Arkle, Turners and Brown Advisory novice chases: which star names have been entered?

Willie Mullins has seven potential challengers to end Marine Nationale's unbeaten record in the Arkle at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival after entries were revealed for the four novice chases at the meeting in March.

The surprise among the fields for the Arkle and Turners entries was Iroko, who had been ruled out for the season with a foot injury in November. That setback came shortly after last season's Martin Pipe winner posted a flawless performance on his chase debut at Warwick.

Arkle favourite Marine Nationale, one of the shortest priced runners at the fixture, was not given any other back-up entries by Barry Connell but his potential biggest threat Facile Vega also featured in the list of runners for the Turners and Brown Advisory.

His Willie Mullins-trained stablemate Gaelic Warrior is also triple-entered across the Grade 1s although bookmakers feel the Turners will be his most likely festival destination as he tops the betting at 11-8.

Mullins has 10 of the 38 entries in the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase including favourite Grangeclare West, who also has a spot in the Turners and National Hunt Chase. Fact To File, the Brown Advisory second favourite, is also in the Turners.

Britain's Brown Advisory candidates Stay Away Fay and Grey Dawning both appeared but the French-trained impressive Kempton scorer Il Est Francais was entered only in the Turners.

Leading National Hunt Chase fancies Embassy Gardens, Meetingofthewaters and Nick Rockett all appeared among the 26 put forward. That is the lowest ever number of entries for the race, down from a ten-year high of 89 in 2016 and a drop from 37 last year.

The Arkle equalled its record low of 24 runners from 2022 although there were slightly more pleasing results for the Turners, up one on last year, and the Brown Advisory, which increased by four from 12 months ago.

A total of 130 runners across the four races is down eight on last year and from 199 in 2019. That represents a 34.6 per cent decrease in five years.

Notable omissions

Name: Le Patron
Race: Arkle Chase
Explanation: Although his Grade 1 victory came over 1m7½f, the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase winner has also landed a 2m4f chase at Sandown and the six-year-old is likely to return to the same track and trip for next month’s Scilly Isles before a potential tilt at the Turners.

Name: Knappers Hill
Race: Turners Novices' Chase
Explanation: The Grade 2 ‘Rising Stars’ Novices' Chase winner was due to run at Kempton on Boxing Day but was ruled out of the Kauto Star with a minor setback and has not been given a Cheltenham Festival entry by Paul Nicholls, as he bids to get the eight-year-old right ahead of a potential King George bid next season.

Name: Flooring Porter
Race: Brown Advisory Novices' Chase
Explanation: Beat subsequent dual Cheltenham chase winner Broadway Boy over this track and trip in October but, after two heavy defeats, Gavin Cromwell has elected to enter the nine-year-old in the longer 3m6f National Hunt Chase. Flooring Porter also has the option of going for a third Stayers’ Hurdle.

Name: Sandor Clegane
Race: National Hunt Chase
Explanation: Stayed on to finish third behind Stay Away Fay in last year’s Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle but unlike the winner of that Grade 1, the seven-year-old has not been entered in this marathon contest despite qualifying on his last start at Punchestown in November. Sandor Clegane was runner-up in that 3m Grade 2 event and Paul Nolan has entered him in the Brown Advisory instead.