Ben Jones Sunday rides blog: 'He'll love the ground here'

Ahead of what is a busy weekend of horse racing, Ben Jones shares his latest exclusive blog. Here, the Ladbrokes ambassador previews his rides on November 16 at Cheltenham.

• Portetta - Cheltenham - 13:15 race odds

• Jig's Forge - Cheltenham - 13:45 race odds

• Eclat De Marvel - Cheltenham - 16:00 race odds

Portetta is my first of three rides at Cheltenham on Sunday, and it's a fair one for Shark Hanlon. Obviously, he's got a mark now, having had plenty of runs over hurdles so he will have a bit more experience than the others here. Whether or not he's good enough to go and win it remains to be seen

I've got Jig's Forge in the handicap chase and he'll love the ground here, with the rain that's coming. He's been schooling very well at home, and obviously Ben [Pauling]'s are in very good form at the moment. If he can find a nice rhythm, he shouldn't be too far away here. I'd say he's my best chance of the day. 

I'm not riding for Ben in the Greatwood - Kielan Woods is on Fiercely Proud for him... basically, I had to go somewhere else last year and so Woodsy rode him at Ascot and won the Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle which was a £100,000 race, so he's kept the ride!

I think he's definitely got a chance here; I wouldn't be too worried about the rain coming, the same happened at Ascot last year, the ground was wet and sloppy and he galloped through it. If they go a good gallop which is traditionally the case in the Greatwood, he should have a really strong chance here. I don't think fitness will be a problem for him, either, so I'm looking forward to watching him.

In terms of picking the winner, the other one I'd keep my eye on is Nicky Henderson's Iberico Lord. He's a good price for an each-way bet. He's won on heavy ground before, so if the rain kept coming, I'd say he'll be in the frame. He's obviously a top class horse with a top stable, so if all systems go, he shouldn't be far away at all.

I've got a couple of hours before my last ride of the day, but that time tends to fly by, to be honest. Hopefully I'm still watching replays of the race I've just won, but it doesn't always work like that! I'll come in and grab a cup of tea and a bite to eat, watch a bit of racing and just chill out, really. My wife might be coming down to Cheltenham on Sunday so if she does then I'll pop out and spend a bit of time with her in between races, but if she doesn't then I won't be leaving the weighing room at all.

Eclat De Marvel runs in the flat race, and he's a lovely horse. I really, really like him at home. He does his work very nicely and he's one of those who is similar to Our Boy Stan, who went in a listed race first time out last year and finished second. We like this one a lot, and even though it's a competitive race here, if he makes it to the paddock then he'll be a big run - he's definitely one to look at for the future as well.

As well as rides on Sunday, Ben Jones also has a Saturday blog where he previews all his action on November 15.

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