With winners at 50/1 and 40/1, and a 16/1 winner of the Champion Hurdle there can be little doubt the bookmakers had the edge on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival.

A few lessons were learnt which will hopefully help with our strategy for Wednesday. The first is despite pessimism beforehand - the Irish horses are running incredibly well. Secondly, the ground is now starting to dry up at a rapid rate.

That will definitely count against Nickname in the Champion Chase. Betterbet.com have gone 15/2 overnight which is a big price compared to a week ago but I expect him to drift further as there were plenty of negative vibes around the track on Tuesday for this one whose best form is on soft and heavy ground. A better bet in Wednesday's feature race may be VOY POR USTEDES who won the Arkle at the Festival last year and who looks a reasonable bet at 9/2 to win this. Trainer Alan King won this year's Arkle yesterday with the impressive My Way De Solzen and hot favourite Well Chief looks worth opposing given his lack of recent races.

DENMAN has been made 6/5 favourite by Better to win the Royal & SunAlliance Chase at 2.35 and is the banker bet at the meeting for many. He's a terribly short price now but so hard to fault. If you prefer to play each-way UNGARO looks interesting at 10/1.