How I pick winners at Cheltenham is very different to the rest of the year - and here's a 'system' that might help

Working in a high-street bookmaker for nearly three years really opened my eyes to the betting strategies, or lack of them in most cases, that us punters deploy.

Whether that is backing favourites, following jockeys and trainers, seeing what the shrewdies have tipped up or delving into the form book, we all have a ‘system’.

I fall firmly into the last category. That means on any given day I tend to look at older-age handicaps for selections, mainly discounting novice, maiden and juvenile events, which are – for the most part – just guesswork.