Cheltenham
IRISH trainers come mobhanded to the Cheltenham Festival and are rightly odds-on favourites to lift the Prestbury Cup against their UK rivals.
Irish jump racing is as strong as ever this season and the raiders are likely to dominate a number of the major races over the four days. The Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott yards are almost certain to have good weeks.
The Irish banker of the afternoon is APPLE’S JADE (4,10) in the Grade One OLBG Mares’ Hurdle over twoand-a-half miles.
The six-year-old has not put a foot wrong since storming home to win this race last season for Elliot.
Jack Kennedy is back in the saddle having won impressively on her at Fairyhouse in December, beating the ill-fated Nichols Canyon by nine lengths in the Hatton Grace Hurdle.
She has since beaten the tough Supasundae (who went on to shock Faugheen in the Irish Champion) over three miles – the first time she had tried that distance – at Leopardstown over Christmas.
She will take all the beating, with Mullins’ Benie Des Dieux the one for the forecast.
The opening race will likely get the Irish off the mark straight away with Mullins’ GETABIRD (1.30) in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
The six-year-old has been backed down to around 11-8 leading up to this afternoon’s extended two-mile Grade One.
The soft ground will certainly not be an issue, as he won both his hurdles starts on ground no better than soft to heavy, the first of those over two-anda-half miles.
At Punchestown last time he crushed Mengli Khan by nine lengths and can make it three in a row. FOOTPAD (2.10) can win the Racing Post Arkle Trophy in what could turn out to be a head-to-head against Henry De Bromhead’s Petit Mouchoir.
Mullins’ six-year-old is three-fromthree over fences and beat Petit Mouchoir by a comfortable five lengths at Leopardstown last month.
There are a number of stand-out Irish bets this week, but maybe not in the Unibet Champion Hurdle.
The Nicky Henderson-trained Buveur D’Air is hard to oppose but if the Faugheen who won the Champion Hurdle three years ago shows up he would have a major chance.
However, even then, the idea Faugheen can overturn the reigning champion – who has not been beaten on his last nine starts and is in the form of his life – is a long-shot.
The same can also be said about stablemate Yorkhill. The enigmatic gelding is a two-time Grade One Festival winner, including the JLT Novices’ Chase last year and looked set to become a major factor over the bigger obstacles this season.
But after a couple of hugely disappointing runs, he has been switched back to hurdling.
It could be that we find Yorkhill on one of his going days – but don’t bank on it.
And so it could be another Mullins contender, WICKLOW BRAVE (3.30), who may be worth an each-way punt, having won the Punchestown Champion Hurdle last April ahead of My Tent Or Yours, second here last year, who he also faces again today.