Cheltenham
Espoir D’Allen sweeps to Champions Hurdle success
In-depth review of all four days of the Festival
THE Gavin Cromwell-trained Espoir D’Allen ran out a shock 16/1 winner of the Champion Hurdle on day one of the Festival. The five-year-old son of Voix Du Nord travelled menacingly into contention approaching the turn for home and ran on strongly in the home straight, producing a superb leap at the last to register a bloodless 15-length success under Mark Walsh, registering his second victory at The Festival overall.
The Willie Mullins-trained Melon (20/1) was back in second with a neck back to 80/1 shot Silver Streak, trained by Evan Williams in third.
In a race full of drama, favourite Apple’s Jade (7/4f) was sixth, defending champion Buveur D’Air (11/4) fell at the third hurdle and Laurina (5/2) could finish only fourth.
Winning rider Walsh said: “Everything went well for me. When Buveur D’Air fell at the third hurdle, I luckily avoided the fall and got a lovely run through the whole way.
“For a five-year-old to do that against what we thought was one of the best Champion Hurdles run in the past few years, he is a right little horse. It is unbelievable.
“He is the first five-year-old since Katchit to win the race and hopefully there will be a few more Champion Hurdles in him yet.
“He travelled very strongly and he
gave me a dream ride. Espoir D’Allen is very uncomplicated and we were delighted when we saw the rain come this morning as he travels a lot better in this slower ground.
“Me and Gavin spoke before the race and the plan was to ride him for a place – we got a place, it was first place!
“I was in front soon enough and I heard a horse coming but only realised after the last that it was a loose horse (Buveur D’Air).
“This win will take a while to sink in. It’s back to work now but it was brilliant to land this event.”
SUPREME START FOR MULLINS
Klassical Dream kicked off the Festival in style for Willie Mullins, landing the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in great style.
Klassical Dream also fulfilled the dreams of his late owner, John Coleman, by providing him with a first winner at the Festival.
Ridden by Ruby Walsh, the Dream Well five-year-old – now owned by John Coleman’s wife Jo, who carried some of her late husband’s ashes in her handbag so she felt he was still part of the triumph - won by four and a half lengths at 6/1 from 28/1 chance Thomas Darby (Olly Murphy and Richard Johnson).
Mullins said: “It’s terrific. He’s a good horse. We took a risk running him on goodish firm ground at home, but we thought he had a fair engine all along.
“It’s a very poignant victory for us. John Coleman had a lot of cheaper horses with me and then he retired and sold his business two years ago and said, ‘here’s a few quid – go and buy me a Cheltenham horse, and this is the horse.
“Klassical Dream was well within his own cruising speed travelling there, so he looks a real one, especially in this type of ground, and we know he can go up in trip no problem. He’s a very, very good horse. After his work last weekend at the Curragh, we came away thinking here’s one who will take a lot of beating at Cheltenham, no matter what he comes up against.”
A DUCAL WINNER FOR MULLINS
Willie Mullins could not have had a better start to the Festival - the Irish trainer followed up his Novices’ Hurdle success with victory in the Arkle, courtesy of the Paul Townend-ridden Duc Des Genievres. The 41/1 double took his total of Festival winners to 63, and his Racing Post Arkle tally to four (2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019).
The French-bred six-year-old Duc Des Genievres won by a very comfortable 13 lengths at odds of 5/1 from Us And Them.
Mullins said: “Obviously this rain has just come in time. I was moaning at 10am that nothing had come – there was a lot of wind last night but no rain. It has just worked the oracle for this
horse and made a huge difference to him.
“Looking at Paul, once the two horses fell going away from the stands, I thought, ‘why are you going out wide?’, but he must have seen something I didn’t see. Next thing there was a bit of a shemozzle and he ended up in third place, when I thought he was going to be out the back. He just kept him together from there and he just jumped and did everything right for him.
“It feels very good, considering where I thought I was two or three weeks ago, looking at the string and going round our ground and horses we had tried to get runs into and couldn’t. It looks like we’ve got two nice horses there anyway, and a few to come – and some nice ones at home that we never got out.”
ROKSANA IS THE MAIN MARE
The Dan Skelton-trained Roksana (10/1) benefited from the final-flight fall of 10/11 favourite Benie Des Dieux to land the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle.
Ridden by Dan’s brother Harry, the seven-year-old daughter of Dubai Destination kept on gamely up the Cheltenham hill to score by two and a half-lengths from Benie Des Dieux’s stable companions Stormy Ireland (7/1) and Good Thyne Tara (25/1), who was a further two lengths back in third.
Winning jockey Skelton, recording his second victory at the Festival overall, said: “Obviously I am the beneficiary of what happened – that’s Jump racing. You are never home until you jump the last and luck has been on our side today.
“It is our first G1 winner and she is a good mare in her own right. You have to take days like these.
“It means the world to have a winner here. Nobody is afraid of saying that these are the four days when it really, really matters.
“We have a long old year and this is what you work for. This is why I do it, for days like this. I have a dream job and am in a very lucky position.
“Fair play to Dan as he decided to stick to the plan in running here. He has always believed in Roksana and so have the rest of the team.
“She has stepped forward from her previous run. We’re absolutely delighted and it means an awful lot.”
Benie Des Dieux was reported to be fine after her fall at the last.
HENDERSON’S BEAR FIGHTS BACK
Beware The Bear’s 10/1 victory in the G3 Ultima Handicap Chase was trainer Nicky Henderson’s 61st Festival win – and his first in the race since Marlborough in 2000.
The Shantou nine-year-old was fourth in this contest last year and, under Jeremiah McGrath, won by a length and a quarter, beating Vintage Clouds in the 24-strong field.
Henderson said: “That was fabulous. We put the blinkers on him on Festival Trials Day here and tried to make the running – there were only six runners that day, he had a lovely, soft lead and enjoyed himself. But normally we try
and get up there with him and he drops himself out and comes home with a rattle. So I said to Jerry McGrath, let’s start where he’s going to put himself – start out the back, then he can come and work past horses, rather than having to press.
“Bear had lots of daylight, lots of time to just find himself. He stays well and he enjoyed himself.
“It’s nice to get one on the board and settle everything down.”
NOTHING TARDY ABOUT PLUS
The Henry de Bromhead-trained A Plus Tard recorded an impressive success to justify 5/1 favouritism in the £70,000 Listed Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap.
Ridden by Rachael Blackmore, recording her first success at the Festival, the Cheveley Park Studowned gelding travelled with menace throughout the two mile and four-furlong event.
A Plus Tard sauntered clear under a motionless Blackmore approaching the home straight and sealed victory with a fine leap at the last, powering up the hill to score by 16 lengths.
The five-year-old son of Kapgarde scored at Naas in December, defeating this afternoon’s G1 Racing Post Arkle Novices’ Chase winner Duc Des Genievres, and A Plus Tard backed up that victory with an imperious success at Prestbury Park.
Winning trainer De Bromhead, registering his sixth win at the Festival overall, said: “A Plus Tard looked really good. Rachael was fantastic on him and gave him a super ride.
“I am delighted to get a winner for the Thompsons. It is really good of them to support us. They have a few real nice jumpers.
“We have always liked A Plus Tard. He had a couple of good runs and beat Duc Des Genievres in Naas, so that was fairly telling. This looked the right race to go for once he got in.
“Rachael is a brilliant jockey and we are very lucky to be associated with her. She as tough as any of them and bounces back up every time.”
PAULING ENJOYS SECOND FESTIVAL SUCCESS
Local trainer Ben Pauling is dreaming of a tilt at the Grand National next year after 14/1 chance Le Breuil got the better of Discorama (9/2) by half a length in the best finish of the Festival’s first day, the pair pulling 47 lengths clear of the third in a National Hunt Chase in which only four of the 18 starters completed.
It was a second Cheltenham win for Pauling, following the 2017 G1 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle success of Willoughby Court, and it seemed to mean every bit as much as the first.
Pauling, who trains at Bourton-onthe-Water, said: “I’ve got one thing in mind for this horse and that’s the National next year, so let’s hope he gets there in one piece.
“Winning here is just the best. We won here with Willoughby Court, but it’s just as good second time around. It’s incredible.”
He added: “He was so gutsy there. That was very, very special. He jumped and he travelled, and with a circuit to go we knew we had a hell of a chance.
“Jamie Codd phoned up for the ride and thank God he did, because that was the icing on the cake and confirmed for us which race we were going for. He’s one hell of a jockey, and hopefully it means as much to him as it does to us.
“That will be it for Le Breuil now.”