DAY TWO Q & A
BRIAN FLANAGAN
asks and answers some of the big questions ahead of day two of this year’s Cheltenham Festival.
CAN anything beat Ballyburn in the opening Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle?
Not likely. Ballyburn has been the most hyped horse of the Willie Mullins (below) army travelling over here this week and defeat seems to be a word not in the conversation.
The decision to tackle today’s 2m5f race ahead of yesterday’s 2m Supreme Novices’ Hurdle raised some eyebrows but it was possibly more a case of Paul Townend making sure he could have strong rides in both races than anything.
Ballyburn’s performance at the DRF was jaw dropping and a repeat of that will make him very hard to beat here in a race Mullins and Townend have won for the past two years in succession with Impaire Et Passe and
Sir Gerhard.
MULLINS has two more odds on favourites today, is the treble worth backing?
Along with Ballyburn, Mullins runs two other odds on shots with Fact To File in the Brown Advisory and El Fabiolo in the Champion Chase.
Bookmakers will be fearing the worst as the treble looks a reasonable bet at around 3-1 as it’s hard to pick holes in any of the three.
Fact To File has been mentioned as a Gold Cup horse for 2025 and clocked a very impressive time in obliterating stablemate Gaelic Warrior at the DRF while last year’s Arkle winner El Fabiolo has developed into a very dependable two-mile chaser at the top level.
NICO De Boinville questioned El Fabiolo’s jumping. Does he have a point?
Not really although the proof will be in today’s race.
De Boinville (above), jockey of El Fabiolo’s chief rival Jonbon, said: “To be the best chaser in the country you have to be a phenomenal jumper and I don’t think El Fabiolo is a phenomenal jumper.”
He’s not a flashy jumper of a fence and is more economical than anything else, but generally gets from one side of a fence to the
other without issue.
The pace they go in today’s race will really put that theory to the test but Jonbon is far from fluent and made a horrendous error here in January that cost him victory in the Clarence House.
Edwardstone is the best jumper of the three but it’s not something that should cost El Fabiolo the race.
WHAT’S happening with the Cross Country Chase?
Heavy rain yesterday morning saturated the track and it does leave today’s Cross Country Chase in some doubt. There will be an inspection at 8am today to see if the Cross Country track is fit for racing and if the contest is called off it will be moved to Friday’s card.
A GOLD CUP winner in the Cross Country Chase, what’s that all about?
It does seem remarkable that 2021 Gold Cup winner Minella Indo is lining up in today’s Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase. The Henry De Bromheadtrained 11-year-old was also runner-up a year later in 2022 and is about as high-class a horse as you’ll ever see in this.
He’s not up to
Grade 1 level anymore though and his rating of 160 means handicaps are off the table so races like this mean he can still compete at the Festival with a chance.
Galvin and Delta Work are also Grade 1 winning chasers representing
Gordon
Elliott here.