1.20 - JCB TRIUMPH HURDLE
With the absence of Narciso Has, the Triumph Hurdle is looking pretty open this year, so I’ll be taking a chance on Adam Nicol to have MINELLA STUDY (6-1) ready for the big day. The progression this horse has shown over hurdles this year has really impressed me, and he showed good improvement from his first to second run - especially in the jumping department – when winning really well at Cheltenham in November. He had Winston Junior more than six lengths in arrears, and that horse ran a really good race off a big weight in the Fred Winter on Tuesday. The form looks decent.
He seems to handle nice ground really well, so I’d be hopeful that no rain hits the track before Friday. It’d be a fabulous story for a smaller up-and-coming trainer to win a prize like this, and he gets the vote from me.
I’ll also give a smaller shout to Gavin Cromwell’s North Shore (33-1), who has been highly tried since his switch from France. He’s been a good bit behind Narciso Has on both occasions so far, but he doesn’t face that rival here. His form suggests to me that he’ll be a better horse on better ground and he might go well at a big price.
2.00 - WILLIAM HILL COUNTY HANDICAP HURDLE
Off the back of a really eyecatching run at Leopardstown and with Grade 1 back class to her name, I’m with MURCIA (7-1) in the County Hurdle. She didn’t really get the rub of the green at all at the Dublin Racing Festival.
Murcia looked a bit anxious at the start – jinking right – and things didn’t really improve from there. She made some stealthy enough headway when the race began to develop, but she was taken very wide by Paul Townend, and was never really in the right spot to get involved at the finish.
She stayed on nicely though, and that run should leave her spot on for this. She’s a Grade 1 winner, with form behind good horses like Lulamba and Talk The Talk, so a rating of 142 is probably workable. Connections won this with a five-year-old mare (Kargese) off a similar mark last year, and I expect they’ll go close again on Friday.
2.40 - MRS PADDY POWER MARES' CHASE
I’m pretty sweet on the chances of PANIC ATTACK (11-4) for Harry and Dan Skelton. Dinoblue is a fabulous filly, but she’s been beaten in this race before, and Panic Attack fits the bill as one to take her on with, in that she handles any ground, jumps well, stays strongly and is really on the improve.
Her Paddy Power Gold Cup win is very strong handicap form beating the likes of Vincenzo and she again showcased her class and jumping ability when running away with the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury. With the likes of Dinoblue, Diva Luna and Telepathique all horses that can get on with it up front, hopefully Harry can get his mare into a good rhythm in behind before showing her staying power in the finish.
3.20 - ALBERT BARTLETT NOVICES' HURDLE
I’ve struggle to split a couple of runners in this race, which looks typically competitive and full of potential Grade 1 horses of the future. It’s usually well-run, and Thedeviluno will be ridden to come home, similar to how he was in the River Don. I can see him picking plenty of rivals off on the long run to the last. He’s showed class throughout his career, including in his bumpers and when beating Skylight Hustle over two miles at Gowran. Paul Nolan is usually there or thereabouts with his Cheltenham runners, so he’s a very solid runner.
I was all set to side with him until I rewatched his defeat to DOCTOR STEINBERG (4-1) at Navan, and I think it makes sense to stick with the Willie Mullins horse at the prices. Some seem to have a nagging stamina doubt with him given he showed keen-going tendencies when winning the Nathaniel Lacy at the Dublin Racing Festival, but I don’t share those.
Granted, he was free, but he still absolutely bolted up on that soft ground, so there’s clearly a fair old engine under the bonnet. Hopefully a big field will help him settle, and he’s got the best in the business on his back, so I’m taking him to lead home Thedeviluno.
4.00 - BOODLES CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP CHASE
I’ve mentioned a couple of horses for the Gold Cup this season, and the way things have panned out with the likes of Galopin Des Champs and Fact To File not lining up, it seems like we’re in a particularly decent position.
FIREFOX (40-1) showed us something fairly new last time in his first run over a staying trip, and I’m still keen on him to run a big race at a big race. I don’t see why they’d change tactics on him. If he’s ridden cold to come home again, he could easily pick up some more pieces just like he did in the Irish Gold Cup.
The nicer ground could play to his strengths too and could make things easier for him over this distance. He’s still only eight, and I really do believe it’d be foolish to suggest he’s not open to improvement now tackling the Gold Cup trip. I’m looking forward to seeing him run.
I mentioned GAELIC WARRIOR at 10-1 (currently 9-2) for this race back in January, so we’re in a pretty good spot with him currently contesting favouritism. He was the best horse in the King George to my eye, and shaped well behind Fact To File in the Irish Gold Cup last time.
No prizes for originality, but the key to him on Friday is whether he settles. He was so impressive when really switching off at Aintree, and a well-run Gold Cup should allow Paul Townend the opportunity to get him relaxed early on.
4.40 - PRINCESS ROYAL CHALLENGE CUP OPEN HUNTERS' CHASE
I’m not deserting CHEMICAL ENERGY (16-1) in this, having put him up for the race a couple of months back. Like Firefox, he’s a horse I know very well, having come close enough to winning at the Festival on him, when we were picked off late by Gaillard Du Mesnil in the National Hunt Chase a few years ago. We were beaten by a good horse, but if I could have the ride back again, I think I’d have waited a bit before pushing the button!
The horse feels as though he’s been around for ages, but he’s still just a ten-year-old, and appears to have been revitalised by a switch to Point-to-Points. He’s been partnered by Barry O’Neill for both of his victories in this field. Barry’s a top, top pilot and retains the ride here, which is a plus. I just feel that this is the sort of horse who still has a bit to give at this level.
We know he handles the track, we know he has a good bit of back class, and he’s always been a sound jumper, capable of settling well in big-field, fast-run events like this. The Morans are great supporters of the game at all levels, and it’d really please me if they could notch another Festival win for Gordon Elliott.
5.20 - MARTIN PIPE CONDITIONAL JOCKEYS' HANDICAP HURDLE
We might be missing a Wodhooh in the Festival finale this year, but Gordon Elliott’s mare could still hold the key to the race in some ways. ACT OF AUTHORITY (18-1) is only 1lb higher than when second to Wodhooh in the race last year, and partnered by the same jockey Lewis Saunders, he looks ready to run another big race on his return to Cheltenham.
He’s been disappointing at times this season, but there’s a chance this has always been something of a target, and the first-time cheekpieces could sharpen him up a touch too. He just looks potentially too well-handicapped to ignore.
