Harry Cobden makes Bravemansgame prediction and Noble Yeats update ahead of Cheltenham Gold Cup

All the latest Cheltenham Festival news on Monday, March 6 as Bravemansgame and Noble Yeats’ Gold Cup chances are discussed.
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With the Cheltenham Festival just a week away, talk is turning towards a fascinating Gold Cup field, with some big names in the mix for the feature race.
A Plus Tard jockey Rachael Blackmore will be hopeful of a defence of the crown, but will face tough competition from Irish Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs. It's an open market for the event and is an enticing prospect for punters, with Galopin Des Champs leading the market without having extensive Cheltenham experience.
Two more names in the mix for the famous race are King George winner Bravemansgame and Grand National winner Noble Yeats, with both high up in the betting ahead of the race which takes place next Friday (March 17).
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Here is all of the latest ahead of the Cheltenham Gold Cup:
Harry Cobden says Bravemansgame is Paul Nicholls' best Gold Cup hope
Jockey Harry Cobden has said that the best chance of a Gold Cup win for Paul Nicholls' team at Ditcheat is Bravemansgame, with the eight-year-old having already won the King George VI Chase this season.
The Kempton race is one of the biggest events on the National Hunt calendar, with a win often showing that a horse has the credentials for a strong Gold Cup showing. Cobden steered the John Dance and Bryan Drew horse to victory in Surrey on Boxing Day and has revealed his confidence ahead of the Gold Cup.
"I'm looking forward to that one, I think he could be our best chance of the week." Cobden told Sky Sports News. "He looks bigger and stronger than he did last year and he felt a bit better as well, so fingers crossed he can show what he's worth a week Friday."
Noble Yeats has improved following Grand National win says Waley-Cohen
The Grand National win for Noble Yeats last year was one of the highlights of the season, with Sam Waley-Cohen riding the 50/1 outsider to victory at Aintree.
The amateur jockey was in his last race that day and has since handed over the reins to Sean Bowen, who rode the rising star to a creditable third in the grade two Paddy Power Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham in January. This has given Waley-Cohen whose father, Robert, owns the horse, confidence ahead of the Festival showpiece next Friday.
“He’s just improved and improved and I don’t think any of us ever thought there would be that much improvement to come from him,” Waley-Cohen told the Racing Post on Saturday.
“When I rode him at Cheltenham last year, the answer to whether I thought he would ever be a Gold Cup horse would have been no, but he learned so much from his experience at Aintree.
“In the first half of the Grand National he had no chance of winning, but in the second half you came away thinking you could go anywhere – the penny really dropped with him that day. What’s more, you can tell he’s really enjoying it as well.”