Our Ben Linfoot ranks the main Trials Day winners from Prestbury Park and Doncaster in order of their likely impact at the Cheltenham Festival.
1. PIED PIPER - JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle, Cheltenham
History: Katchit (2007), Peace And Co (2015) and Defi Du Seuil (2017) all followed up in the JCB Triumph Hurdle at the Festival after winning this race on Trials Day.
Market Forces: 9/4 from 8/1 for the Triumph with Sky Bet.
Verdict: It needed a big performance from something to displace Fil Dor as the Triumph favourite such was the impression he made at Leopardstown over Christmas.
But the same connections – trainer Gordon Elliott and owners Caldwell Construction – look to have found an even more exciting candidate for the juvenile championship in PIED PIPER, formerly trained by John Gosden and owned by The Queen when racing on the Flat in the UK.
Rated 96 on the level, he looked a nice prospect for hurdling when seeing off Vauban at Punchestown on his debut over timber on New Year’s Eve, but he’s improved enormously for the run on this evidence.
This was frightening as he travelled all over a handful of juvenile hurdle winners in the UK, including a top-prospect in Iceo and a Cheltenham winner in Interne De Sivola.
Davy Russell didn’t move a muscle as Pied Piper went about his business in machine-like fashion, hurdling fluently at the last as his jockey remained motionless up the hill, nine lengths (could’ve been double that) to the good.
Festival Factor 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. Wow. This was seriously impressive and if there’s only one winner that follows up from Trials Day at the Festival, it’s likely to be this fellow. But can anyone follow in the Pied Piper?
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits
2. IMPERIAL ALCAZAR – Timeform Novices’ Handicap Chase, Cheltenham
History: Irish Cavalier (3rd in the trial 2015) and Mister Whitaker (2018) both followed up in the Novices’ Handicap Chase at the Festival – now run at Sandown on Imperial Cup day. Simply The Betts (2020) won this race and the Paddy Power Plate at the Festival.
Market Forces: 10/1 from 16s for the Paddy Power Plate with the sponsors.
Verdict: It’s a shame the novices’ handicap chase at the Festival is no more as this race had become a serious pointer over the years.
However, even if it did exist in its old guise at Cheltenham IMPERIAL ALCAZAR wouldn’t be running in it as he’d be rated too highly, blasting through the old ceiling of 145 following such a commanding performance off top weight and a rating of 144 under Paddy Brennan.
He’s always looked a steeplechaser in the making and he came of age in this, enjoying the better ground and going a bit faster than was the case last time at Chepstow – the pace of the race helping his jumping which had been novicey on his first two goes.
The mistakes weren’t totally eradicated here, but he looked much more the finished article and he was good over the last two before powering up the hill for an emphatic success.
A 10-length win in a good Cheltenham Saturday race won’t help him from a handicapping point of view and he’ll be in the low 150s after this, but he could be a graded performer and there’s options for him at the Festival – the Paddy Power Plate over this course and distance on the same New Course, or the Ultima over further on the Old Course.
Later on the card another novice, Torn And Frayed, looked good himself over the same course and distance in open company and was introduced at 12/1 for the Plate. However, of the two, Imperial Alcazar put up the more impressive performance and only one looks a future graded performer.
Festival Factor 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Huge improvement from Fergal O’Brien’s horse on his return to Cheltenham and he’s a player at the Festival, with this trip in the Paddy Power Plate looking the obvious port of call given he’s clearly appreciated the drop in distance.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits3. PAISLEY PARK – Welsh Marches Stallions At Chapel Stud Cleeve Hurdle, Cheltenham
History: The best of all the trials on this day traditionally, with eight of the last 15 Stayers’ Hurdle winners contesting this race on their final start before Cheltenham.
Market Forces: Paisley Park was slashed into 7s from 20s for the Stayers’ with Paddy Power, a move that was reflected across the board – he’s a best of 8/1 now. Champ was nudged out to 6/1.
Verdict: PAISLEY PARK wins third Cleeve Hurdle – what’s surprising about that, you might think, leaning in from afar, just looking at Saturday’s results.
Well, we had three runs this season where he hadn’t look anywhere near his peak, even if he did improve a little at Ascot last time where he was put in his place by Champ, the odds-on Cleeve favourite, to the tune of over five lengths.
And if he had it to do on recent form before the race, he had even more on his plate 20 seconds into the contest, a not-all-that-surprising whip around at the start seeing him forfeit 15 lengths in the blink of an eye.
He soon made up the ground but sat last under Aidan Coleman, was first off the bridle, looked well beaten two out and then, the hill. He got into overdrive and powered into contention, leading at the last and pulling three-and-a-quarter-lengths clear of a floored Champ.
Henderson’s market leader did little wrong, in truth. He travelled well, jumped well and shook off the attentions of the persistent Lisnagar Oscar, before being mugged by the train that is Paisley Park, who rediscovered his mojo in the most bizarre of ways.
Festival Factor 🌟🌟🌟 It’s a bit of a head-scratcher, really. Paisley Park was the best of the British in last year’s Stayer’s Hurdle – and on this evidence he still might be. All’s not lost for Champ, but this was a blow, no doubt. Klassical Dream’s flop earlier in the week has opened things right up in the Stayers’ Hurdle, but the Irish could still hold all the aces.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits4. CHANTRY HOUSE – Paddy Power Cotswold Chase, Cheltenham
History: It’s 22 years since Looks Like Trouble did the Cotswold Chase-Gold Cup double, the last horse to do so. In 1995 See More Business was third on Trials Day before winning the Gold Cup.
Market Forces: Paddy Power went 14s from 16/1 about Chantry House for the Gold Cup.
Verdict: Sent off 3/1 for the King George before being on the back-foot as early as the second fence at Kempton, this was D-Day for CHANTRY HOUSE as he bid to get his Gold Cup claims back on track.
Despite confidence being dented in the horse after Boxing Day, such was the paucity of credible rivals in the Cotswold he was sent off odds-on as the 5/6 favourite – and hardly looked like justifying those odds for much of the contest.
The smaller field helped him, but he struggled to get in any sort of rhythm under Nico de Boinville and he didn’t travel or jump with any fluency as Aye Right and Santini alternated the lead on the front end.
His class kept him in it and as the aforementioned duo hit the hill he finally emerged as the most likely winner, taking it up two out as Santini and Aye Right couldn’t find another gear.
That wasn’t the end of the drama as Chantry House tied up in a slow-motion finish, but Santini couldn’t quite muster up a third or fourth wind and the odds-on favourite fell in, two-and-a-half lengths clear, tired.
Festival Factor 🌟🌟 He should really have been pushed out for the Gold Cup on the back of this rather than the nominal shortening and makes very limited appeal in such a high-class and competitive race.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits5. THIRD TIME LUCKI – Lightning Novice’ Chase, Doncaster
History: Only Shishkin, who won this race at 1/7 last year, has won the Lightning and followed up in the Sporting Life Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Market Forces: Betfair and Paddy Power went 8/1 from 10s for the Sporting Life Arkle.
Verdict: In a week in which the Arkle betting was given a real shake-up following the news that antepost favourite Ferny Hollow was out for the season, here was a chance for THIRD TIME LUCKI to keep his hat firmly in the ring.
He did that nicely, only for Dan Skelton to reveal a minor overreach afterwards, putting his Festival participation in doubt. His omission from the Arkle would be a shame but it’s a case of wait and see.
In the race he saw off, with ease, two inferior rivals; the 142-rated Do Your Job and the 137-rated For Pleasure, the latter being a tearaway whose talent is yet to be finessed - he crashed through the last and perhaps it never will be.
Third Time Lucki, rated 152, cruised through this under Harry Skelton, never looking like doing anything but justifying his starting price of 8/15, as he travelled smoothly just off the pace-setting For Pleasure.
He popped over the last without fuss, not distracted by the tired fall of his closest companion, with Do Your Job having previously fallen by the wayside from two out.
Festival Factor 🌟🌟 The Arkle looks much more wide open than it did with Ferny Hollow in it, but the overreach news makes him a very risky antepost prospect and it remains a hot race anyway.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits