Gaelic Warrior will bid to give connections a famous double when he takes on 10 rivals in Friday’s Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Owners Susannah and Rich Ricci celebrated a third Champion Hurdle success on Tuesday with Lossiemouth and will be hoping for a famous double with Gaelic Warrior who, at the time of writing, narrowly tops the Cheltenham Gold Cup market.
With Fact To File not supplemented and instead running in Thursday’s Ryanair, and two-time winner Galopin Des Champs ruled out of the race last week, it leaves Willie Mullins with just the the Irish Gold Cup runner-up as he chases a fifth win in the race which would equal the most in the Blue Riband event, a record held by Tom Dreaper.
Last year’s winner Inothewayurthinkin has endured a torrid season for Gavin Cromwell but reports from recent gallops have been positive, and he bids to retain his title, while the fellow JP McManus-owned Spillane’s Tower will also look to give Ireland an eighth successive win in the race.
Envoi Allen, the admirable 12-year-old trained by Henry de Bromhead, will be running at his eighth successive Cheltenham Festival, a record which includes victories in the 2019 Champion Bumper, the 2020 Turners Novices’ Hurdle and 2023 Ryanair Chase. Firefox (Gordon Elliott) completes the Irish challenge.
The Jukebox Man suffered an agonising defeat at the 2024 festival when reeled in late on in the Albert Bartlett, but has made giant strides over fences in the meantime, culminating in a battling nose success in the King George at Kempton at Christmas. Jango Baie was beaten just half a length in fourth that day, and will bid to back up last year’s Arkle win here, while Grey Dawning disappointed behind Spillane’s Tower in the Cotswold Chase in January but has been aimed at this race for a long time.
Gold Tweet bids to become the second French-trained winner of the race, with 1994 victor The Fellow the only one to date. Haiti Couleurs won the Welsh National off top-weight in December and followed up with a comprehensive defeat of L’Homme Presse in the Denman Chase at Newbury last month; he will bid to give Wales its first win in the race since Norton’s Coin sprang a 100/1 surprise for Sirrel Griffiths in 1990.
Click the links below for full racecards
14:00 - William Hill County Handicap Hurdle
14:40 - Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase
15:20 - Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle
16:00 - Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup
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