The Briefing: Swansdown heavily backed to give Cumani winner with final runner

Market Rasen would not necessarily be the first racecourse that springs to mind when searching for Cheltenham Festival implications, but that is exactly the case on Thursday when a qualifier for the Pertemps Final takes place (1.25).

Nine are set to go to post as they bid to move a step closer to a festival appearance although one of those nine is Jersey Bean, who won another qualifier convincingly at Newbury two weeks ago.

Wincanton and Thurles provide the other jumps meetings, with Newcastle and Wolverhampton hosting all-weather cards. The latter course sees Luca Cumani send out the final runner of a glittering training career when Swansdown, who has been well-backed overnight, lines up in a 1m1½f nursery (5.30).

Off the track, the declarations for the Betfair Chase will be announced during the morning with a Gold Cup rematch between Native River and Might Bite hotly anticipated.

Going report

Market Rasen (first race at: 12.25)
Hurdle - Good, good to soft in places; Chase - Good to soft, good in places (GoingStick: Chs 6.2, Hdl 6.7 on Wednesday at 7am). Rail movements: 12.25, 3.05 & .40 +168yds and 12.55, 1.25, 2.00 & 2.35 +228yds

Thurles (12.35)
Good, good to firm in places

Wincanton (12.45)
Good to firm, good in places (GoingStick 8.1 on Thursday at 7.40am)

Newcastle (1.20)
Standard

Wolverhampton (5.30)
Standard

Market movers

1.05 Thurles Valseur Lido 15-8 (from 5-2)
2.55 Newcastle Jalmoud evens (from 13-8)
5.30 Wolverhampton Swansdown 11-10 (from 4)
6.00 Wolverhampton Cantiniere 4-6 (from 5-6)

What to back

Paul Kealy has delved through Thursday's cards and found two value selections, both of which come from Market Rasen.

Our regional experts can help keep you covered across Thursday's five meetings as they have picked out their best bets for the daily Tips Box.

What to read

Read an interview with Luca Cumanias the legendary trainer saddles his final runner at Wolverhampton this evening.

Monet's Garden, a legend of the equine kind, sadly passed away this week. His trainer Nicky Richards spoke to us about the hugely popular chaser.

What to watch

The Ladbrokes Trophy is a little over a week away, so why not get a head start on studying the race with the latest insight from trainer Anthony Honeyball, who is set to have two runners in the race.

Champion trainer Nicky Henderson is set to unleash some of the big guns in his yard, including Altior and Buveur D'Air, in the coming weeks. He spoke about that duo and more earlier this week.

The best of Racing Post Sport

After Martin O'Neill's departure as manager of Ireland, Mark Langdon has reported on the changing market with regards to who will be his replacement.

Elsewhere, Racing Post editor Bruce Millington has looked at the upcoming BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in his latest column, which you can read here.

Final thought

Sport does not usually go along with the script, but it would be fitting if Swansdown could finish Luca Cumani's training career on a winning note. Not many in racing would begrudge him that.

For the freshest betting advice, based on latest going and market conditions, don't miss the Live Tipster every afternoon. Just click Raceday Live at racingpost.com or the mobile app