Heavy rain arrived at Cheltenham over the past two days and the ground is now officially soft, heading toward heavy.

With that in mind, Billy Grimshaw has a couple of best bets he expects will thrive in the mud at Prestbury Park.

14:20 Cheltenham – Paddy Power Gold Cup

The obvious place to start is with last year’s winner Il Ridoto, running in the race once more off the same mark.
He’s a banker for anyone playing the placepot.

Paul Nicholls’ charge is as consistent as they come and will no doubt give a good account of himself again, barring any mishaps.
But at around 5/1 and with the ground not anything like the good to soft he favors, he is a swerve for me.

As I write this, the price on Jagwar is contracting rapidly and it’s easy to see why with his profile.

He won the Plate here on his last run back in March and at still just six years of age, he could have bundles of improvement left in him.

He also has a soft ground win over course and distance, so there are very few negatives barring the price and the fact he now has top weight to deal with.

Nevertheless, he could well be a graded horse making his final handicap start here and rates the main danger.

Thecompanysergeant was second in the aforementioned Plate and will look for a slice of revenge in this race for Gavin Cromwell.

However his form since has not been inspiring and in these conditions one suspects a weak finisher like him could be found out.

Sam Thomas is still in sensational form at present and his Vincenzo is certainly of interest off a long break for a trainer who excels bringing horses back from an absence.

He’ll relish any more rain but punters have cottoned on and he doesn’t excite me at current odds in a race as competitive as this.

Panic Attack is the hope of title-chasing Dan Skelton and on her peak form would be in the mix here.

However off a break on this ground I am going to give her a miss too and side with Irish raider COMING UP EASY, who is appropriately named looking at the ground.

Henry De Bromhead’s charge is a bona fide front runner and I want something guaranteed to sit prominently onside here and he certainly fits that bill.

He ended last season with a couple of wins and made it three in a row with an all-the-way Listowel success on seasonal debut, seemingly relishing having his stamina tested.

This will be an altogether more difficult affair than anything he’s faced thus far but this is a big pot.

I would wager the team has had it in their crosshairs for some time with this lad.

With Darragh O’Keefe; a rider I think will announce himself to British race fans this season booked in the saddle, this could be a breakout moment for horse and rider.
I am quite sweet on him.

15:30 Cheltenham

I’m not sure an eight-pound rise in the weights would’ve stopped the mightily impressive FRENCH SHIP here last time out when he won in style by over 3 lengths.

I will chance that he can keep the winning thread and claim this prize, which is the last Cheltenham race on ITV on Saturday.

He cruised through that race like the winner from a long way out.
Given he has solid form on heavy ground and is at home getting a lead or out in front, he has plenty of routes to glory in this tricky-looking handicap.

Favorite Jurancon probably sets the standard and is a model of consistency, never out of the first two.

Although he is the one most likely to leave handicaps behind and go on to bigger and better things after this, I am not convinced he is tailor-made for this extended trip, particularly on what could be heavy ground.

He has plenty of form in the mud but is yet to race past two miles.

Asking him to do so off a long break and wind surgery in what could be treacherous conditions is no cake walk.

Royal Infantry has top weight to contend with but his third at Chepstow in the Silver Trophy was a more than satisfactory comeback.

That could well have put him spot on for this.

Harry rides for brother Dan Skelton and he is, along with the favorite if he takes to the distance, the horse I fear most—predictably given how the trio I’ve mentioned are priced up.

Of those at bigger prices, Hamsiyann, last year’s winner, made some appeal at double figures.

Although he has been off the boil since that success here a year ago and is not suited to heavy ground.

Kap Boy with man of the moment Sean Bowen in the saddle cannot be ruled out and is a confirmed lover of attritional ground.

They’ll all have a job on to beat French Ship though if he is in similar form to the last time he came here.

The Philip Hobbs-trained five-year-old has a fitness advantage over some rivals and should handle the softening conditions with ease.