Big pressure of course to saddle or ride winners at Cheltenham. Nicky Henderson got that pressure off his shoulders in the last race but has no runners in this one.

Singlefarmpayment leads the betting for this third race, a handicap chase. The six-year-old knows Cheltenham well and won here in December before being brought down in it's last run - again at this track - in January.

There are 23 runners out there though, the ground now good to soft. A tough one to commit to. Neil Mullholland trains three runners, Gordon Elliot - who saddled the winner of the opener - trains the second favourite Noble Endeavour.Holywell is a name some may recgonise, the winner of this race in 2014 starts at 10-1.

I'm going for Pilgrims Bay - one of Mullholland's trio - and a winner last time out.

To Cheltenham? Go on then...

Image source, Getty Images

Everton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin claims he almost fell out of love with football when he struggled for playing time at Manchester United.

The 27-year-old moved to Goodison Park in January and scored his first goal during the win over West Brom on Saturday.

"I did lose my joy of football a little bit because when you don't play, you don't play with freedom and everything is very hard," he said.

"Since I've come here the manager (Ronald Koeman) knows what I'm all about. He placed confidence in me in the past and he has done so again. It's a joy to work with him every day." 

Image source, Rex Features

Cardiff boss Neil Warnock did not consider Wigan Athletic to be a "threat" once they appointed Warren Joyce as manager.

Former Manchester United Under-21 boss Joyce was  sacked  on Monday after only four months in charge of the Latics.

Warnock's side are currently 13th in the Championship but were a point above the drop zone, and Wigan, in 21st when Joyce  took charge.

"No disrespect but when Wigan appointed him, I was delighted," Warnock told BBC Radio Wales Sport: "I didn't think they were going to be a threat to us. I like Warren but you can't just put someone into the Championship who's never been there - it's nothing like youth football."

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New Zealand coach Steve Hansen insists he isn't playing any media mind games, after Eddie Jones reacted suspiciously to the Kiwi's praise of England's record-equalling run.

Hansen paid tribute to England's achievements on  BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek , but England coach Jones was wary,  comparing  the Kiwi to the Big Bad Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood.

"Eddie's obviously not very used to getting compliments," Hansen replied. "So he's got to try and brush it off."

Victory for England against Ireland on Saturday would be a record-breaking 19th in a row, and would seal a second straight Six Nations Grand Slam for Jones' men.

Hansen told 5 live that Jones has instilled a work ethic previously lacking in England's team, but Jones replied: "You've always got to be careful of compliments, particularly from an All Blacks coach."

I'm nipping to focus on some other sports for 10 minutes before we return to Cheltenham. I'll drop the mic at the Festival briefly with this humdinger of a stat.

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Here is your winner of the second race of the week. Altior makes it ten wins in a row, one wonders if he had a bit left in the tank.

The winners' enclosure awaits, along with a roar of appreciation.

Image source, Reuters

Andrew Thornton
National Hunt jockey at Cheltenham

Cloudy Dream kept Altior at it, chased him all the way but you have to say, an exemplary performance.

1. Altior (1-4 favourite)
2. Cloudy Dream (12-1)
3. Ordinary World (25-1)

The £400,000 single bet comes in. I'll have to ring my bookie to collect the £100,000. A hard-luck story in there for extra narrative too, Charbel was travelling well before falling nastily. He's up and OK.

Apologies if you backed Three Stars. Pulled up before fence three. Rip the ticket up and kick your own shin.

And they're off, a dozen fences to jump over a mile and seven furlongs...

John Francome
Seven-time Champion Jockey at Cheltenham

Altior should be head and shoulders above the rest.

Trainer Willie Mullins and jockey Ruby Walsh team up on Royal Caviar here, second favourite at around 6-1.  The eight-year-old has a win and three second-place finishes in his last five outings but fell last time out at Leopardstown.

Cloudy Dream, in the famous green and yellow colours of former Grand National winners Hedgehuner and Many Clouds is an 11-1 shot for trainer Malcolm Jefferson.

All of them are chasing Altior, who is a heavy, heavy favourite.

If you're in work and have some headphones, whack them on and click 'live coverage' at the top of this page to listen to BBC Radio 5 live.

Phil Tuffnell is having a flutter, there is plenty from BBC racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght as well as the likes of John Hunt, John Francome, Andrew Thornton, Lizzie Kelly and more.

Image source, PA

As we told you a little earlier, this next race is headed by strong favourite Altior.

The six-year-old's form reads: W W W W W W W W W 

That's nine straight wins. Someone placed a bet of £400,000 on the Nicky Henderson-trained horse earlier. At a price of 2-9, that would win around £100,000. Bold.

Right then, back to Cheltenham focus for a bit, where the first race has served up a teenage hero.

Castleford boss Daryl Powell and ex-England prop Eorl Crabtree discuss the key to rugby league growth, including franchising.

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Tottenham expect to find out on Tuesday whether Harry Kane will play again this season.

Kane's right ankle was still too swollen to undergo scans on Monday but the striker will now take those tests today, as well as advice from specialists. 

Mauricio Pochettino should therefore know more on Kane's condition in the next 24 hours.