ITV Racing Tips on October 23rd - Friday's fancies at Cheltenham and Doncaster

Jon Vine

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Last updated: Thu 22 Oct 2026 11:57

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Free tips for the ITV races on Friday 23rd October
Cheltenham and Doncaster feature on Friday's ITV coverage
Jarrive De Mee, Kodi Lion and Calico feature in our selections

Cheltenham racecourse. (Getty)

Friday's Tips

ITV Racing Schedule
1:15pm Cheltenham - Epic Boosts Handicap Hurdle Tips
1:35pm Doncaster - Nursery Handicap Tips
1:50pm Cheltenham - Chasing Excellence" Novices' Chase Tips
2:10pm Doncaster - Epic Boosts Handicap Tips
2:25pm Cheltenham - Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle Tips
2:45pm Doncaster - Best Odds Guaranteed Handicap Tips
3:00pm Cheltenham - Sharp Novices' Hurdle Tips
3:35pm Cheltenham - squareintheair.com Handicap Chase

National Hunt racing fans will rejoice on Friday, as Cheltenham hosts it's first fixture of the new season. ITV Racing will be showing five races live from day one of the Showcase Meeting, plus three live races from the opening day of Doncaster's Futurity Trophy Festival.

Here are my best betting tips for Friday's ITV Races at Cheltenham and Doncaster.

ITV Racing Schedule

Time	Track	Title
1:15pm	Cheltenham	William Hill Epic Boosts Handicap Hurdle (Class 3) 2m4f
1:35pm	Doncaster	William Hill Extra Places Every Day Nursery Handicap (Class 3) 6f
1:50pm	Cheltenham	Catesby Estates "Chasing Excellence" Novices' Chase (Class 2) 2m
2:10pm	Doncaster	William Hill Epic Boosts Handicap (Class 2) 6f
2:25pm	Cheltenham	Foundation Developments Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle (Class 3) 2m½f
2:45pm	Doncaster	William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Handicap (Class 2) 7f
3:00pm	Cheltenham	Oddschecker Novices' Hurdle (Grade 2) 2m½f
3:35pm	Cheltenham	squareintheair.com Handicap Chase (Class 2) 2m

ITV Racing Tips - Friday 23rd October

1:15pm Cheltenham - Epic Boosts Handicap Hurdle Tips

I can't wait to see racing return to Cheltenham on Friday, and I'm eager to back CROOKED PATH (10/1) again in our opener. James Owen's recruit was my NAP Of The Day when he won at Fontwell eight days ago, powering clear of some decent rivals to score off a mark of 114.

Jonny Burke's mount may only be a four-year-old, but he's very experienced over hurdles. Crooked Path ran 11 times over obstacles for Denis Hogan last season and even got a taste of the track at Cheltenham when fifth behind Minella Study in the Triumph Trial in December.

Crooked Path enters this contest with a mark of 116, despite jumping up to 121 after that victory at Fontwell. Owen's four-year-old jumps and stays well and remains open to further improvement.

1:35pm Doncaster - Nursery Handicap Tips

No bet for me here.

1:50pm Cheltenham - Chasing Excellence" Novices' Chase Tips

Dan Skelton, Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins will then meet in this novices' chase. Bowensonfire hasn't been particularly convincing in the jumping department for me, and Ice Jet has plenty to find in terms of ratings. JARRIVE DE MEE (4/1), therefore, is a rather tentative selection.

Patrick Mullins guided Jarrive De Mee to two novice hurdle victories on British soil in 2025 before a decent fourth-place finish behind Jasmin De Vaux in Grade One company at Punchestown. Willie's seven-year-old then spent 13 months on the sidelines after a decent chasing debut at the Galway Festival and ran well for a long way on his return to action at Listowel's Harvest Festival last month.

Jarrive De Mee jumped and travelled well before the tank emptied quickly down the home straight. That was understandable, considering he'd been off the track for so long, and that outing should put Mullins' raider spot-on for this assignment.

2:10pm Doncaster - Epic Boosts Handicap Tips

Conditions at Doncaster look set to be testing this weekend. Such conditions will suit KODI LION (11/1), who bolted up on heavy ground during the Sprint Cup meeting at Haydock.

Mick Appleby's five-year-old has finished fifth in two starts since that victory but was slowly away at Yarmouth and encountered traffic problems when attempting to challenge at Leicester ten days ago. Cieren Fallon, who was in the saddle for that emphatic win at Haydock, reprises the partnership on Friday. Kodi Lion looks to have a good chance in a wide-open sprint handicap.

2:25pm Cheltenham - Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle Tips

Martin Keighley likes to target these early-season meetings at Cheltenham. He almost pulled off a coup with CONTINUANCE (10/1) at the December Meeting last season, where his five-year-old looked to have pounced at the perfect moment, only to get run down in the dying strides by Dan Skelton's Fortune De Mer.

Continuance then bumped into some classy types like All In You and Castle Ivers later in the season and finished second again on his reappearance at Kelso last month. Dropping back to two miles around a stiff track like Cheltenham will suit, and Harry Atkins is an excellent conditional to have on your side.

undefined — Harry Skelton riding Calico (orange cap) clear the last to win The squareintheair.com Handicap Chase at Cheltenham. (Getty)

2:45pm Doncaster - Best Odds Guaranteed Handicap Tips

Palladas is a very short price to remain unbeaten on what will be his turf and handicap debut. Charlie Appleby's favourite has to be respected, but I'm happy to take him on with ZOUM ZOUM (12/1), who bolted up in the sprint handicap on this card two years ago.

Ralph Beckett's five-year-old hasn't won since then but has spent most of the last two seasons running in Pattern races. Zoum Zoum finished second in three Listed contests last term, including a narrow defeat to Spycatcher in the Wentworth Stakes here at Doncaster in November.

Rossa Ryan's mount has been uncompetitive in four starts so far this season. However, those defeats have seen Zoum Zoum's mark drop from 105 to 99, and he's classy enough to contend on his first handicap start for 15 months.

3:00pm Cheltenham - Sharp Novices' Hurdle Tips

Read our full guide to the 2026 Sharp Novices' Hurdle to find out who we've backed in Friday's feature race.

Visit our Sharp Novices' Hurdle Live Stream page if you want to watch any of Friday's races via a mobile or tablet.

3:35pm Cheltenham - squareintheair.com Handicap Chase

CALICO (7/2) has won the last two renewals of this two-mile handicap chase. Dan Skelton's star even managed to follow up at Ascot off a mark of 149 last season before his form tailed off in the spring.

Harry Skelton's mount was raised to a lofty mark of 154 following that Ascot triumph. Four defeats since then have seen Skelton's course specialist drop back down to a rating of 148, and Calico will only shoulder 11-4 due to JPR One's presence in the field.

Skelton has been open about the fact that he's trained Calico specifically for this race again, and Harry should get a nice pace to aim at, given the abundance of potential pacemakers in the field. Taking everything into account, 7/2 seems a fairly generous price.

Verdict

ITV Racing at Cheltenham and Doncaster

Friday's Top ITV Tips:

Calico

3:35pm Cheltenham

@7/2 - 5 Units

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Jarrive De Mee

1:50pm Cheltenham

@4/1 - 5 Units

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Crooked Path E/W

1:15pm Cheltenham

@10/1 - 5 Units

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Kodi Lion

2:10pm Doncaster

@11/1 - 5 Units

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