By George Winbury
HELLO and welcome to the eve of the Cheltenham Festival.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is the highlight of the horseracing year – at the nation’s favourite race track.
And it all gets underway with the Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – when that famous roar will greet the start of four days, 28 top quality races and the consumption of unholy quantities of Guinness.
Admittedly, it is not now everybody’s favourite day of the year at Cheltenham. Many prefer the October and especially the November meetings, or the New Year’s Day, when it is less busy, you can manoeuvre your way around the facilities with a bit more ease – and you have at least some chance of getting on the Wifi.
Once again, the Irish are here. And it looks like another Festival set to be dominated by them.
But, as the runners line up at the tape tomorrow at 1.25, the starter lets them go and you hear that Prestbury Park roar, it’s hard not to get excited.
After all, there are strong hopes, especially in the Nicky Henderson camp, that it will not all be one-way traffic for the Irish.
On day one, three of the four odds-on favourites – Kopek Des Bordes, Majborough and Lossiemouth – are trained by Ireland’s irrepressible Willie Mullins.
But, in the race of the day, the Champion Hurdle, Constitution Hill, is very much not.
In fact, he’s not only English, he is from the Midlands – rural Worcestershire.
He might now reside at Henderson’s stables down in Lambourn, but he was born and bred in Belbroughton, at Stratford House, by Sally Noott.
And there would be an especially big roar if Nico de Boinville can see him up the hill to a second Champion Hurdle in three years.
The 2023 champion hurdler was denied the chance to retain his trophy by his much publicised illness last year. But the unbeaten gelding showed he still has the class this time with victories at Kempton Park on Boxing Day, then at Cheltenham on Trials Day 45 days ago.
Admittedly his jockey did make a mistake at the last that day back in late January which almost caused him to lose his footing.
But the eight-year-old picked up well to recover for the 10th straight win of his career.
And, although he does have two strong Irish challengers bidding to defy him – Gordon Elliott’s Brighterdaysahead and Mullins’ defending champion State Man – there are few who don’t expectation Constitution Hill to reclaim that crown and make it 11 career wins out of 11. And a fourth at Cheltenham, having also won the Supreme Novices Hurdle there on only his third start in 2022.
It may well be a similar story for Henderson’s other strong challenger on Wednesday, Jonbon in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
The nine-year-old gelding has won 17 times in his 20-race career – but all three defeats (runner-up each time) came at Cheltenham, where he has lost more than he has won, twice at the Festival, in 2022 and 2023, and again in the January meeting in 2024, after which he was due to run in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, only to be pulled out the day before as a result of the sickness affecting the Henderson yard.
But he bounced back the following month to win at Aintree, won again before the end of the season and has won all this season’s three starts too, including at Cheltenham in November. The Irish have sent over the likes of the Mullins-trained Energumene and the Jospeh O’Brien-trained Solness. But Jonbon is hard to look beyond.
The highlight of the third day is the Ryanair Chase, in which two of the three leading contenders are Mullins-trained, Fact To File and Gaelic Warrior, along with French fancy, Il Est Francais – but what an emotional occasion it would be if defending champion Protektorat were to win just a few short weeks since the passing of his part owner, Shropshire’s John Hales. John’s daughter will be there with the other two co-owners Sir Alex Ferguson and Ged Mason hoping to crack open the champagne again. But the Dan Skelton-trained 10 year-old, ridden by brother Harry, does start only fourth favourite.
The Skeltons have a string of horses there on all four days, starting with L’eau Du Sud who will be waiting to cash in if the much-fancied JP McManus-owned Majborough slips up in the Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices Chase on day one. And, on Wednesday, Unexpected Party will be back to defend his title in the Grand Annual.
Venetia Williams also has a busy week ahead, with Royal Pagaille an outsider in the Gold Cup on Friday, when they all look set to be trailing home behind the great Galopin Des Champs, who looks a red-hot cert to emulate the achievements of the great Arkle and Best Mate (memorably in the claret and clue colours of his owner and Villa fan, the late Jim Lewis) by winning it three times in a row.
Mel Rowley has two runners on day one – Happygolucky and Kyntara – in a week which may end well on Saturday, assuming the going does not firm up too much, with Welsh Grand National winner Valdancer having a crack over the Midlands Grand National fences at Uttoxeter.
Fellow Shropshire handler Henry Daly also has two confirmed runners, both on Thursday, Supreme Gift and Fortescue, while Tom Lacey’s only runner the week is Gibbs Island in Friday’s opener, followed by Alastair Ralph’s only contender Welsh Charger also runs on Friday. And, from the Herefordshire/Wales border, Sheila Lewis sends out Straw Fan Jack, a Cheltenham winner in October 2022.
Local runners at Cheltenham on day one
2.00 L’eau Du Sud (Harry Skelton/Dan Skelton)
2.40 Happygolucky (Johnny Burke/Mel Rowley)
Frero Banbou (Ned Fox/Venetia Williams)
Victtorino (Charlie Deutsch/Venetia Williams)
Straw Fan Jack (Sean Houlihan/Sheila Lewis)
3.20 Take No Chances (Harry Skelton/Dan Skelton)
5.20 Kyntara (Charlie Deutsch/Mel Rowley)
Resplendent Grey (Sean Bowen/Olly Murphy)
In d’or (David Maxwell/Venetia Williams)
And the Midlands Grand National?
That is on Saturday at Uttoxeter: 3.35.
First race is 1.50. Last race is 5.20.
