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St Patrick’s Thursday and we are hoping the luck of the Irish is with us today. Wednesday was a day of shocks. Il Etait Temps caused a surprise in the Champion Chase, King Rasco Grey struck for Ireland in the opening Turners Novices Hurdle, and Martator rounded off the card with a stunning 66/1 upset in the Grand Annual. The Festival has well and truly come alive. Seven races today, seven selections, and an 86/1 accumulator. Here are our picks.
StT PATRICK’S DAY Place Acca — WED 11 March 2026
Jump to race analysis:
13:20 Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
Carrigmoornaspruce6 places
14:00 Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase
Meetmebythesea6 places
14:40 Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle
WodhoohWin
15:20 Paddy Powers Stayers’ Hurdle
Ballyburn4 places
16:00 Ryanair Chase
Fact To FileWin
16:40 Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle
Bold Endeavour7 places
17:20 Kim Muir Handicap Chase
Waterford Whispers4 places
Place and win bets only. Place bets win if selection finishes within stated places. Odds correct as of 17:20 11/03/26, always check William Hill for latest prices. 18+ Gamble responsibly.
Carrigmoornaspruce has not finished outside the top three in her last nine starts. That is the kind of consistency that makes a place bet look very straightforward. Her most recent run was a runner-up finish in Grade 1 company behind Skylight Hustle at Leopardstown in December, which tells you exactly where her level is. She has since been bought by Victorious Racing, a significant international ownership group, and that kind of investment does not happen without serious confidence in what is coming.
Today she drops back to mares only company after tackling elite novice males all season. That switch is a massive advantage and with an RPR of 144 and six places on offer she is one of the most statistically reliable selections on the card.
William Hill Win market
Meetmebythesea is a classic JP McManus handicap plot. Ben Pauling has said this horse was always destined for something in the spring and described him as a lovely old-fashioned chasing type, which is trainer speak for a horse being saved for exactly this kind of race. His sixth at Newbury last month in heavy ground against open Grade 2 company was a sharpener, not a true reflection of his ability. Before that he was two from two over fences at Ayr and Wetherby which is the form that matters.
He returns to 2m4f today, the distance where he finished third in elite company at Sandown last March, and the ground will be considerably better than what he faced at Newbury. Six places on offer and a horse that connections have been pointing at this race all season. When JP McManus and a trainer like Pauling talk about a horse being destined for the spring, you take note.
William Hill Win market
Wodhooh is one of the most impressive statistics at this entire Festival. Eight wins from ten hurdle starts, with her only defeat coming at the hands of Lossiemouth, the Champion Hurdle winner. That tells you everything about her level. She is already a course and distance winner at Cheltenham, and not just any win. She carried top weight in a 24-runner Festival field last March and won doing it.
Since then she has taken a Grade 2 at Ascot and a Grade 3 at Leopardstown, arriving here with an RPR of 160 and Jack Kennedy in the saddle for Gordon Elliott. The Racing Post have her as hard to beat over this exact trip and it is hard to argue. This is the win selection on the card and the one the whole acca is built around.
William Hill Win market
Ballyburn is one of the most physically imposing horses at this Festival. A former Ballymore winner with an Official Rating of 160, he has only finished outside the top three once in 14 career starts. His last two runs were runner-up finishes at Grade 1 level at Fairyhouse and Punchestown, and while he was third behind Teahupoo at Leopardstown in December that was no disgrace against the Stayers’ Hurdle favourite.
Willie Mullins believes he can dominate over three miles and Paul Townend takes the ride. He has a rare ability to gallop at any speed which makes him almost impossible to shake off, and his jumping has been accurate throughout. Four places available and a horse with Grade 1 placed form on his last three starts. He is a fortress for the frame.
William Hill Win market
Fact To File is the highest rated horse in our entire Thursday card with an RPR of 181 and arrives here as defending Ryanair Chase champion. Twelve months ago he won this race by nine lengths. Since then he has had a mixed season but his most recent run put any doubts to bed, beating Gaelic Warrior in the Grade 1 Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown in February to confirm he is back to his very best.
Willie Mullins and Mark Walsh combine for JP McManus in a race Fact To File already owns. Experts have him down as seemingly unbeatable at this trip and it is easy to see why. This is the second win selection on the card alongside Wodhooh and the one that anchors the back end of the accumulator.
William Hill Win market
Bold Endeavour has been brought back to Nicky Henderson specifically to target this race and connections have been quietly confident all season. He finished fourth in this exact race two years ago off a rating of 143. He runs today off just 130, a massive 13lb lower than that effort, which means the handicapper has handed him a serious chance. His mid-career form was disrupted by a stable switch but his third at Huntingdon in January was described as highly encouraging by connections and showed the engine is still very much intact.
Henderson knows this race and knows this horse. Statistical trends favour experienced veterans in the Pertemps and with seven places on offer in some markets this is one of the most straightforward each way calls on the card. A horse running off a career low mark, back with his best trainer, at a track he has form at. The value is obvious.
William Hill Win market
Waterford Whispers fits the ideal winner’s profile for this race, an eight year old rated over 137, and connections have had this target in mind since his narrow second in the 2024 Martin Pipe. His most recent run was a rallying third in a 23-runner Leopardstown handicap in February which analysts described as eye-catching progress, and the step up to 3m2f today is expected to bring out more improvement given his pedigree is steeped in extreme stamina.
Amateur jockey Alan O’Sullivan takes the ride and comes into this in excellent form with a 20% strike rate recently. Henry de Bromhead has had him quietly laid out for this and four places on offer in a race that suits his profile makes him a solid each way selection to close out the card.
William Hill Win market
That is our Thursday card. Seven selections, five to place and Wodhooh and Fact To File to win, and an 86/1 accumulator to take us through the biggest day of racing outside of Gold Cup Friday.
Wednesday was one to forget for punters, but the Festival has a habit of turning things around quickly. Wodhooh is as reliable a win selection as you will find all week and Fact To File is the defending champion back on his best form. Around those two we have horses with genuine place claims across the card, Bold Endeavour with seven places on offer, Ballyburn with Grade 1 form, and Carrigmoornaspruce dropping back into mares company off a rock solid recent run.
