Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott each trained seven winners at last year’s Cheltenham Festival – so who stands in the way of the Irish juggernaut in 2021?
Such was their complete dominance, Mullins and Elliott also had seven seconds apiece last March, with the former eventually taking the top trainer gong on account of saddling six thirds to four.
Last weekend’s Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown further highlighted the sheer strength in depth at each trainer’s disposal once more, particularly Mullins who banged in nine winners including six Grade Ones.
So we could be staring down the barrel of another one-sided Prestbury Cup to say the least this spring, but not all is lost for the home brigade. Here are six of the best who look set to fly the flag.
🤩 Some weekend, eh @WillieMullinsNH!
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) February 7, 2021
💫 Gaillard Du Mesnil
💫 Chacun Pour Soi
💫 Energumene
💫 Kilcruit
💫 Appreciate It
💫 Maze Runner
💫 Monkfish
🏆 Kemboy
💫 Grangee pic.twitter.com/ceW3BAA4GV
METIER – Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
The Sky Bet Supreme appears to be distinctly lacking a hot fancy from the Nicky Henderson yard this year which has effectively left the door open for Appreciate It to completely dominate the market following his impressive wins at Leopardstown.
Willie Mullins’ horse has looked exceptionally strong and tactically versatile too but Harry Fry’s Metier still has the potential to give him a proper race.
He won the Grade One Tolworth Hurdle by 12 lengths from a good horse in Shakem Up’Arry last month and gets to rubber-stamp his credentials in this weekend’s Betfair Hurdle at Newbury.
Summerville Boy completed the Tolworth-Supreme double just three years ago and Metier looks every bit as promising at this stage and a big performance on Saturday from an official mark of 149 would put him into the territory of My Tent Or Yours, who won the Newbury race from an identical mark before going on to be a half-length second to Champagne Fever in the 2013 Supreme.
SHISHKIN – Sporting Life Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase
The season has yet to really take off for Henderson in general, including some high-profile defeats for the likes of Epatante, Buveur D’Air, Altior and Santini, but Shishkin has been the one shining light.
Last year’s narrow Sky Bet Supreme winner has taken to fences as well as anyone might have hoped and posted a superb performance in the Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase at Kempton.
Just when it started to appear the Sporting Life Arkle might be his for the taking, the Mullins-trained Energumene has emerged as a potent threat, but Shishkin has still just about achieved more on the book and his previous experience of Cheltenham can only stand him in good stead.
Another positive factor for Henderson and co is that Energumene may just have a spoiler alongside him in the free-going, Dan Skelton-trained Allmankind. If the pair of them go for it from the off then we’re in for a treat and it may well ultimately play into Shishkin’s hands.
BEAR GHYLLS – Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle
“He could be one of the best I’ve ever ridden” – high praise from @mattgr1ff1ths on the “exceptional” Bear Ghylls pic.twitter.com/CJbCKl9ls3
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) October 22, 2020
Occasionally, you get an unbeaten youngster ghosting into the Cheltenham Festival under the radar on account of being trained by one of the less fashionable, powerhouse yards and Bear Ghylls looks a prime example this time around.
He won his sole bumper start by 19 lengths at Warwick last March and has steadily made hay since switching to hurdles this season, beating Make Me A Believe comfortably at Lingfield before doubling up under a penalty at Ffos Las.
He went to Exeter with a gift of a rating (130) and duly obliged as the odds-on favourite on handicap debut but stiffer tasks now await, starting with this Thursday’s Sidney Banks Memorial Novices’ Hurdle.
If all goes well at Huntingdon – and he’ll likely face a stern test against My Drogo and Lecale’s Article among others – then connections can dare to dream of a shot at Galliard Du Mesnil et al in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle.
If he’s beaten this week, look our for Bear Ghylls among the handicap entries later this month as there’s a fair chance his revised rating of 140 might still underestimate this horse’s talents.
IMPERIAL AURA – Ryanair Chase
The Ryanair Chase looks one of the more open major Grade Ones at this year’s Festival and with Min and Melon hardly doing much for their chances last weekend, the home team should in theory have a spring in their step.
The Ascot Chase in the middle of the month offers a final stepping-stone for some of the best of the Brits over the intermediate trip and there must be a strong chance we see Imperial Aura in action.
He’s not been sighted since unseating David Bass at the second fence at Kempton on January 9 but had looked on a steep upward curve when beating Itchy Feet at Ascot in November, after which Kim Bailey nominated the Ryanair as the big spring target.
He’s got the right profile for the race, having rounded off his progressive novice campaign with victory off a mark of 143 in the Festival’s novices’ handicap chase (now switched to Sandown), and further improvement from the eight-year-old looks distinctly likely.
Whether he’s progressing quickly enough to match Allaho is the big question but the division now looks open for one of these two young talents to take up the mantle.
THYME HILL – Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle
Having an improver on side is absolutely essential if you’re planning on siding with the locals over the Irish raiders and for that reason Thyme Hill looks set to put up most resistance in the Stayers’ Hurdle.
He was pegged back close home by Paisley Park in the Long Walk at Ascot in December but lost very little in defeat and basically did all the hard work before being nabbed right on the line when perhaps he thought he’d done enough.
Philip Hobbs’ horse didn’t get the best of luck in last year’s Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle either, eventually finishing fourth behind Monkfish in a bunched finish, but the form of that race is really hot and Thyme Hill showed a glimpse of his capabilities in a slowly-run Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury first time out this season.
He’s got a lot more to give seemingly - especially when he learns to really settle down early on in his races - and it speaks volumes just how well he was able to perform earlier this term during a period when a lot of the other horses in his yard were out of sorts.
This could be the spring when it all falls into place and he looks a far more solid betting proposition than his Ascot conqueror Paisley Park, who suffered from an irregular heartbeat in last year’s Stayers’ and has missed his prep this time around too.
The Irish aren’t particularly strong here though they’re not short of possible players, including last year’s runner-up Ronald Pump, the Mouse Morris-trained Sams Profile and Sire Du Berlais who claimed his second Pertemps Final victory under top weight last March.
ROYALE PAGAILLE – Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup
The weekend’s action at Leopardstown didn’t do a huge amount of damage to the Cheltenham Gold Cup markets, with Willie Mullins revealing post-race that the Stayers’ Hurdle could be a more suitable target for his Irish Gold Cup winner Kemboy.
Melon will presumably drop back in trip for the Ryanair, while the jury is now out when it comes to Minella Indo, and his jumping technique when asked to go at speed.
However, the considerable figure of two-time winner Al Boum Photo still stands in the way of any British-trained runner with pretensions of claiming the Festival feature and he’s not going to be an easy horse to dispatch.
Native River put his hat back into the ring with a resounding success in the rescheduled Cotswold Chase at Sandown on Saturday, and Frodon continues to be underestimated around the 16/1 mark despite winning the traditional big trial on these shores – the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton.
Champ has yet to be seen all year at the time of writing and could conceivably be another to revert to hurdles if Newbury’s weekend fixture – at which he is due to reappear – falls to the weather.
Which could all contribute to Royale Pagaille being home-trained flag-bearer.
His owner Susannah Ricci has only had a handful trained in Britain before but Venetia Williams looks to have hit the jackpot with her first runner in the pink and green silks, the seven-year-old making stark progress through the handicap ranks this season.
After starting the campaign rated 135, just three races (wins) later he’s right up on a perch of 166 which puts him 1lb ahead of last year’s Festival Novices’ Chase winner Champ.
The options remain open to Royale Pagaille but the National Hunt Chase would almost seem like a waste of an opportunity for the experienced, third-season novice and Ricci already has something of a banker for the three-miler in Monkfish.
Unless Monkfish drops back to the intermediate trip of the MARSH Novices’ Chase – which seems unlikely given that’s Envoi Allen’s confirmed goal – then Royale Pagaille will be in the Gold Cup field and on genuinely soft ground his claims will be very difficult to ignore.
Published at 0900 GMT on 09/02/21
