Supreme Novices Hurdle

Raced over a shade longer than two miles, this is the festival curtain raiser, and was won in 2017 by 25/1 Labaik, much to the bookies' pleasure.

Trends

- 17 of the last 19 winners won last time out

- Irish trained runners have always gone well in this one - winning 11 of the last 16 runnings, and 15 of the last 26.

- 18 of the last 23 winners ran within the last 45 days

- 6 of the last 8 winners came from the first four in the market BUT only 4 of the last 18 horses to SP at 3/1 or shorter have won.

- 12 of the last 14 winners were aged five or six

- 21 of the last 23 winners had raced that calendar year

- Willie Mullins is king here - winning four times since 2007 and three of the past five renewals.

Offers

Sky Bet - Money back as a free bet if you lose - up to £20

Ladbrokes - Double you winnings in Free Bets if your horse wins up to £50

Coral - Money back as a free bet if you lose - up to £25

Betway - Money back as a free bet if you lose - up to £10

Paddy Power - Money back as a free bet if the SP favourite wins (up to £10)

Our Picks

All the talk will be about Getabird coming into this one. He ticks all the right boxes, and of course goes for race specialist Willie Mullins, who has enjoyed so much success in this race over recent years. At 13/8 however, it's a skinny price to open your festival account, and with so many offers letting us get our money back as a free bet if we lose, a better strategy would be to pick out a longer priced selection who could enjoy the testing conditions underfoot thanks to the recent Beast from the East!

Our two e/w picks here will be Summerville Boy and Slate House. The former looked superb in beating Kalashnikov at Sandown in January, who subsequently confirmed that performance with a terrific win at Newbury in February. On the latter, the price just has to appeal as an e/w bet given he's already been a winner on soft ground, at this class and importantly, at Cheltenham.

1pt e/w Summerville Boy at 10/1 (Sky Bet Money back as a free bet if you lose)

1pt e/w Slate House at 22/1 (Betway, money back as a free bet if you lose)

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