Punchestowns was the best hurdler amongst this year's RSA Chase entries and apart from one big mistake last time out at Sandown, he has done little wrong since being sent chasing.

Stan James are offering their new customers a free £25 bet on this year's Cheltenham Festival - simply sign up using the bonus code MAXIMUMBONUS today.

We also know he acts around Cheltenham - form figures of '3122' - and there are no concerns over his stamina for this 3m1/2 f trip either - the way he was coming up the hill behind Big Buck's in last season's World Hurdle is testament to that. As he'll line up with just two starts over fences under his belt, he might be a little short on match practice - the last 10 winners had all run at least three times over fences - but that is the only negative and he's a worthy favourite at the general 3/1. However, with over three weeks to go until the Festival and not much scope for him to shorten in the meantime, he can hardly be recommended at that price.
 
His stablemate Long Run also looks plenty short enough at 5/1 (bet365). A horse with undoubted potential, the Feltham Chase winner first needs to brush up his jumping as he was very low at many of his fences at Kempton and wasn't foot perfect when winning at Warwick last time either. He would probably benefit from being ridden by a professional jockey but his owner's son, Sam Waley-Cohen, will again be in the saddle and, while there aren't many better amateurs around, that is a slight concern in a championship race of this nature.

Third-favourite Diamond Harry was a smart hurdler and could be even better over fences. After finishing third to Big Buck's over hurdles at Newbury in December, connections decided to go down the chasing route and that decision has been vindicated with two convincing wins to date. However, in doing so, he has beaten a total of just five rivals and I thought he was very novicey over his fences when beating Bensalem at Newbury last time. I've watched the video of that race several times and the fact he wasn't going away at the finish over 3m fuels my suspicion that he's not an out-and-out stayer. I'm therefore hardly rushing to back him at 15/2 (Sportingbet).

Weird Al (11/1 Coral) must come into the reckoning having won two chases at Cheltenham this season, although the opposition was nothing out of the ordinary. Pandorama (14/1 bet365) has impressed with his jumping and is a strong stayer so it's not hard to see him being involved at the finish. He does need soft ground to operate at his best, though, and that is a rarity at Cheltenham these days.

The horse he beat over 2m5f at Leopardstown last time, WEAPON'S AMNESTY, will on the other hand relish goodish ground. It was 'good to soft, good in places' when he won last season's Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle over 3m and his latest chasing efforts over shorter suggest he's crying out for that distance again. OK, his jumping has been sketchy at times but he seems to get better the faster they go and his high cruising speed will carry him a lot further into this race than many of his rivals. At 12/1 (Ladbrokes), he's a rock-solid each-way bet to win this race for the Irish, who were successful with Cooldine last year.

Cooldine's trainer Willie Mullins has Mikhael D'Haguenet in the race and this classy hurdler could be the fly in the ointment. The winner of last season's Ballymore has yet to jump a fence in public, however, and time is running out. Even if the trainer does manage to get a run into him before Cheltenham, he is yet to be fully committed to a chasing campaign and may end up running in the Champion Hurdle.

Mullins also has Uimhiraceathair (25/1 Stan James) entered and he has come in for some strong support recently. There was a lot to like about his winning chase debut at Gowran Park last month and he has since dead-heated in a race he was expected to win comfortably at Navan (sent off 4/6 favourite). Like Weapon's Amnesty, he could do even better on good ground and those looking for a long-shot could do worse than him at this stage.

Of the rest, I wasn't at all impressed by Burton Port's (28/1 Sportingbet) win in the Reynoldstown Chase on Saturday, while Tazbar (25/1 Betfred) would need top of the ground to stand any chance - unlikely. The others make no appeal.

Recommended Bet:

Weapon's Amnesty 1pt each-way @ 12/1 Ladbrokes