Tag Archive for: Supreme Novices Hurdle

Supreme performance sees Kopek Des Bordes crowned at Cheltenham

Kopek Des Bordes did all that was asked of him to land the Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Sporting a hood for the first time, Willie Mullins’ gelding was fighting to retain his unbeaten record and started as the 4-6 favourite under Paul Townend for the opening race of the 2025 Festival.

He neatly delivered, tracking long-time leader Workahead and then kicking clear up the hill to hold off a challenge from William Munny, despite a jumping error at the last hurdle.

The length and three-quarters runner-up ran a huge race in defeat, and so nearly carried the colours famously sported by the late Michael O’Sullivan when the Barry Connell-trained Marine Nationale won the corresponding event in 2023.

Kopek Des Bordes returne to the winner's enclosure with Charlie McCarthy and family
Kopek Des Bordes returne to the winner’s enclosure with Charlie McCarthy and family (Adam Davy/PA)

Kopek Des Bordes is owned by Charlie McCarthy along with his four sons through Monabeg Investments Ltd and it was a special win for him after undergoing surgery for cancer just 11 days ago.

McCarthy said: “I had cancer of my right kidney and I had my kidney removed. I had the top people look after me, I’m disease free and I’m going to have one hell of a party.

“I don’t want to cry but I can tell you one thing, I’m on cloud nine. Is there a bigger cloud to be on?

“I just can’t get over it, to be here with my sons and win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle after everything I’ve been through. This is a dream come true and the dream is not finished yet.

“That’s National Hunt racing, the small man can have a say in it and I’m no small man but I am the small man here. National Hunt racing is what I love.”

Kopek Des Bordes and Paul Townend
Kopek Des Bordes and Paul Townend (Mike Egerton/PA)

McCarthy dedicated the victory to O’Sullivan, who died last month aged 24 due to injuries sustained in a fall at Thurles.

He added: “It’s unreal. It’s a wonderful day for me because the race is named after Michael O’Sullivan, he lived about 20 kilometres from me and I’ll donate this to the O’Sullivan family, because he was a wonderful jockey.

“I met his brother earlier and I said ‘I would love to win it for the O’Sullivan family’. We’ll enjoy it, we’re from County Cork, the O’Sullivans and myself, and it’s a wonderful occasion.”

Mullins said: “Coming to the last Paul just said he was looking up at the stands, looking at the last and looking everywhere. He said he just lost concentration and missed it, but he picked up and galloped all the way to the Hunters Lodge.

“I think going a faster pace helps his jumping. He is able to go faster, we didn’t know that before Leopardstown, but we saw it then and again today.

“It’s nice to get the first one on the board, a huge relief. We have a good team today, we were hoping we would get one and hope for another one as well. To have it is a great relief.”

Mullins said: “Coming to the last Paul just said he was looking up at the stands, looking at the last and looking everywhere. He said he just lost concentration and missed it, but he picked up and galloped all the way to the Hunters Lodge.

“I think going a faster pace helps his jumping. He is able to go faster, we didn’t know that before Leopardstown, but we saw it then and again today.

“It’s nice to get the first one on the board, a huge relief. We have a good team today, we were hoping we would get one and hope for another one as well. To have it is a great relief.”

On future plans for the winner, he added: “Should we stay over hurdles? I don’t know. I think what we’ll do once Aintree and Punchestown are over is have a look and school him over fences and a lot will depend on what Paul thinks.

“He’d be a hugely exciting horse over fences, too, it’s always easier to keep Champion Hurdle horses sound, but we’re always looking for Gold Cup horses, or is he a Champion Chaser?”

Townend was quick to pay tribute to O’Sullivan: “Michael was a big part of our team and lived locally and he was a Cork man as well, so he’s in everyone’s thoughts every day still. I guess we can count ourselves lucky to have known him for the short time that we did and he was an incredible young man.”

He said of the winner: “I think he’s a very good horse. He covers so much ground and I would say you never know how quick you are going on him throughout a race, he has a huge engine and it was a big performance.”

Mullins keen to keep Kopek cool in what will be an emotionally-charged Supreme test

Emotions will be running high ahead of the Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, but Willie Mullins is looking to keep a lid on Kopek Des Bordes for the Cheltenham Festival curtain-raiser.

In a race run this year in memory of O’Sullivan, who died last month at the age of 24 following injuries suffered in a fall at Thurles, the hot favourite will be fitted with a hood after taking a keen hold under Paul Townend at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown last time out.

The fact that Kopek Des Bordes still had enough energy to eventually power clear for a spectacular 13-length Grade One success is an ominous sign for his rivals, but Mullins clearly wants to curb his enthusiasm at Prestbury Park.

Mullins said: “Paul got off the horse after the race and said he ran away with him three times in the race. Most normal horses, if you run away with a jockey once, that’s enough, their winning chance has gone.

“But he was running away with him through the race, then when a loose horse came up, I was watching it unfold and thought ‘this is going to drive this fellow mad’ – which it did.

“He went on two or three lengths around the second-last bend coming to the second-last hurdle and then Paul got a grip on him again before he went away up the straight.

“It was a huge performance; we’d never ask a horse that question at home, and it blew my mind what he did at Leopardstown, against a field of top-class horses.”

The Closutton handler will field half of the 12 runners as he goes in search of a record-extending eighth victory in a race he has previously won with Tourist Attraction, Ebaziyan, Champagne Fever, Vautour, Douvan, Klassical Dream and Appreciate It.

While Townend sticks with Kopek Des Bordes, Patrick Mullins will partner Salvator Mundi, who was sixth in last year’s Triumph but returns to Prestbury Park with a Grade Two strike at Punchestown in January on his CV.

Punchestown Races – Sunday January 12th
Salvator Mundi winning at Punchestown (Brian Lawless/PA).

“He has a very tender mouth, as we saw in Punchestown, and I think he has a lot of tactical speed when he wants it, but he didn’t jump so well because they were going so slow the other day,” said Mullins. “He’s going to need it I think, with Kopek Des Bordes in the race.

“The race the other day was inconclusive, but the thing I liked about it was after looking like he had blown up at the second-last, once he got his second wind, he came through and won convincingly. For me, it takes a good horse to do that.”

Gordon Elliott’s Romeo Coolio was a £420,000 purchase two years ago but has gone some way towards justifying that price tag, finishing second in last season’s Champion Bumper and this term landing a Grade Two novice hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas by nine lengths.

Elliott said: “He was very good at Christmas; obviously Willie’s horse was very good at the Dublin Racing Festival and you’d have to be impressed with him, but our lad has been to Cheltenham and run a good race.

“I think we learnt a lot from him getting beat in Fairyhouse (at the start of December). We were riding him for speed and a bit like Brighterdaysahead, he’s got a good cruising speed, so we rode a no nonsense race with him in Leopardstown and it really suited him.

Ladbrokes Festival of Racing 2024 – Day Two – Down Royal
Romeo Coolio in action at Down Royal (Brian Lawless/PA).

“I think that will suit in the Supreme as well, as if you can get out handy and they can jump and travel, it can suit.

“We’ve been placed with horses that hadn’t as high a profile as him going into the Supreme, so I think he’s got a good chance, but I was very impressed with Willie’s horse.”

Workahead is another who has been given a break since making all to win a Boxing Day maiden by seven lengths. Henry de Bromhead said: “He certainly looked really exciting at Christmas, we were delighted with him.

“He ran nicely at Navan when he hadn’t run for a long time, but he looked different gravy at Leopardstown and you’d have to be very excited about him. Obviously, it looks a very good Supreme again, but I think we’re bang there.

“We’ve Sky Lord in that as well. He was good the first day in Cork and he didn’t really act around that inside track at Punchestown the last day, but he was beaten less than four lengths by Salvator Mundi, so he’s not far off it as well.”

William Munny with connections after winning at Punchestown
William Munny with connections after winning at Punchestown (Gary Carson/PA)

There will not be a dry eye in the house if William Munny were to prevail in the colours of owner-trainer Barry Connell carried to victory by O’Sullivan and Marine Nationale two years ago.

This seven-year-old had to settle for second best behind Workahead at Leopardstown and then Kawaboomga at Fairyhouse, but made it third time lucky over timber in fine style at Punchestown last month.

Connell commented: “It wasn’t much of a race, but he won easily last time and it might be luck that we didn’t win the first two times over hurdles and we managed to get a third run into him – a lot of the horses who go for the Supreme are usually going on the back of two runs, so he has that added experience.

“Some of the time experts were talking to me after he finished second to Kawaboomga at Fairyhouse and they were saying the sectionals were really good and the times from that race from the first two would have been good enough to win eight out of the last 10 Supremes.

“That was him doing things completely upside down and you can imagine in Cheltenham and in a Grade One Supreme, they are going to go a reasonable gallop and I think it will suit him. I think he has the ability to be right there at the last and in contention – and after that, the best horse will win.”

Supreme renamed in honour of Michael O’Sullivan

Michael O’Sullivan will be honoured at the Cheltenham Festival with the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle to be run in his memory.

The young jockey enjoyed his finest hour in the saddle when winning the race aboard Barry Connell’s Marine Nationale in 2023, the first success of a red-letter day as he would go on to land the Fred Winter on Gordon Elliott’s Jazzy Matty during the same afternoon.

O’Sullivan suffered a fall at Thurles earlier this month and after spending 10 days in intensive care at Cork University Hospital, it was announced he had died from his injuries at just 24 years of age.

His loss has left the sport deeply shaken and he will be very much in the minds of those attending the Festival, where he is to be formally remembered in the naming of the opening race of the meeting.

The Supreme is sponsored by Sky Bet, who in conjunction with the Jockey Club have renamed the race The Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle for 2025.

The O’Sullivan family said in a statement: “We are deeply proud of Michael’s incredible talent and the legacy he left in the world of racing.

“Renaming the race that marked the pinnacle of his career is a fitting tribute to his skill, dedication, and passion for the sport.

“As a family, we have always admired Michael’s achievements both on and off the track, and it means so much to us to see his talent recognised in this way. The outpouring of tributes over the past week has been a testament to the impact he had on so many lives.

“We would like to sincerely thank the Jockey Club and Sky Bet for giving us this opportunity to honour Michael’s memory and celebrate his remarkable career.”

Guy Lavender, CEO of Cheltenham Racecourse, added: “Michael was an outstanding jockey and recognised by everyone as a wonderful young man.

“When you read the heartfelt tributes paid to him over these past days, you can see how highly regarded he was in the racing community on both sides of the Irish Sea and beyond.

“Given that it was at Cheltenham that Michael enjoyed his biggest success as a rider back on that magical Tuesday afternoon in 2023, we felt it was only right to pay tribute to Michael in this way.

“Our sincere thanks go to our sponsors of this race, Sky Bet, for making it possible. All our thoughts continue to be with Michael’s family, friends and weighing-room colleagues at this difficult time and for allowing us to pay tribute in this way.”

Kopek Des Bordes earns high praise for Leopardstown win

Willie Mullins has revealed he received notable approval for the victory of Kopek Des Bordes at the Dublin Racing Festival.

His performance in the Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle has left him positioned firmly at the top of the market for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle on day one of the Cheltenham Festival.

“What he did the other day…Ted Walsh rang me the following morning and he said he hadn’t seen a performance like that since Golden Cygnet, which is huge for someone like Ted to say,” said Mullins, who added “Ted Walsh is never wrong” when asked for the banker of his squad for the week.

Mullins had previously headed the Supreme market with Salvator Mundi, who did not impress all onlookers when winning the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.

He added: “I think he’s a horse with a lot of tactical speed and he didn’t jump well because they were going so slow the other day.

“It’s going to be interesting which one Paul (Townend) rides, we haven’t talked about it yet, but this fellow will need to do a lot at home, I think.”

Another in winning action at the weekend was Final Demand, who seems set for the Turners Novices’ Hurdle.

Mullins said: “The Albert Bartlett wouldn’t be a race I’d want to go for with him. He’s only had two runs, and I’d like a horse who started earlier in the season for that one.

“I think it’s a tough race on horses for the rest of their career and I don’t think he needs that. I think two-miles-five on that track at Cheltenham in the Turners, up that hill, is very tough on a horse and that would be a big enough question to ask him at this stage.”

Mullins hinted that Gaelic Warrior and El Fabiolo could both swerve taking on Jonbon in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and head for the Ryanair instead.

Gaelic Warrior was an impressive winner of last year’s Arkle but has yet to hit the target this term, twice chasing home Solness at Leopardstown.

The trainer said: “I was just disappointed with Gaelic Warrior on Sunday, disappointed in the overall context but I thought he looked to be going so average about the fifth last and it looked to everyone like Paul might pull him up.

“Paul actually said the same to me that he was going to pull him up and then he just seemed to get his second wind and stayed on well, so the Ryanair comes into the equation now after that.

“It could just be a bit too fast going down the back side for him (at Leopardstown), but I’m just wondering has he some other issue, which I’m trying to look into at the moment. I’ve a few things I want to look into and I want to check him before I say any more.”

The Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned El Fabiolo was pulled up when a short-priced favourite for last year’s Champion Chase before proving no match for Jonbon in the Celebration at Sandown.

He fell at the second fence on his seasonal reappearance in the Dublin Chase and Mullins said: “It was disappointing that he came down the other day, but he’s in the Champion Chase and the Ryanair and my feeling is that he should go up in trip for the Ryanair. That’s where I’ll be aiming for and I’ll see if Simon and Isaac agree with that.”

Energumene is set to bid for a third Champion Chase triumph, having taken top honours in 2022 and 2023 before sitting out last season through injury.

After landing the Hilly Way at Cork on his comeback, the 11-year-old found Jonbon too good at Ascot in the Clarence House but Mullins is hoping for a different outcome at Cheltenham.

He said: “I’d say he’ll be better at Cheltenham, or that’s what I hope anyway. I think the ground at Ascot was goodish that day and I think our fella might want it softer, that would be a plus for him. So, we’ll stick with that plan and we’ll pray for rain.”

As for this year’s Arkle, Majborough remains on course for a mouth-watering showdown with Sir Gino after claiming the Irish equivalent under Mark Walsh at Leopardstown.

Mullins said: “He’s a fantastic horse, he looks a really nice horse in the making and he’s only five. He does things so naturally.

“Funnily enough, last week I wanted to school him and Mark wasn’t around, so I said to Paul (Townend) to get up on him, which he wouldn’t normally do.

“Paul got down off him and he just couldn’t get over the power of him, so Paul was very taken with him and his schooling at home. So, when you impress someone like Paul, I thought that was a huge statement on a schooling morning.”

Kopek Des Bordes rules supreme at Leopardstown

Kopek Des Bordes rocketed to Supreme Novices’ Hurdle favouritism in extending his unbeaten run to three with an effortless victory in the Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown.

Winner of a Fairyhouse bumper last season, Kopek Des Bordes had opened his hurdles account with victory at this track over Christmas and despite fog hindering viewing that day, punters were confident the five-year-old had posted an eyecatching run.

Willie Mullins’ charge was sent off the 4-5 market leader on the back of that and while Paul Townend’s mount got mildly distracted by a loose horse on the run for home, the result was never in doubt.

He jumped the last well clear of the field and sauntered home 13 lengths ahead of stablemate Karniquet, with Warren Greatrex’s British raider Good And Clever claiming an honourable third at Grade One level.

Kopek Des Bordes was cut to 7-4 from 12-1 with Coral for the Supreme at Cheltenham next month, while Betfair go 6-4 about his chances.

Mullins said: “The horse was very keen and free the whole way, but Paul just let him have his head going to his hurdles and he’s jumped way better than Christmas. We did a lot of schooling with him since the last day.

Kopek Des Bordes jumps alone on his way to a comprehensive win
Kopek Des Bordes jumps alone on his way to a comprehensive win (Evan Treacy/PA)

“He’s put him in a lovely position, then the loose horse came and I knew what was going to happen, it set him mad as Paul doesn’t usually go on three furlongs out. The loose horse then ran wide at the second-last and Paul had to yank him back, but he still put in a huge jump at it. You’d think he’d have no trouble jumping fences after that.

“It was a tremendous performance. We thought he was good enough to win a bumper and win his hurdles, but you never know if a horse is this good. They’re Grade One material and very few horses show you that at home. They don’t show me anyway, I don’t ask them that many questions and let them show it on the racecourse.

“This fellow was a beautiful horse at the sales, he didn’t walk the way you’d probably want one to walk but with his pedigree, age, the scope and size of him, we took a chance on him.

“I don’t see any need to go up in trip because he’s going to need a very fast pace in his races.”

Slade Steel shows his mettle to rule supreme at Cheltenham

Slade Steel was an impressive winner of the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle as the 2024 Cheltenham Festival got under way.

Trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Rachael Blackmore, the 7-2 chance travelled in the middle of the field and stalked the leaders before mounting a challenge on the turn for home.

Then he began to pick off the horses ahead of him and jumped into the lead before accelerating again up the hill when strongly challenged by Mystical Power, taking top honours by a length and a half.

“I’m delighted with him, Rachael gave him a super ride and fair play to the Robcour team – they said Ballyburn has beaten us twice and we need to just avoid him, so that’s what we did and it’s worked out really well for us,” said De Bromhead.

Slade Steel (right) on his way to victory
Slade Steel (right) on his way to victory (Adam Davy/PA)

“It’s lovely to see young horses like him coming through, we’re very fortunate the support we get from everyone and thankfully we get the odd result.

“Cheltenham is an amazing, special place. We’ve had a lot of luck here and it’s a cliche, but it’s our Olympics and we’re lucky to be able to take part.

“You definitely breathe a sigh of relief (after having a winner). We’ve never won the Supreme before so I don’t know this feeling, but it’s good.

“When you’ve had one winner you want two, but we’re delighted to get one. He was one of our big hopes coming here and it’s great for the team.”

He added: “He has a high cruising speed, definitely. He just jumped a little bit slow today.

“He can be a bit lairy in front, so I’d say Rachael wouldn’t have minded being joined after the last. He looked to be going so well going to the last there was hope that it could happen (fight back on the run-in), I’m not saying I knew it would happen but there was hope he would get back.”

Blackmore – who in 2021 became the first woman to be crowned top rider at the Festival – said: “It’s unbelievable, I obviously love this place and it’s just amazing to be coming here, riding these brilliant horses. Henry trains them every year to come here and the way he does it is incredible.”

She added: “It’s what every jockey wants if they’re riding in the Supreme, to get that done. I knew I had a really good chance coming into the race and you’re just thankful that it’s happened.

“He’s a really tough horse, I think he’s got a massive future. He battled back well after the last and I think he won with a little bit in hand as well.

“I really was happy about running over two miles, especially after riding him in Leopardstown the last day.

“Prior to that, I maybe wouldn’t have been as confident, but the last day he jumped much sharper and travelled really well beside Ballyburn – he did things that suggested he could be 100 per cent in a two-mile race and I suppose with the ground going the way it has, that was a help as well.

“He tanked me down between the first and second, but then he relaxed and was relaxed for the rest of the race. He’s a dream ride really and very straightforward.

“I was headed after the last but I knew after two strides I was going to get there again. A lot can change between the last hurdle and the line here.

“I think the sky’s the limit for him. He’s just a very talented horse and he could be back here on the Friday (for the Gold Cup) some day, you never know.”

Cheltenham Festival 2024 – Champions Day – Cheltenham Racecourse
Slade Steel ridden by Rachael Blackmore (Mike Egerton/PA).

Mystical Power’s trainer Willie Mullins said: “He looked like he had come to win the race, but the winner just outstayed him. I’d say the winner was probably idling when he hit the front.

“It’s exciting that he was able to run so well on that ground, he will be much better on a better surface, we think. He’s come a hell of a long way since he made his debut in Ballinrobe.”

Mullins was also responsible for unplaced 11-4 favourite Tullyhill and added: “Tullyhill was disappointing. Paul (Townend) wasn’t happy with him from halfway, even going down to the start he wasn’t the usual Tullyhill.

“Asian Master ran a great race and he gave young Thomas Costello a great spin and he gave him every chance to win, I was very happy with him and Supersundae also ran well.

“You’d obviously like to get number one on the board sooner rather than later, but it’s great for Henry and great for Robcour.”

Tullyhill captains strong Supreme team for Mullins

Willie Mullins will be responsible for half of the field when saddling six runners in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and hopes are predictably high for a record-extending eighth success in the Cheltenham Festival curtain raiser.

The Closutton maestro first struck with Tourist Attraction way back in 1995 and has since prevailed with Ebaziyan, Champagne Fever, Vautour, Douvan, Klassical Dream and Appreciate It.

This year’s challenge is expected to be headed by Tullyhill, who was beaten at long odds-on when making his jumping debut in late November but has since posted a couple of impressive victories.

Mystical Power, a son of the great Galileo and former Champion Hurdle star Annie Power, is also at the head of the betting after winning the Grade Two Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle at Punchestown by seven lengths.

The Galway Races Summer Festival 2023 – Day One – Galway Racecourse
Mystical Power ridden by Mark Walsh winning at Galway (Niall Carson/PA).

French import Mistergif romped home by 18 lengths on his first start for Mullins at Limerick, while outsiders Asian Master, Gold Dancer and Supersundae complete the strong stable squad.

“I’m very happy with how all the team have travelled and arrived here, they’re all in good order,” said Mullins.

“Tullyhill disappointed with his jumping on his first run, but we got that sorted out and now he’s showing his true colours.

“Mystical Power has surprised us, his pedigree is starting to come out. At home, he doesn’t show that sort of form, but when he gets to the racetrack he’s a different beast.

“I just thought after what he’s shown us on the track, it was an easy decision to go for the two-mile race.”

A powerful raiding party from Ireland is further bolstered by Gordon Elliott’s Firefox, who was below par in Grade One company at Naas last time out but had previously enjoyed smooth successes at Down Royal and Fairyhouse, where he notably got the better of Ballyburn.

Elliott said: “I think the trip will suit him, he looks in good form and we’re very happy with him.

“He was obviously disappointing the last day, but you can put a line through that – he didn’t scope right and was lame after the race. He’s in good form now and we’re looking forward to running him.”

Henry de Bromhead sends over Navan Grade Two scorer Slade Steel and has opted to go for this two-mile contest in order to avoid facing last month’s Leopardstown conqueror Ballyburn.

“He’s done little wrong, we’re happy with him and he seems in good form,” commented the Waterford trainer.

“He seems pretty adaptable (trip-wise) and I suppose Ballyburn has beaten us a couple of times, so we said we’d take that view (of avoiding another clash) and that’s what we’re doing.”

Jeriko Du Reponet is rated the most likely home winner, with Nicky Henderson seeking to strike for the third time in five years after recent triumphs for Shishkin and Constitution Hill.

This five-year-old attracted strong ante-post support following two facile victories at Newbury and retained his unbeaten status when seeing off subsequent Dovecote scorer Lump Sum in the rearranged Rossington Main Novices’ Hurdle at Doncaster, albeit in a more workmanlike manner.

Henderson told Unibet: “He is unbeaten and ever since he arrived at Seven Barrows, this race was always where we wanted to end up.

“While he may not have looked visually impressive at Doncaster last time, the race wasn’t run to suit, but has subsequently worked out very well – and there is likely to be much more pace on here, which will play to his strengths.

“Obviously, the Irish squad will be very hard to beat, but I rather fear Jeriko may be the slightly forgotten horse and I’m very much looking forward to it.”

Newbury Races – Saturday December 30th
Jeriko Du Reponet in action at Newbury (David Davies/PA).

Ben Pauling’s Tellherthename bounced back from being pulled up on testing ground at Aintree over Christmas by securing a 14-length success at Huntingdon and connections insist he is not heading to Cheltenham just to make up the numbers.

“I’ve been delighted with him and we’re very excited,” said Pauling. “Touch wood and fingers crossed, we’ve got him there in great form and his preparations have gone well to date.

“He schooled well last Thursday and it’s just exciting to have one in the Supreme with a chance.”

Favour And Fortune has some solid form in the book, prevailing at Hereford and Wetherby before chasing home Jango Baie in the Grade One Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Liverpool and then finishing a close second to Mullins raider Fun Fun Fun at Exeter, although Alan King would rather be racing on a sounder surface.

He said: “I would prefer it if the rain didn’t arrive. He will be a much better horse on better ground. I promise you, the more the ground dries, the better his chance will be.

“I’m amazed he has done as well on the ground we have raced him on the last twice and Aintree was very tough and the same at Exeter. He’s such a good-actioned horse and he’s running well despite the ground.

“I bet he’s a 10lb better horse on decent ground – it was good to firm on his hurdles debut at Hereford and he loved that. I think it’s his class that keeps him in it on the testing ground.”

The field is completed by Irish longshot Kings Hill, who picked up a Thurles maiden win for Galway handler Paul Gilligan last month.

Cheltenham run not ruled out for Rare Edition

Rare Edition is reported to have scoped dirty following his second in the Sidney Banks, but Charlie Longsdon is willing to let him take his chance in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle providing he works well prior to the Cheltenham Festival opener.

The six-year-old won his first three outings over timber in impressive fashion and was sent off the 4-5 favourite to extend his winning run at Huntingdon last week.

Forced to make his own running in a muddling three-runner affair, he failed to pick up in his usual manner when challenged by Fergal O’Brien’s Marble Sands, who took advantage of Rare Edition’s off day to scoop the Listed prize.

Having not shown his usual zest, Longsdon is now keen to give him a thorough MOT before building up to the Festival – where the gelding will drop back to two miles if his homework sends out the correct signals.

“Rare Edition, he’s fine,” said Longsdon. “He didn’t scope quite clean after the race and I will get him investigated properly next week.

“I take nothing away from the winner because he’s a good horse, but he didn’t pick up like he usually does. Whether a muddling race didn’t suit him I don’t know, but a proper pace where he can sit in behind, he’ll jump better. He was looking around and everything and it just didn’t work.

Rare Edition ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies goes on to win the at Kempton on Boxing Day
Rare Edition ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies goes on to win the at Kempton on Boxing Day (John Walton/PA)

“He’ll be fine and if he works well before Cheltenham, he’ll go to Cheltenham. He’ll stick at two miles – a strongly-run two miles will be fine.

“I’m not too concerned (about the defeat), I just want to make sure he’s all right as he just looked a bit flat.

“We’ve still got four weeks (until Cheltenham) and I’ll get him properly checked over at the beginning of next week. We’ll just see and I’ll get him out in the field as much as possible – he will be all right.”

Meanwhile Longsdon is eyeing a return to Uttoxeter for the Midlands Grand National with Guetapan Collonges following the seven-year-old’s victory over Mister Coffey at the Staffordshire track on Saturday.

“He ran really well and he learnt a lot from running at Warwick,” continued Longsdon.

“He learnt a ton and therefore he was more streetwise for this. He was a baby in the Classic Chase and it was the making of him at Warwick.

“I would love to go back to Uttoxeter for something like a Midlands National, but I will leave that to Frank (Berry) and JP (McManus) and let them decide.

“He’s going the right way. I said after the Classic Chase he was a bit too weak at the moment, but he’s learning the whole time.”

Supreme engagement on the cards for L’Astroboy

Evan Williams could target the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival with L’Astroboy, who outran his odds to finish runner-up to Tahmuras in the Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday.

Adam Wedge’s mount, who had won a bumper at Ffos Las, beating Tahmuras by a neck on his debut in February, went into the Grade One contest on the back of a maiden hurdle success on the same Welsh track in November.

Sent off a 16-1 chance for the two-mile contest, the William and Angela Rucker-owned L’Astroboy stayed on under pressure to take the runner-up spot, some two and a half lengths behind the winner.

The six-year-old Kasmin gelding has taken the race well, according to his Llancarfan handler.

Williams said: “The horse ran well. We took a bit of a punt running in a race like that but I’ve no complaints whatsoever.

“He has run a very solid race. He still looked a work in progress in many aspects. You could only take positives out of it. You couldn’t in any shape or form be negative at all.”

With favourite Authorised Speed soon beaten and Irish raider Arctic Bresil pulled up, some were quick to crab the form of the eight-runner contest, which was run in soft ground.

“It was funny,” said Williams. “Before the race, everyone said what a good race it was. So, I read all these reports before the race about how hot a race it was, then I read the reports after saying what a poor race it was.

“So, what I am going to do, as always, is leave it to the experts in the press!”

Though L’Astroboy could take on Tahmuras again in the Sky Bet-sponsored Supreme on March 14, Williams is keen to let the dust settle before making any decision.

“I haven’t got a plan,” he added. “It was very sporting of the owners to have a crack at a Grade One after winning two races at Ffos Las.

“We are genuinely delighted with him and genuinely delighted with how he has come out of the race.

“I don’t think we will get too fixated on anything. We have got loads of options. He will be entered at Cheltenham in the two-mile race.

“I wouldn’t think we will go further at this stage, although he looks like he will stay further down the line. We will see if the experts are correct in their assumptions.

“I’m very lucky in that I have never, ever listened to anybody else’s opinion, I’ve only ever listened to mine – it has always served me well down the years!”

Monday Musings: Reflecting from the Sofa

Two years ago I happily trudged through four days of Cheltenham, impervious to the threat of Covid-19 which had yet fully to take a grip on this country, writes Tony Stafford. Allowing the meeting to go ahead was one of the biggest sticks the authorities had to deal with at that time as, by the weekend, lockdown was announced.

Last year’s eerie atmosphere when only the most closely connected – and the best of the well-tried chancers – were admitted went on without me and again last week I watched, by choice this time, the events unwinding from the sofa.

With an otherwise empty house it was no surprise that Champion Hurdle Day 2022 quickly morphed in my mind to 13 years earlier when Punjabi’s 33-1 win in the race was accomplished with barely a cheer from the chair:  just a smile of satisfaction.

When Honeysuckle made it two out of two in the race, and 15 out of 15 in all, the smile was just as wide and, like everyone else, my mind was scanning forward to next year as we’d already savoured the extraordinary performance of Nicky Henderson’s Constitution Hill in the Supreme.

Over the years Henderson’s best animals have all enjoyed better ground and the first day after a dry spell provided a surface that enabled a spectacular course record in that Festival opener. Not only that, Constitution Hill was much faster than Honeysuckle’s Champion Hurdle – a race where we hadn’t believed the gallop to have been in any way pedestrian.

Second home behind Honeysuckle and Dame Rachael Blackmore – if you could have Sir Terry Wogan, then why not? – was Henderson’s 2020 winner, Epatante. Afterwards, Nicky ceded greatness to the winner and great merit to his mare. It’s possibly easy to be charitable after witnessing a performance from one of your own horses that promises to keep you near the top for another few seasons, but it was nice anyway.

Coming to race seven on the opening day, the score was UK four, Ireland two and W P Mullins zero. And at that stage there were only 22 races still to be contested. Willie and son Patrick supplied a fuss-free winner of the astonishingly denuded six-horse field for the National Hunt Chase, but who could have thought he would win ten of those remaining races?

There is no question that he is the greatest trainer of jumping horses since his late compatriot Vincent O’Brien. The first master of Ballydoyle used to win Gold Cups, Champion Hurdles and Grand Nationals in the early post-War years in much the way Gary Moore knocks off little races around Plumpton and Fontwell.

The first inkling of what was to come was in the opener on Wednesday when Sir Gerhard strolled home in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle. Last year’s Festival Bumper hero carried what was to be the first of three Cheveley Park Stud victories during the week and he was possibly the least spectacular of the trio.

Energumene was the next major Mullins winner, but sadly the anticipated re-match with Shishkin failed to materialise, Henderson’s hitherto unbeatable young chaser never going a yard and pulling up.

As I hinted earlier, the Seven Barrows maestro’s horses are usually better on faster ground – not that Constitution Hill minds mud, he was just as impressive up Sandown’s hill in desperate going on his previous Grade 1 start; but I can imagine the trainer’s thoughts on that evening when the new clerk of the course John Pullin decided to water, even though rain was expected in many forecasts.

It was almost as though Willie Mullins had sent the boys round to demand a level playing-field. UK four, Ireland three. That’s unfair!

“I didn’t think we would be getting the rain we did,” paraphrases the beleaguered new boy’s response to turning the previously pristine acres to a midwinter Thurles peat bog. The die was cast and the tide turned irrevocably.

The nice runs continued, especially for Venetia Williams whose strength every season comes in muddy midwinter. Even if it may more usually be in January at Hereford or Haydock, the hurricanes can happen at Cheltenham too as L’Homme Presse showed with a fine performance in the three-mile Brown Advisory – the Sun Alliance for old-timers like me.

The next day Venetia sent out two long-priced handicappers in the Kim Muir. This race, happily restored as an amateur riders’ event post Covid, went to her Chambard, a 40-1 shot. She also supplied the 66/1 third, the 3,000-1 plus forecast only denied by joint-favourite Mister Coffey, yet another Henderson horse to impress.

The Irish did not exactly replicate their total monopoly of the handicaps as had been the case in 2021 but the old chestnut of allowing the always questionable form in France for qualification in handicaps reared its ugly head once more.

I mentioned last week that contrary to an alleged inside source, I doubted Colonel Mustard would be running against Sir Gerhard again, trainer Lorna Fowler being much too shrewd to waste her breath tilting at that particular windmill.

The County Hurdle had to be the answer. By the morning of the race Colonel Mustard was down to second favouritism, but the snag was that Mullins had State Man, a horse with only three runs on his card in the field.

A win in France as long ago as May 2020; a fall switched to Ireland when 8-13 for a maiden on Leopardstown’s St Stephen’s Day card and then a facile maiden romp at Limerick brought a 141 initial mark. Incidentally that put him 1lb higher than the well-tested and openly raced Colonel Mustard.

Lorna’s horse actually hit the front between the last two flights but you could see State Man galloping all over the field. While at the line it was less than a two-length margin over First Street, another fine run by a Henderson horse, with Colonel Mustard (in the conservatory with the lead pipe), battling on for third.

Mullins had already come out on top in the opening Triumph Hurdle. His Vauban always had the edge over the Gordon Elliott pair Fil Dor and Pied Piper with the rest, and therefore the home team, nowhere. It seems even before Vauban carried the resurgent and always on the box Mrs Ricci colours, the Melbourne Cup was being mooted. You wouldn’t put that past him either.

Five wins on the final day for Mullins did not prevent the 2021 star turn Henry de Bromhead striking back in the most emphatic way. Last year in the Gold Cup Minella Indo gained a big enough advantage over stablemate A Plus Tard to hold off Rachael Blackmore’s mount up the final hill.

This time, as the Betfair Chase at Haydock virtuoso performance prepared us for, it was Pas Trop Loin rather than later that French-mangling turfistes might have greeted the Cheveley Park-owned chaser.

Richard Thompson, once a prodigal son who was perceived as having wasted some of the family fortune as briefly chairman of Queen’s Park Rangers but now restored in the bosom of the Cheveley Park management, was centre stage all week. But on Friday mum Patricia was on hand for the starring role.

She is the nearest to my mind in non-Regal terms to the Queen Mother in her status in horse racing. This has been achieved, not only through these great horses – to which we can add Ryanair winner Allaho – but also the wonderful flat-race breeding and racing operation in Newmarket. Lest we forget, she owned Party Politics when he won the 1992 Grand National.

Now, by winning a Gold Cup and a Grand National, she emulates L’Escargot’s owner, Raymond Guest. He did win a Derby, too, with Sir Ivor. I think Messrs Haggas, Stoute and the rest better line up one for that classic before too long.

- TS

 

Novice Hurdles: What’s the Form Worth? Part 2

In my last article I discussed the relative merits of graded novice hurdle races in the UK and Ireland based on how well the horses involved performed over the next calendar year, writes Jon Shenton. You can find that here: https://www.geegeez.co.uk/novice-hurdles-whats-the-form-worth/

It wasn’t planned to be a two-part double header, but sheer volume of interesting takeaways has merited it, thus a sequel was hastily commissioned and here it is.

Before commencing it’s worth noting that I won’t be going into details regarding methodology of race scores, rankings and the like. All of that can be found in the original article, linked to above.

First things first, then: let's catch up on the two races from Part 1 which were highlighted as the most accomplished based on my race rankings. Both events have been contested since publication. Of course, it will only become apparent if the usual abundance of talent was present in a few months', or perhaps years', time but we need to have a better idea before then!

2020 Chanelle Pharma Novices' Hurdle (Leopardstown)

This race was comfortably the strongest novice hurdle based on the historical average race rating of 96+. This year's renewal had a very impressive winner who appears to have a strong chance of living up to the general quality of the race. Asterion Forlonge made easy work of, well, Easywork to win by over nine lengths from the Gordon Elliott-trained 5/4 jolly, extending Willie Mullins’ stranglehold on the race by extracting his seventh victory from the last eight renewals. The full result is shown below.

Both Asterion Forlonge and Easywork disputed the lead from the get-go, giving each other little peace throughout. The eventual victor galloped relentlessly, breaking his field one by one and finishing powerfully. A credible case could be constructed to even upgrade the performance given the contested pace and the seemingly tiring nature of the track on Sunday.

The Chanelle Pharma is a proven stepping stone for Mullins charges prior to tackling Cheltenham and it will be of significant interest to see where the winner rolls up in a few short weeks. Ordinarily the Supreme would be top of the list (the route taken by Klassical Dream, Vautour and Champagne Fever). However, the Donnelly’s, owners of Asterion Forlonge, have a decision to make given that the head of the Supreme ante-post market is fronted by their own Shishkin. Add in another Donnelly novice hurdler, The Big Getaway, and possibilities abound. It would be no surprise to see the yellow and black checkerboard silks in the winner's enclosure on more than one occasion, with Al Boum Photo adding a significant further string to connections' Cheltenham bow.

2020 Classic Novices' Hurdle (Cheltenham)

The second race that was discussed in Part 1, as it was ranked 2nd overall (with an average rating of 78) was the Ballymore Classic Novices' Hurdle on Cheltenham Trials day run at the end of January. The result is below:

 

In truth, it’s hard to assess the strength of this renewal at this stage. Overall, it seems fair to assert that the Irish novices appear to have to an edge over the British crop as things stand. Harry Fry, trainer of the second placed King Roland essentially confirmed this view by questioning his charges participation at the Cheltenham Festival based on not conceivably being able to defeat Envoi Allen. Of course, trainer talk should be often taken with a good pinch of salt and whilst beating the Envoi may be a stretch based on evidence thus far, there is still a case for the King to reign in the future.

Watching the race again, the horse was virtually left standing at the start and gave the early leader, House Island, a 20-length head start. More importantly, the eventual winner, Harry Senior, had a few lengths in hand too. King Roland then breezed into contention on the home turn but didn’t see it through, finally succumbing by three lengths.

The winner barrelled up the Cheltenham hill despite coming under pressure earlier than virtually every other horse in the race. Trained by Colin Tizzard, Harry Senior gave a strong impression that the longer three-mile test of the Albert Bartlett would suit. Consequently, this 6-year-old is on the dauphinoise end of my scale for the potato race shortlist.

 ***

Next time out races to follow

There are other races from Part 1 that are worth delving into, notably the Navan Grade 2 run in December, the Nathaniel Lacy (2m 6f) run at Leopardstown as part of the Dublin Racing Festival (both won by Latest Exhibition), and any other novice hurdle ran at Cheltenham. However, this time I want to assess the same races but in a slightly different way. Rather than following the races for a calendar year (like in Part 1), I thought that it may be of interest to appraise by only considering the horses' next time out (NTO) performances.

An important distinction is that Part 1 contained five years' worth of data, whereas the table below relates to the entire history of the race contained in horseracebase.com’s database, going as far back as the late 1990’s in some cases. I’ve used the “follow” capability from the big trends page on HRB to then manually compile this output.

The table below presents the data for next time out performances.

The columns starting with the notation “Win” show the fate of only the horses who won the race in question on their next outing. The columns beginning with “All” represent the performance of every runner that competed in each race on their next visit to a track. The data is sorted by the AllNextPL which shows the £1 level stake return if you’d backed every horse from the race next time out. The data is complete for races run up to January 16th 2020.

National Hunt Novices' Handicap Hurdle Final (Grade 3, Sandown)

Reviewing the “All” data in the first instance, perhaps surprisingly, at the top of the tree is the Grade 3 March Novice Handicap Final from Sandown.  Contested over 2m 4f, this event usually attracts a large field. In terms of measuring the subsequent overall form of the race it is on the lower end of the scale with a race rating of 46.6 (see Part 1) and isn’t generally a race to follow.

However, by checking race ranking data there are clues as to why this race might be of interest for NTO runners but not overall form. Using the same table format as part 1 here are the Sandown G3 Novice Handicap individual yearly race ratings and ranks.

Immediately, it can be seen that the ratings are relatively low due primarily to poor performance in subsequent Graded races: in total, 27 runs had followed in Graded company (GPrun), producing a solitary Grade 2 victory in 2017.  However, it is clear from the OthrW column that there is a healthy abundance of future winners exiting this race. It may be a case of quantity over quality for this event from a Graded perspective, but it remains a solid barometer.

This all makes a degree of sense; after all it is the one and only handicap on our list and it is usually staged the weekend before Cheltenham. Ergo, it may be a fair assertion that “not quite top level” novices are targeted at this race as an opportunity to secure a sought-after Graded prize. It is also plausible that a greater number of horses than average are well handicapped improving types given the novice element of the contest. So, even if it is not their day at Sandown in early March, they may still be in a strong position to strike next time.

Evaluating next time out performance by the class of race competed in demonstrates that the vast majority of animals drop several rungs of the ladder to class 3 or 4 races, and by and large perform competently at this earthlier level.

The elite level G1 results notwithstanding, the rest are solid. It must be stated, however, that there is outlying SP of 50/1 (Time For Rupert who finished 10th in the Sandown race and then won a Listed race at Aintree the following month) which obviously gives a flattering edge to the overall P&L number.

I’m not sure that I’d advise backing all runners coming out of Sandown blindly but, with a strike rate of over 23% for next time outers, I will certainly be adding horses from this race into my geegeez tracker for further evaluation.

Rossington Main Novices' Hurdle (Grade 2, Haydock)

Another race worth quickly noting due its recent running and propensity to deliver next time out winners (again, despite its relatively uninspiring race ranking) is the Grade 2 Rossington Main staged at Haydock. Horses exiting this event are 26/109 with a profit of £24.79 to £1 level stakes on their next run; that’s a better than 20% rate of return. That needs caveating with the fact that pickings have been slim in the past five years with only a handful of short price next time out winners. However, in the 2020 renewal, run at the end of January, the trio of Stolen Silver, Thebannerkingrebel and Edwardstone fought out a tight finish with all three looking to be the type to keep on your side. The first two named are entered in the Betfair Hurdle this Saturday.

Cheltenham Festival Novice Hurdles

For this edition most of the focus on novice hurdlers has been on evaluating a Graded race with an eye to its future form. But, of course, at this time of year all roads lead to Cheltenham, so as a final set of analysis below is a brief appraisal of the three Championship Novice Hurdle races staged at the Festival.

By understanding the routes that the winners have taken through their novice campaigns there may be some clues as to where to start looking for this year's bounty.

Supreme Novices Hurdle – 2 miles ½ furlong

First up is the Supreme: in a few weeks' time the Festival will open with a spine-tingling roar as the Supreme protagonists take their first steps toward potential fame and glory. Given its opening berth I suspect that more time and effort is expended on predicting the winner of the curtain-raiser than any other race over the course of the week (or is that just me?!). Other (more qualified) people will commit their thoughts to paper with interesting and informative race form previews, but the below table may offer some historical pointers on where to start evaluating the contenders.

The table is fairly basic, illustrating the winners of the Supreme, their SP and a record of all graded race performances in the same season prior to the Cheltenham event.  This campaigns winner has been added to build a ready-made shortlist for further analysis!

It is not a shock to note that there isn’t a single case over the past nine years where the winner of the Supreme has not already tasted Graded success during the same season. This is of interest, particularly as the head of the ante-post market at time of writing is the Nicky Henderson-trained Shishkin.

Shishkin has yet to dip his hoof into anything above Class 4 novice waters and, with only one entry before Cheltenham (a Listed race at Huntingdon), it’s very unlikely he’s going to get that Graded experience prior to the Festival. Stats and trends of course are there to be broken, and it may be that we have a trend buster in the making here. That said, whilst taking on a Hendo hotpot is not for the meek, I think I’d much rather side at the prices with a horse with greater experience - and winning Graded form - especially after referencing the data in the table above.

The Chanelle Pharma features prominently, three times in total, with the Mullins trio of Champagne Fever, Vautour and Klassical Dream all taking the Leopardstown G1 route to subsequent Prestbury Park glory. The complexity regarding the same ownership of Shishkin and Asterion Forlonge will play out in due course, no doubt. However, if they both line up on the big day my money will be on the latter: the Chanelle Pharma / Supreme double is historically compelling.

 

Ballymore Novices Hurdle – 2 miles 5 furlongs

Graded experience is again important in the case of the Ballymore. Aside from City Island last year, all winners have finished at least in the top two in a Graded event, the lone exception having taken the scenic route via an £11k Naas novice event. City Island's trainer, Martin Brassil, had had up to that point only two previous runners at the Festival which may explain the slightly unconventional path to victory.

In terms of the remaining winners, the Chanelle Pharma is preeminent again and, along with the Leamington, two victors have prevailed from each to take the Ballymore in the past nine years.

The current 2020 ante-post favourite, Envoi Allen, is a slim 5/4 poke largely due to being a dual-Grade 1 winner already this season. The market historically looks to be there or thereabouts too. It’s not a tip but in terms of ticking the boxes the Envoi appears to be an identikit winner

 

Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle – 3 miles

Finally, the gruelling three-mile trip of the Albert Bartlett has borne witness to some Hollywood-priced winners recently. All bar two (Minella Indo and Very Wood) had already tasted Graded victory in the same season, and even both of the non-Graded winners ran second in such an event.

Two horses prominent in the Albert Bartlett betting are the Willie Mullins trained-Monkfish and Colin Tizzard-conditioned The Big Breakaway. Like Shishkin in the Supreme, both animals lack Graded miles on the clock, leading to a question on whether they can step up to the Festival plate. In fact, thus far, neither have competed in any race close to Graded level.

Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find commonality in the routes to Albert Bartlett glory, with seemingly the whole array of novice races listed above. As mentioned previously, the names in the 2019/20 column are essentially a shortlist of potentially where to start more detailed analysis; although it could easily be argued that checking the market gives a similar result. Nevertheless, given the propensity for unfancied horses to win, my starting point in the spud race will be to evaluate the chances of some of the unheralded names in the table above, Redford Road perhaps being a case in point.

*

That’s it for this novice hurdle deep dive. I’ve enjoyed putting it together and it’s been highly educational in terms of attaining a greater appreciation of the novice roadmap and its leading pathfinders. Hopefully, it will result in some punting improvements too!

- JS