Horse of the Day

TO get a horse to Cheltenham once, in rude health, is an achievement. To do it a second and third time is testament to a trainer’s ability. But to have a horse capable of running in seven consecutive Festivals is something rare and remarkable. Kauto Star, who ran in six Gold Cups, and Quevega, the mighty Willie Mullins mare who won the David Nicholson for six consecutive seasons between 2009 and 2014, set the template for iron horses and perhaps we should now recognise Envoi Allen in the same bracket. He was first sent to Cheltenham in the colours of his owners, Cheveley Park Stud in March 2019, when he won the Champion Bumper. Twelve months later, he made a victorious return in the race that was then called the Ballymore Hurdle.

Envoi Allen had won the first 12 races of his career but 13 was unlucky at Cheltenham in 2021, when he fell in the Turners Novices’ Chase — his first start for new trainer Henry de Bromhead after Cheveley Park removed their horses from Gordon Elliott. Perhaps because Envoi Allen never delivered the Gold Cup triumph that had been predicted for him in his youth, he has never had due credit, but he is a model of consistency — a third-place finish in the 2022 Queen Mother Champion Chase and a win in last year’s Ryanair prove that. Now 10 years old, he returns to defend his Ryanair crown this afternoon and the vibes have been relentlessly positive for him in recent weeks.

He has not run since November, when pipped by Gold Cup contender Gerri Colombe at Down Royal, but do not take that as a bad sign. ‘Henry is very happy with him,’ reports jockey Rachael Blackmore. ‘I know he’s another year older but the Ryanair is there to be won. I hope he will run a big race. He is really sharp and he has been a star.’