{"id":38483,"date":"2025-03-11T17:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T17:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportscasting.com\/uk\/?p=38483"},"modified":"2025-03-11T20:07:12","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T20:07:12","slug":"cheltenham-bankers-day-two-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sportscasting.com\/uk\/news\/cheltenham-bankers-day-two-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Ballyburn & Jonbon rate as Day Two Cheltenham Festival Bankers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Looking ahead to day two of the Cheltenham Festival, we explore the pair of ‘bankers’ who will no doubt be extremely popular as a double on Wednesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also see Andy Newton’s<\/strong> best Cheltenham bets and hot stats for DAY TWO here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cheltenham Bankers Day Two: Wednesday 12th March 2025<\/h2>\n

Ballyburn can get the banker double off the mark in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase<\/h3>\n

Reigning Cheltenham Festival top trainer<\/a> Willie Mullins won this race last year with Fact To File and Ballyburn\u00a0<\/strong>is expected to be one of the most well-backed horses of the week.<\/p>\n

The seven-year-old was last seen winning the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Novice Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival in February over 2m 5\u00bdf and this step up in trip to 3m could be everything he wants and more.<\/p>\n

Ballyburn didn’t blow anyone away on his first two starts over fences, winning an egg-and-spoon race at 2m 3f at Punchestown in November before meeting his match in Sir Gino at Kempton on Boxing Day over 2m in the Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase.<\/p>\n

His somewhat sluggish approach to fencing led the Closutton team to scrap plans of targeting the fast-paced Arkle and instead look toward a longer trip at a more moderate gallop which has certainly played into his hands so far.<\/p>\n

Racing in the colours of Ronnie Bartlett and David Manasseh, Ballyburn won impressively on this day last year in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle and a track like Cheltenham with its undulating nature and stiff finish is tailor-made for a strong stayer.<\/p>\n

He is a fan favourite and will surely have plenty of supporters on the day, many of which have already arrived and Ballyburn could be looking at a SP of around 4\/6.<\/p>\n

Could Ballyburn beat himself by racing too keen?<\/h3>\n

One of the only lingering suspicions around his chances is the possibility he could race too keen and fail to get home after being tried over shorter distances this season, no doubt a recipe for disaster if the ground is soft enough but that doesn\u2019t seem to be much of a worry as per the current forecast.<\/p>\n

WATCH: Ballyburn lands the Ladbrokes Novice Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival<\/h3>\n