For me, the first port of call has to be Lossiemouth. I originally wanted to take her on in the Unibet Hurdle, as I thought she was short enough. I’ve seen plenty of Triumph Hurdle winners over the years that haven’t gone on to deliver the following season in open company and I thought she would fit that mould, but I am more than happy to say I got it wrong this time. Her wide margin win was definitely the performance of the weekend.
Now then, the big question is, where does she go at the Festival? Her owner, Rich Ricci, said she’ll go for the Mares’ Hurdle, and the antepost betting strongly suggests that, with her being the 4/6 favourite. On the other hand, there is a bandwagon gaining momentum that she should go for the Champion Hurdle, which I am now a fixed-up member of. She beat Rubaud and First Street with the same ease that Constitution Hill did in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton. Moreover, she’ll get the 7lbs from the boys if she does take her chance, which we’ve seen Honeysuckle, Epatante, and Annie Power benefit from over the years.
Immediately after her win at Cheltenham, there were quotes of 10/1 for the Champion Hurdle, but those prices quickly evaporated, and she’s now 5/1 with Rhino. At the moment, I am afraid I have to leave her at the prices, as it seems she’s unlikely to run, but if she did line up, I believe she’d definitely give Constitution Hill something to think about. Come on, Willie, you know what to do!
One of the biggest pieces of racing news last week was that Allaho will miss the Ryanair Chase, which already had an open look to it. The current market leader with Rhino is El Fabiolo, but he’ll be going to the Champion Chase, so you can cross him off your list. Next up is Banbridge, who put up a good performance when taking the Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton earlier this month. He’s probably the one to beat at this stage, but the son of Doyen wouldn’t want it to come up too soft, so therefore he’s worth avoiding at 5/2.
Of the rest who are likely to line up in the race, Stage Star and Envoi Allen both have questions to answer and are short enough at the moment, in my opinion. Furthermore, the race could end up being a small field, so it might be worth taking advantage of the each-way angle with three places currently on offer.
That’s where Futigif comes into play. He’s been a stalwart of Cheltenham handicaps, which included a win in the December Gold Cup last month. Frodon won the same race in 2018 before going on to win the Ryanair in the same season, so it is a path that has been trodden in recent times.
The nine-year-old gelding ran on Saturday, where he stayed on to take third in the rearranged Clarence House Chase behind Elixir Du Nutz and Jonbon. He definitely found the trip to be on the sharp side, but that was only his prep run to get him spot on for the Ryanair. His trainer, Richard Hobson, has been quite open in the racing media, saying that he’s likely to run in the race, and with all his Cheltenham experience thrown into the mix, I think there’s a bit of meat at 20/1 each-way with Rhino.
Elsewhere, one horse that went into my notebook at Cheltenham on Saturday was Strong Leader for Olly Murphy. He stayed on well with a lot of promise in first-time cheekpieces to take third in an exciting Cleeve Hurdle behind Noble Yeats and Paisley Park. The seven-year-old gelding is currently on a mark of 147, which looks workable, and he is one that I would want to keep on side at the Festival if he were to run in a handicap. If the ground was good, a strongly run Coral Cup would be right up his street.
Away from Cheltenham, I think we might have seen the Champion Bumper winner in the shape of Jasmin De Vaux at Naas on Sunday. It’s fair to say it’s a division that hasn’t really gotten out of first gear this season, and the Willie Mullins team hasn’t had a clear and obvious number one pick until now.
It’s no surprise that the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned gelding now finds himself at the top of the betting. The way he travelled and quickened was very impressive, as he strung the opposition out in the lucky last at Naas. He might not have beaten much, but he looked every inch like a top-class prospect. After the race, Willie Mullins went on record to say that he booked his Cheltenham ticket and will go straight to the Champion Bumper.
This weekend, the picture might change again at the Dublin Racing Festival, but currently, looking at the entries in the bumpers, nothing has created the impression on me that Jasmin De Vaux did on Sunday. If the Dublin Racing Festival fails to produce a knockout performance in one of the bumpers, I could see the son of Tirwanako going off shorter than his current price of 5/1 with Rhino, and therefore it could be worth backing him now..
I will be back with next week where I’ll be looking for some antepost angles from the fallout at the Dublin Racing Festival, Sandown and Musselburgh.
Cheltenham ante post tips this week:
Futigif – 20/1 EW (Ryanair Chase)
Jasmin De Vaux- 5/1 (Champion Bumper)
