- Do you and your pals agree on which horse will win? If not, well, that's what makes horse races...
We are finally into the last week of the countdown to the 2022 Cheltenham Festival. With racegoers set to be back in attendance at Prestbury Park for the first time since the 2020 renewal, which controversially took place just days prior to the first national lockdown in the United Kingdom, anticipation is at an all-time high for jump racing’s showpiece event.
The ante-post racing betting markets are fluctuating like you’d expect as the punters try to second guess where the top trainers will be sending their best horses, which is an extremely hard task when the likes of Willie Mullins and co. keep their cards so close to their chests. Of course, if you can solve the tricky puzzle then there is definitely value to be had before the official announcements are made.
Aside from the issue of trying to break down horse racing’s very own version of the DaVinci Code, some of the big races are genuinely just incredibly hard to predict — as you’d expect given that this is the Cheltenham Festival, after all! So, with that in mind, we’re going to take a look at some of those contests and try to make it a bit easier for you to make your selection.
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
There’s no better way to start your Festival than landing a winner in the meeting’s curtain-raiser — the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. However, that seems harder than ever this year as it looks like there could be a four-way battle between Sir Gerhard, Dysart Dynamo — who are both from Mullins’ yard — Constitution Hill and Jonbon — who are both from Nicky Henderson’s Seven Burrows.
The fact that Sir Gerhard’s route at the Festival is torn between the Supreme and the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle certainly doesn’t make making a selection any easier, but if Mullins is to opt for this then you’d have to fancy the Cheveley Park Stud-owned horses chances.
Should the seven-year-old head to the day two opener, then we quite fancy the look of Jonbon. The six-year-old has impressed over fences this year, going three for three to help build a healthy fanbase, and it feels like he is being overlooked somewhat by the bookies. It must be said that both Dysart Dynamo and Constitution Hill are both unbeaten this season as well, though.
Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle
The Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, the second of St. Patrick’s Day’s two feature races, looks set to another wide-open affair between four front runners. It is defending champion Flooring Porter who currently holds the status as market leader. However, the seven-year-old hasn’t been as convincing so far this season — falling and finishing second.
It is hard to tell what to expect from Klassical Dream. Usually, lightly worked, the eight-year-old won the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown in December, beating Flooring Porter by two lengths, before finishing fourth last time out. A bit more of a break between races could have done the Mullins-trained horse the world of good world.
Joint second favorite, Thyme Hill is yet to pick up a win this season — finishing a disappointing fifth in the Grand Prix d’Automne before coming home and finishing runner-up to Champ, who is the fourth horse in contention for the Stayers’ Hurdle, in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot. The Henderson-trained horse couldn’t back that up at Cheltenham in January though — finishing second to Paisley Park, another Stayers’ Hurdle entry. Talk about a wide-open race!
Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle
There’s just one point between the three front-runners in the ante-post market for day four’s Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle. It is Henry Daly’s Hillcrest, racing in the recognizable silks of the late Trevor Hemmings, who is currently the favorite the narrow favorite.
Aside from unseating his rider at Cheltenham back in January, the seven-year-old has won all of his other four outings over hurdles this season — most notably the Grade 2 Prestige Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock last time out.
Hillcrest is closely followed by two horses from Gordon Elliott’s yard though. With the Irish trainer back from his ban, which meant he missed out on last year’s Festival, he’ll out to make up for lost time at Cheltenham next week and Minella Crooner and Ginto are just two of his many horses making the trip across the Irish Sea. The former, who is the second favorite, has won just once in three attempts over hurdles this season though.
The same can’t be said about Ginto, however. The six-year-old has gone down the hurdling path this season after a couple of flat races last year and boasts a 100% strike rate after two wins at Navan, one of which was at Grade 2 level, and a third in a Grade 1 Novice Hurdle as Naas. If Elliott opts for this race over the Ballymore, then Ginto is one to watch.