Derek O'Connor: here's how Ireland's Hunters' Chase challenge is shaping up - with several names to remember for Cheltenham
Derek O'Connor is a record-breaking Irish point-to-point rider, an 11-time champion with more than 1,300 point wins
A feature of the last two Cheltenham Festivals is that Britain has managed to keep the St James's Place Hunters' Chase crown on home turf.
In both years I've ridden Its On The Line to take the runner-up spot for Emmet Mullins. Since he's only just turned eight I'm hopeful he'll be in the mix again in March. He proved himself the star Irish hunter by winning the Foxhunters' Chase at Aintree and taking the Champion Hunters' Chase at the Punchestown festival for the second time.
Since Christmas, we've seen three other potential contenders for top hunter chasing honours emerge, two of them from out of the blue. The other is already a familiar name: Angels Dawn, the mare who won the Kim Muir for trainer Sam Curling at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival.
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Published on inOpinion
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