Donn McClean highlights five horses who might have slipped under the radar at next week's Cheltenham Festival.
If you are talking about Henry de Bromhead and the Champion Hurdle, you are probably talking about Honeysuckle, and if you are not talking about Honeysuckle, you are probably talking about Aspire Tower. You have to go well down the Champion Hurdle list to get to Jason The Militant, but the Sans Frontieres gelding could run much better than the market is predicting at present.
Jason The Militant was a progressive novice last season, he beat Beacon Edge by a nose in a Grade 2 contest at Naas on his final run of the season, and he has continued that progression this term. Third behind his afore-mentioned stable companion Aspire Tower and Abacadabras in the Grade 2 WKD Hurdle at Down Royal in October, he was only beaten a neck and a short-head by the same Abacadabras and Saint Roi in the Grade 1 Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown in November.
Given a nice break after that, Peter Michael’s horse returned at Fairyhouse two weeks ago, when he put up an impressive performance in making all to win the re-scheduled Grade 3 Red Mills Trial Hurdle. He gave 9lb to the 155-rated Petit Mouchoir that day, and he beat his former stable companion by seven and a half lengths. He will have to step forward again if he is going to be competitive in a Champion Hurdle, but he has run just seven times over hurdles, and he has the potential to progress again.
Jason The Militant represents @HenrydeBromhead in the @UnibetRacing Morgiana Hurdle at @punchestownrace this afternoon. Here’s what the trainer had to say about him, via Zoom, earlier this week. @HRIRacing pic.twitter.com/fV0JudE6ft
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) November 15, 2020
Fakir D’Oudairies ran a big race in the Arkle last year to finish second to Put The Kettle On. His jumping was very good and he was just moving up to challenge the leader when he made a fairly significant mistake at the second last fence, but for which he probably would have got closer. Even so, he finished 18 lengths clear of third-placed Rouge Vif.
He hasn’t won in three attempts this season, but there is mitigation. He was pulled up in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown at Christmas, but that was his first attempt at three miles, and it appears that he reached the limit of his stamina range. He travelled well through his race, he made his ground with the ultimate winner A Plus Tard down the back straight, but his stamina started to ebb as they raced to the third last fence, and Mark Walsh wisely pulled him up after he jumped the second last.
Dropped back to two miles and one and a half furlongs for the Dublin Chase back at Leopardstown last month, JP McManus’ horse ran a big race to finish second behind Chacun Pour Soi. It never really looked like he would repel the winner that day, but he kept on all the way to the line over a distance that was probably shorter than ideal, and he finished seven lengths clear of Notebook in third.
The Joseph O’Brien-trained gelding holds entries in the Champion Chase and in the Ryanair Chase, and his target hasn’t been confirmed yet, but his trainer seems to be leaning towards the Ryanair Chase, and it may be that the intermediate distance of that race is his optimum trip.
It was understandable that Elimay’s position at the top of the market for the Mares’ Chase strengthened on the back of her victory in the Listed Opera Hat Mares’ Chase at Naas last month, but the performance that Shattered Love put up in chasing her home may have gone a little under the radar.
The two-mile distance of that contest should have been too sharp for Shattered Love and, sure enough, she came under pressure on the run to the second last fence and dropped to third. Moved towards the far side by Jack Kennedy on the run to the last, she stayed on well up the run-in to take the runner-up spot from Yukon Lil.
Shattered Love is 10 now, but she remains in tremendous form. She was really impressive in winning the listed mares’ chase at Clonmel in November that she won last year, beating Cabaret Queen by 10 lengths. Her run in the Opera Hat Chase was her first run since she ran over hurdles at Navan in early December, and it should bring her forward nicely. The new Mares’ Chase has surely been her target since it was introduced to the Cheltenham programme.
The Gigginstown House mare has run in an Irish Grand National and she has run in a Cheltenham Gold Cup, but the two-and-a-half-mile trip of the new Mares’ Chase is probably her optimum trip. And we know that she goes well at Cheltenham and under Cheltenham Festival conditions. She won the JLT Chase over the Mares’ Chase course and distance three years ago.
You never would have thought, at the start of the season, that you would be able to shoehorn Minella Indo into a ‘Dark Horses’ category for Cheltenham, but he just about qualifies now.
Second in last year’s RSA Chase, just caught by Champ on the run-in, he started off this season with an impressive performance in beating Milan Native by 25 lengths at Wexford, and he followed up by easily landing a Grade 2 chase at Navan.
Sent off as favourite for the Savills Chase at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival on the back of those wins, it was obviously disappointing that he came down at the fence on the run away from the stands. He had never fallen before in his life. He had never looked like falling. It was as surprising as it was uncharacteristic.
He only finished fourth behind Kemboy in the Irish Gold Cup on his next run, which was disappointing on the face of it, but it is probable that connections’ primary objective there was a clear round. As a confidence-booster, that run served its purpose.
Barry Maloney’s horse is going to have to do better if he is going to be competitive in a Cheltenham Gold Cup, but there is every chance that he will do better. We know that he goes well at Cheltenham. He sprang a 50/1 shock in the Albert Bartlett Hurdle in 2019 after running with the choke out for most of the way, and he ran a big race in the RSA Chase last year. He has been written off by many as a Gold Cup candidate on the back of his two most recent runs, but he could be an under-rated horse now.
Blue Lord has options. He holds entries in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and in the Ballymore Hurdle, as well as in the County Hurdle, and he will be of interest wherever he goes.
Owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, he was green on his first run for Willie Mullins at Punchestown in November, but he kept on well in the end to beat Julies Stowaway by a half a length. From the family of Grand National runner-up Mely Moss, and with plenty of stamina in his pedigree, it made sense to step him up to two and a half miles next time for the Grade 1 Lawlor’s of Naas Hurdle, and he did well there to keep on as well as he did to finish second behind Bob Olinger, after running keenly early on.
Dropped back down to two miles last time for the Grade 1 Chanelle Pharma Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown, he kept on well to finish third behind his stable companion Appreciate It and Ballyadam, again leaving the impression that he would do better with a greater stamina test.
He would be of interest in the Ballymore Hurdle if he could settle a little better through the early part of his race, but it looks like one of the two-mile races is more likely. The stiff track and a strong pace over the minimum distance could bring his stamina into play.
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