Punters nursing New Year hangovers will only have a few hours to get their head around a good punting card at Cheltenham on Monday.

As well as being New Year’s Day it’s also happy birthday to all the equine stars who advance another year. Blazing Batman, now aged 14, takes part in the opener at Cheltenham but this would be the shock of the year (!) if this one was to win. Best bet in the Cheltenham opener could be OPEN DE L’ISLE.

His two wins at Carlisle and Hexham have come in very modest company indeed – but he has scored with a bit in hand and crucially his wins have come on the same heavy ground that he will experience today. He deserves to take his chance in this more valuable contest.

Beau Michel, the top weight, created a good impression when winning his first two National Hunt races but came unstuck when only fourth at Haydock over two and a half miles. The drop back in distance will help but his trainer Paul Nicholls has gone slightly off the boil by his own high standards since Boxing Day and an inexperienced jockey takes the ride.

Templer is only modest but may be the biggest danger to the selection.