Tekao, Impaire Et Passe, Iroko, Lossiemouth – Sussex tipster Jack Dawling’s four to back at the Cheltenham Festival

Among the sea of tweed and overpriced pints of Guinness will be an array of the best thoroughbreds Britain and Ireland have to offer. Without further ado, here are my best four bets for a sensational week of action.

Tekao - Tuesday 4:50 pm - Boodles Handicap Hurdle

It goes against everything I believe in to have a fancy in a handicap hurdle for juveniles, let alone one at a short price. That being said, I would be somewhat surprised if TEKAO isn’t substantially better than his mark of 135 suggests and he represents a good each-way bet - with bookmakers guaranteed to offer extra places on the day.

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Despite failing to justify favoritism on his hurdling debut, the Willie Mullins-trained four-year-old got off the mark at the second time of asking at Leopardstown, before placing in Grade 1 company at the Dublin Racing Festival.

Having travelled beautifully through the race and making eye-catching headway around the home bend, the slick jumper was given an easy time of things by Mark Walsh to finish a never-closer third.

In time, he may be much better than a handicapper and is given the vote of confidence to take a substantial step forward.

Impaire Et Passe - Wednesday 1:30 pm - Ballymore Novices Hurdle

The curtain raiser on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival is a mouthwatering affair. With Willie Mullins holding three of the top five of the market, IMPAIRE ET PASSE gets the nod to land the spoils for the master of Closutton.

The unbeaten five-year-old burst onto the scene, brushing aside his 23 rivals to get off the mark at Naas in December. Despite several omitted obstacles, his accurate and efficient jumping, combined with his impressive change of gear, made it look like no more

than a racecourse gallop. Subsequently, he brushed aside a respectable opponent, The Model Kingdom, in decisive fashion, kicking clear to keep his unblemished record intact.

The Willie Mullins-trained gelding oozes class and may be able to add a sixth victory for the illustrious trainer in this race.

Iroko - Friday 5:30 - Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle

It is somewhat of a rarity that an improving five-year-old donning the silks of John P McManus would be available at a double-figure price, but it seems IROKO may have slipped under the radar in the run-up to the Cheltenham Festival.

The unexposed gelding is trained by the dual partnership of Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero and, while they won’t be hitting the front pages any time soon, they may have an exciting chance of claiming their first Festival victory.

Iroko was thrown into the deep end on his British debut, finishing a respectable fourth in Grade 1 company in December 2021. Following a lengthy absence, he shed his maiden tag at Wetherby last November, before following up in impressive style at the same venue

two months later. The son of Cokoriko handled the testing conditions impressively, galloping his opponents into submission to put 14 lengths between himself and his next-best rival.

While the handicapper has taken no chances, handing him a 10lb rise for that success, he could be able to cope on a bigger stage and must have a live each-way chance.

Lossiemouth - Friday 1:30 pm - Triumph Hurdle

It is no surprise to see two Willie Mullins-trained entries at the front of the market and preference goes to the filly, LOSSIEMOUTH.

After two emphatic wins in December, plenty went wrong for the daughter of Pretender when she was hampered by her stablemate at the Dublin Racing Festival. After landing on the hind legs of Jourdefete, she was set an almighty challenge to maintain her unbeaten record

and inevitability fell just short of that target.

Despite this, she gave a good account once again and could be able to utilise her fillies allowance to go onto Cheltenham Festival glory.