LONG RUN’S marvellous victory in the totesport Gold Cup ensured the punters were in front at the end of a marathon four-day stint at the Cheltenham Festival.

RUBY WALSH intends to be back in the saddle tomorrow after needing two stitches to a cut eye following a fall at Naas on Wednesday.

RUBY WALSH walked away relatively unscathed from a bad fall at Naas yesterday.

Ruby Walsh will return to the saddle at Newbury on Friday.

Big Buck’s is the standout name among 46 entries for the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival on March 17.

HARRY Findlay rates odds-on favourites Dunguib, Master Minded, Big Buck’s and Kauto Star as banker material at next week’s Cheltenham Festival.

Master Minded’s owner Clive Smith says the dual Queen Mother Champion Chase winner will be kept pretty busy this season.

Paul Nicholls expects Denman to be “100% sound” in a week’s time following his fall at Aintree on Thursday.

AND so things return to normality. For the first two days of the festival the bookies here took a dreadful hammering — losses were being calculated upwards by the million as each race passed – and by the end of trading on Wednesday conservative estimates of the bookies’ losses across the industry were being estimated at about £25m.

Big Buck’s gave Paul Nicholls his first victory in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Exotic Dancer has been allotted top weight of 11st 12lb in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury on November 29.