2023 Hyde Novices' Hurdle Tips - Will Captain Teague hold off the Irish?

You can see the latest betting for the 2023 Hyde Novices' Hurdle here on our website...

Having cruised to victory on his hurdles debut in the Persian War, Captain Teague has scared all credible British competition away from Friday's feature. Paul Nicholls' top novice does, however, have several credible Irish rivals to contend with, all of whom will be getting weight from the market leader. I'm happy to leave Captain Teague well alone at odds-on.

The Big Doyen has improved plenty since being upped beyond two miles and Peter Fahey's front-runner is greatly respected. Jack and Paul Gilligan team up with Sequestered, who travels to Cheltenham on the back of a decent hurdles victory at Galway.

John McConnell, whose record at these early-season Cheltenham meetings is extremely strong, will be represented by KINBARA (6/1). A point-to-point winner in May 2022, McConnell thought enough of Kinbara to run him in the Grade Two bumper at Aintree, where he finished 11th, before sending his five-year-old over hurdles during the summer.

Kinbara bolted up over three miles on his hurdles bow at Wexford in July, before cantering to an easy victory over a far inferior field at Cartmell two weeks later. McConnell has had his hurdler laid out for the November Meeting since that bloodless triumph on British soil. 21 furlongs on decent ground is sure to suit and the booking of jockey Sean Bowen looks to be a shrewd move.

If you plan on watching any of Friday's races at Cheltenham via a mobile or tablet, then check out our Hyde Novices' Hurdle Live Stream page.