Can Gale Mahler continue her remarkable run or will a short break have stalled her progress?

It is hard to beat a filly or mare in form, as the old saying goes, and they do not come much hotter than Gale Mahler right now. She has won six on the trot since being fitted with cheekpieces and improved her Racing Post Rating with each run, including when scoring at Galway last time.

Gale Mahler ran away with that Listed novice hurdle by ten lengths in a good time and a reproduction of that form will be good enough to win this Grade 2 contest. The only question that remains is whether an 87-day break will have stalled her progress or accelerated it further.

She faces some rivals from top stables here, though, including the Dan Skelton-trained Valgrand. He was fourth in a Grade 2 bumper at Aintree last season and gained valuable hurdling experience with back-to-back wins at Uttoxeter and Bangor in May at short odds.

This will be a much more difficult test for Valgrand and Skelton is 0-4 in the race in the last ten seasons. However, he did saddle Third Time Lucki to take second four years ago.

Paul Nicholls is 0-5 in this race in the last ten years and the stable has not been firing on all cylinders. However, the yard's form has picked up in the last week and their representative Brave Knight was rated 83 on the Flat. He has already proved himself just as capable over hurdles.

Three wins from three over the summer have earned Brave Knight a BHA rating of 127, but that is 8lb shy of the top-rated Gale Mahler and Brave Knight has to concede 1lb to that rival.
Analysis by Graeme Rodway

Gale Mahler 'in great nick' ahead of Cheltenham debut

For many racing fans this Cheltenham meeting might symbolise the turning of their attention from the Flat to the jumps for the winter, but while they have been captivated by City Of Troy and blown away by Bradsell, Adrian Keatley's Gale Mahler has been busy winning.

Two wins in May were followed by two in June and another two in July, culminating with success at the Galway Festival as the Jim Fyffe-owned five-year-old rattled off a six timer.

Gale Mahler ridden by Henry Brooke racing away from the last to win The Colm Quinn BMW Novice Hurdle at Galway

Gale Mahler: runaway winner at Galway last timeCredit: Caroline Norris

A three-month break has meant somehow the busiest horse this summer comes here with the third longest time between runs at 87 days and Keatley said: "She's in great nick and did her last piece of work on Monday morning and we were happy with that.

"Hopefully everything goes to plan and she can get the job done. You couldn't fault her at Galway, she won by ten lengths and the fourth has won a Grade 3 race since. The second time she won over hurdles, the mare she beat has been impressive since by winning a Grade 2 at Chepstow. All the form stacks up."

What they say

Olly Murphy, trainer of Imaginarium
We're chucking him in the deep end a little bit but his work's been good at home and he seems a professional horse. He'll be dropped in and ridden to run well.

Samuel Drinkwater, trainer of Strong Foundations
He's come out of Warwick well. It's a huge step up in grade but if he went into a novice he'd have a penalty, so we're running to find out how good he is and if he's up to this level.

Dan Skelton, trainer of Valgrand
I've had this race in mind for a while but Gale Mahler sets a high standard. He's in good form and has run at the track before, so we know that won't be an issue. It's worth a lot of money and we thought we'd have a poke at it.

Paul Nicholls, trainer of Brave Knight
He'll love the ground and had a nice summer, winning three from three. The form of his last run has had a little boost with the horse he beat last time winning twice since. He's got a good level of form but to win this he'll need to improve.

Ian Williams, trainer of Dancing In Paris
He's a quality Flat horse and he's schooled well at home. It's a big ask but it's a smaller field and it'll be a nice place for him to start.

Read more Cheltenham previews:

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2.25 Cheltenham: 'She has a very bright future' - who rates his chances highly in the handicap chase?

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