Finals. 3-5 over fences then, and still on a fair mark to kick this season off on. Likely to get an easy lead in front, and might be hard to peg back.
| Dave’s tip | Diamond Dealer |
15:30 Cheltenham – 2m
No huge opinion on the Masterson, but Indian River will be the pick after his midfield effort behind Un Sens A La Vie at Market Rasen last month. He needed that run, I thought beforehand, but the way he moved into contention before fading out of it confirmed the engine was still very much intact. He did nothing but improve last year, finishing off with a good third in Grade 1 company at Aintree, and I’d have him as the one to beat.
| Dave’s tip | Indian River |
Dave Massey’s Cheltenham Showcase 2026 best bets
| Time | Race | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| 13:10 | Handicap Chase (2m4f) | As Legends Have It |
| 14:20 | Pertemps Qualifier (3m) | Seaniecon |
| 14:55 | Handicap Chase (3m1f) | Diamond Dealer |
| 15:30 | Masterson Holdings Hurdle (2m) | Indian River |
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