13:30 – JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) – Fil D’or
Fil D’or will be in the experienced hands of Davy Russell and was long time antepost favourite for this race. A breath-taking display here by Pied Piper in late January and a brave effort in defeat to Vauban at the Dublin Festival saw this horse drift slightly. Vauban did show some weaknesses in victory, with his jumping relatively clumsy before getting smarter in the closing stages. However, the hill in the straight at Cheltenham is longer in distance than the one at Leopardstown which should help Fil D’or out. Jumping fluency at Cheltenham is also important due to the regularity of the hurdles and the undulations. As mentioned before Pied Piper has strong claims and he also has form ahead of Vauban from December. Despite this Fil D’or rarely puts a foot wrong when jumping, has lots of stamina and Cheltenham could really suit him.
14:10 – McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) – West Cork
With the form some of his runners have been in this season it is a bit surprising that Dan Skelton hasn’t yet trained a winner at this season’s festival. West Cork won the competitive grade three Greatwood Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham in November, after 631 days off the course ahead of the likes of Adagio. He was carrying top weight and ran in the Champion Hurdle a few days ago, a higher level race despite not making an impression there. Camprond was six lengths back in 4th and had won a grade two earlier in the season so has quality. Further back was Marie’s Rock who won the Mares’ Hurdle earlier in this meeting and appears to be a big scalp after her recent achievement. He will carry 11st 1lb, only 2lb higher than the weight he carried to victory last time he was seen here. This means he will carry 4lb less than Alan King trained Tritonic who beat this horse at Ascot when he was last seen in December. West Cork suffered a niggle in this run which may have affected the result and has been kept fresh for the festival as a result.
14:50 – Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) – Hillcrest
Well known for being one of the biggest horses in training, Henry Daly’s Hillcrest is too big for a measuring stick 18 hands long. He has great ability to go with that size however, with his huge galloping stride making him a respected runner here. He claimed the listed Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle here in January ahead of the smart I Am Maximus, but a step up to three miles was always going to suit. He looks like a horse built for chasing with Daly saying anything he does over hurdles would be a bonus but he might just have the ability. A worry would be that he only ran 28 days ago on heavy ground. His trainer has said it wasn’t a particularly tasking run but wasn’t ideal. He needed a run before Cheltenham and Aintree after he unseated jockey Richard Patrick early in a grade two at Cheltenham in January. He has grade two and listed success and Daly has decided to run him here instead of Aintree so the winner at listed and grade two level must be good to go.
15:30 – Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1) – A Plus Tard
Runner-up in this race last year, A Plus Tard was last seen at Leopardstown in December, where he was narrowly defeated by Galvin in the Savills Chase when tiring in the closing stages. He was produced a bit earlier than Galvin, who was in cover turning for home and this might mean he had important stamina left at the end. This horse kept pace with Minella Indo in last year’s renewal and was gaining late on. If he can reproduce something similar here he has every chance. He has a grade one under his belt this term, after winning the Betfair Chase in November at Haydock. His trainer Henry De Bromhead has stated that he ran well in defeat last time and is happy with both runs. Rachael Blackmore had the choice of the out of form Minella Indo, last year’s winner, or this horse and she has sided with the Cheveley Park runner.
16:10 – St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase – Winged Leader
Winged Leader has great form coming into this, with a hattrick of hunters’ chase victories, including an impressive win at Thurles where Billaway finished 12 lengths behind. Billaway is normally well backed in these contests and was the runner-up of this race last season. Winged Leader has shown good ability on undulating courses in previous runs and is a very efficient, slick jumper. Trainer David Christie has said that this is his best chance of getting his first Cheltenham Festival winner and is confident his charge can handle different types of ground.
16:50 – Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Grade 2) – Mount Ida
Mount Ida won the Kim Muir at last year’s festival and was subsequently beaten by Elimay at Fairyhouse in April. She has since avenged this form by beating Elimay at Fairyhouse in January last time we saw her. This run shows progression too, because in defeat to Elimay, Mount Ida carried 6lbs less than her. In their most recent run Mount Ida carried 3lbs more than her rival and won well after being bumped in the straight. The run deserves a lot of credit as the uphill finish at Fairyhouse is draining and she only tired as she hit the line. She will face Willie Mullins’ Concertista, who is two wins from two so far over fences. However, despite winning the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle in 2020, she has been runner-up in two Cheltenham Festivals and might get beat by a tough mare whose next target is the Grand National.
17:30 – Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle – Hollow Games
Hollow Games will carry 11st 9lbs here but he has been running well in defeat in grade one company. He only finished a couple of lengths behind the winners of these races, Ginto and Minella Coocooner. This horse has also reversed form with Grand Jury who finished 2nd in the race behind Ginto, but since finished a disappointing 6th in the latter mentioned race where Hollow Games showed much more quality. This race does represent a step down in trip compared to his previous start and he does look like a stayer, but despite the distance this race has suited novice staying types in the past. Last season’s winner, Galopin Des Champs is a clear staying type with Champagne Classic another previous winner with graded form over the stayers’ distance. This horse is a grade three winner and did so ahead of Lunar Display. Lunar Display doesn’t necessarily win many but has placed in five graded/listed events and won once at that level. This shows a level of consistency and it might see him do well in a handicap. Wears a tongue tie for the first time.
Hawkinsport 