IRISH RACING NEW BROM SWEEPS CLEAN
Henry prepares without old guard
MIRROR REPORTER HENRY DE BROMHEAD will rely on a mixture of some familiar faces and fresh talent at this year’s Cheltenham Festival.
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The Knockeen handler has enjoyed exceptional Festival results in recent years, securing back-toback Cheltenham Gold Cup wins with Minella Indo and A Plus Tard in 2021 and 2022 respectively and successive Champion Hurdles with Honeysuckle.
Put The Kettle On, the 2021 Champion Chase victor, Triumph Hurdle hero Quilixios, Ryanair Chase winner Envoi Allen (right) and dual Festival scorer Bob Olinger are others to have taken starring roles for de Bromhead – with the trainer having 21 Festival winners on his record.
Honeysuckle bowed out in a blaze of glory in last year’s Mares’ Hurdle while A Plus Tard was retired last month, leaving de Bromhead to look to other quarters.
He said: “We’re probably not as strong as previous years but I probably feel that every year.
“Obviously our galacticos that we had are either a bit older now or have retired, but we have got a lot of nice young horses coming through and we’ll see how we get on.
“I’m not sure (how many we will send) yet, I’d say in and around 20, we try to keep it tight. Hopefully there’s plenty of nice ones there, so we will see how we go.”
Minella Indo is one of those who is back for more, making his sixth Festival appearance as he moves to the cross country sphere in the Glenfarclas Chase.
The 11-year-old has switched disciplines as de Bromhead and owner Barry Maloney look to extend his career, with an initial fourth over the banks course in
December raising hopes of a bold Festival showing and a possible subsequent Randox Grand National bid.
The trainer said: “He loved it. We felt we had to go and just give him a taste of it - it’s going to be tough to go there on your first go otherwise. Rachael said he really enjoyed it and obviously he had top weight, but we couldn’t have asked for a better run.”
Envoi Allen will defend the Ryanair Chase title. Captain Guinness finished second in last year’s Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase and he will be back for more in the two-mile heat. Telemesomethinggirl was brought down in the 2022 Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle and she will tackle that test again, with Slade Steel and Monty’s Star the leading youngsters for the team.