CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL DAY 4 TIPS 2024

The standout performance in this division came on Cheltenham’s Trials day when the Nicky Henderson-trained Sir Gino overpowered previous Triumph favourite Burdett Road with a hugely impressive ten-length victory over course and distance. His trainer is the record-holder in this race and has excellent prospects of an eighth success with his latest highly promising recruit. The Spring Juvenile Hurdle, well established as the best proving ground in Ireland, did not produce anything that measured up to Sir Gino in quite a bunched finish. Several of the principals are likely to head here, although as with so many races the decision making of Willie Mullins will be crucial as he had the first four (Kargese, Storm Heart, Majborough and Bunting), albeit all with different high-profile owners. Salver (Gary Moore) and Liari (Paul Nicholls) are other British possibles.

Faivoir struck at 33-1 for Dan Skelton, who has now won four of the last eight runnings. The Betfair Hurdle and the Liffey Handicap Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival have been key pointers – ten of the past 23 winners had run in one of those. Iberico Lord is a clear contender for Nicky Henderson after his Betfair Hurdle victory at Newbury. Skelton had runner-up L’Eau Du Sud, as well as Faivoir in fifth. Willie Mullins has a host of novices and handicappers to juggle, including Zenta, Mistergif and Absurde.

This is the most difficult of the Grade 1 novices to solve and big-priced winners are the norm, even for those who go on to reach great heights such as Gold Cup hero Minella Indo and Stayers’ Hurdle winner Penhill. Two of the key form races look to be the Grade 1 Lawlor’s of Naas in January (won by Willie Mullins’ Readin Tommy Wrong from stablemates Ile Atlantique and Lecky Watson) and the 2m6½f Grade 1 at the Dublin Racing Festival, which had a Mullins one-two with Dancing City and Predators Gold. Mullins also has the fancied and unbeaten High Class Hero. The home team is not without hope – possibles include Challow winner Captain Teague (Paul Nicholls), Nicky Henderson’s pair Shanagh Bob and Jingko Blue, Gidleigh Park (Harry Fry) and Johnnywho (Jonjo O’Neill).

Galopin Des Champs improved his already high level by half a stone on Racing Post Ratings with a supremely dominant performance in last year’s Gold Cup. Willie Mullins’ superstar earned an elite RPR of 184 with his seven-length victory over Bravemansgame and after a couple of blips he matched it this season in his brilliant Savills Chase win at Christmas. Having followed up in the Irish Gold Cup, he is emphatically the one to beat again. Martin Brassil’s Fastorslow, who beat the favourite twice in those blips, looks his biggest rival again as he tries this race for the first time, but now he has to turn around a four-and-a-half-length defeat in the Irish Gold Cup. There are other new challengers for this crown in the brilliant but sometimes moody Shishkin (Nicky Henderson), Gerri Colombe (Gordon Elliott), who had been on the rise until his distant second in the Savills, the recovered and resurgent L’Homme Presse (Venetia Williams) and the popular King George winner Hewick (Shark Hanlon).

There has been an even split of British and Irish successes over the past decade after the score was levelled last year by 66-1 shot Premier Magic from trainer-rider Bradley Gibbs’s Herefordshire yard. Nine horses since 1956 have won the race twice – three of them (Salsify, On The Fringe and Pacha Du Polder) in recent years – and Premier Magic will be the latest to attempt the double. He was ten last year when he continued the recent run of success for older runners, being the ninth in a row aged in double figures. Before the recent upward trend, 14 of the previous 19 winners had been nine or younger. Premier Magic will be faced by a renewed challenge from Ireland, led by top handler David Christie’s Ferns Lock. The seven-year-old missed last year’s festival but has improved in the meantime and warmed up with an impressive win at Thurles. Emmet Mullins’ Its On The Line, runner-up last year, is set to return after a narrow prep win over Billaway, the 2022 winner for Willie Mullins.

Willie Mullins won the first two runnings but had to settle for second last year with 13-8 favourite Allegorie De Vassy, who was beaten two and a half lengths by the Colm Murphy-trained Impervious, her main rival at 15-8. In fact, Mullins has had the beaten favourite in every running now and the one who looks set to carry that mantle this year is Dinoblue, who has been running well in open top-level company and is top on Racing Post Ratings. She led home a Mullins 1-2-3-4 in a Grade 1 at Christmas and then finished a respectable second to top-class stablemate El Fabiolo in the Dublin Chase. Next on RPRs and in the ante-post market is Allegorie De Vassy, who looks set to attempt to go one better than last year. Gavin Cromwell could be represented by Limerick Lace (below) and Brides Hill, while Gordon Elliott also has a couple of decent contenders in Riviere D’Etel, who was still travelling comfortably when falling three out in last year’s race, and last-time-out Grade 2 winner Harmonya Maker.

Iroko was a first festival winner for joint-trainers Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero at 6-1, leading home a JP McManus one-two ahead of the Nicky Henderson-trained 14-1 shot No Ordinary Joe. Runners rated between 133 and 139 have won nine of the 15 runnings but four of the last six winners were rated 142-145. Five- and six-year-olds have won 13 of the 15 runnings. Ten of the last 13 runnings were won by Willie Mullins, Paul Nicholls, Gordon Elliott or Joseph O’Brien. Ten of the 15 winners have been sent off at double-figure odds and Sir Des Champs in 2011 is the only successful favourite. Sa Majeste is a Willie Mullins-trained possible for last year’s winning owner. Gigginstown’s likely types include Mullins’ Quai De Bourbon and the Gordon Elliott-trained pair Cleatus Poolaw and Stellar Story.