Cheltenham Showcase preview: storm watch, the Sharp Novices' Hurdle and two standout IQ ratings

The jumps season proper starts at Cheltenham on Friday, and it starts with a storm. Storm Austen has already cost Newbury its whole Friday card, but Cheltenham is on, and the ground at Prestbury Park was still described as good on Thursday evening (GoingStick 6.5). Keep an eye out for changes in the morning; we post going updates on our free Telegram channel.

In the first episode of the Racing Brief Podcast, Tom and Jack go through Friday's card race by race. Here's the written version.

1:15 · The handicap hurdle: Handlethekettle stands out

A big-field handicap over two and a half miles to open the meeting, and the strongest IQ rating anywhere on the card. Handlethekettle (IQ 72, High confidence) is a distance winner whose last four runs read 3-1-1-2, and his trainer Jamie Snowden has had five winners from 17 runners in the last fortnight. Gavin Sheehan rides. The next best on IQ is Frontier Prince on 63: a nine-point gap in a 13-runner handicap is a lot.

1:50 · The novice chase: Bowensonfire for Elliott

Only five go to post, but this is a proper look at young chasers. Bowensonfire (IQ 63, Medium) for Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy is also the highest officially rated in the race at 143. The one to watch from the rest is Ice Jet, a four-year-old with two wins from his last three, for a Dan Skelton yard that has had 23 winners from 86 runners in the last 14 days.

3:00 · The Sharp Novices' Hurdle (Grade 2): wide open

The race that so often points to March. IQ calls this one Low confidence: Bells Grove tops the ratings on 61 after two straight wins, but five others are within seven points of him.

The talking horse is Planters Punch: Nicky Henderson, Nico de Boinville, unbeaten in three over hurdles and the highest officially rated in the field at 128. IQ has him mid-table on 56, mainly because he has been off for 195 days and the Henderson yard is 0 from 4 in the last fortnight. Jack thinks Henderson will have him ready; Tom says watch him in the paddock.

Also in the mix: Cooltobecareless, who won 14 days ago for Skelton (who won this race last year with Fortune De Mer), and Scott's Legacy for the Twiston-Davies team, second on IQ at 58.

3:35 · The two-mile handicap chase: Calico goes back for more

Calico won this exact race last year for Skelton, and the ten-year-old is back. Course-and-distance form counts at Cheltenham more than anywhere, and Soul Icon has it too. IQ's top-rated is Sky Lord (62) for Henry de Bromhead, but it's another tight one.

4:10 · The novices' hurdle: Cosmos d'Ainay

Friday's second High-confidence race. Cosmos d'Ainay (IQ 64) for Elliott and Kennedy has form of 1-1-3 and an eleven-point gap over the next best. The unknown is Willie Mullins' Mr Hollywood, ridden by Patrick Mullins: only two runs, so the numbers don't have much to go on yet.

4:45 · The amateur riders' chase

Three miles and a furlong to finish, with Little Ledgend (IQ 63, Medium) top-rated for an Olly Murphy yard that is 8 from 33 in the last fortnight.

Saturday: Lord Byron in the Masterson Holdings Hurdle

Saturday's 3:30 is for four-year-olds, and Lord Byron, formerly with Aidan O'Brien and now with Faye Bramley, is officially rated 147: twelve pounds clear of the next one, Skelton's North Shore. Full IQ ratings for every Saturday race are on the Cheltenham Showcase page.

Every runner, every race, free

Racecards with going and trip records and an IQ rating for every runner are on Friday's Cheltenham racecard, with results in minutes after each race.