Triumph Hurdle 2023: Cheltenham Festival Ante-Post Tips & Preview

The most prestigious juvenile event of the Cheltenham Festival is the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle which is the opener on the fourth and final day of the four-day meeting.

The Closutton maestro Willie Mullins has won two of the last three renewals and he could hold all the aces this time around with three of his intended participants taking up a good chunk of the ante-post market with all three respectively being first, second and third favourite.

Triumph Hurdle 2023 Runners and Preview

Exciting Lossiemouth a strong favourite

The star attraction, to most at least, who is ante-post favourite for the opener on day four is the exciting Lossiemouth (11/8). She cemented her position at the head of the lists when returning a good winner of the Grade 2 Knight Frank Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown by seven-and-a-half lengths on Boxing Day.

This filly, who won her only hurdle start in France, had taken the scalp of red-hot favourite and stablemate Zarak The Brave in the Grade Three Bar One Racing Price Boost Juvenile Hurdle on her hurdles debut despite being second-string to the latter and was then sent off a short-priced to remain unbeaten over the Christmas period.

Her stablemate Gala Marceau, who was making her first start for Willie Mullins after two wins in France, tried to give chase but Lossiemouth proved far too strong for her on the day and bookmakers were impressed by her performance, cutting her price into an even shorter price than she already was beforehand.

She jumped and travelled well under a confident Paul Townend ride and her next intended target will be at the Dublin Racing Festival - the Spring Juvenile Hurdle, where she is 1/2 favourite to potentially retain her unbeaten record and head to Cheltenham with an excellent chance. If she passes that test with flying colours, it will be tough to see her beaten in March.

Coincidentally, all the front three in the market for the Triumph Hurdle are in that exact order in the ante-post market for the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival as well.

Blood Destiny a big danger

Lossiemouth’s biggest danger at Cheltenham might come in the shape of her stable companion Blood Destiny (9/2) who also won on his debut for Willie Mullins and clocked some decent numbers when he eased to an 18-length success at Fairyhouse last time.

The form of his second in France behind Bo Zenith has subsequently been let down by the winner, who disappointed on debut for the Gary Moore team but he has brushed aside 27 horses in both starts for Willie so far and could easily end up being a big player with more to come.

Could Gala Merceau reverse the form with the favourite?

An even bigger challenge could emerge from Gala Marceau (10/1) though, who won both her hurdle starts in France, including a Listed event, and did shape with bundles of promise on stable debut. She is twice the odds of Blood Destiny and is of some interest.

She was making her stable debut in a Grade 2 behind Lossiemouth and despite not being all that fluent and having raced keenly throughout, she travelled well for a long way and kept on for a clear second and is sure to improve on that performance next time.

She is likely to meet her two stablemates at the Dublin Racing Festival unless Willie plans to split them, which would make logical sense in my opinion. If she does take up the formerly-mentioned race though and somewhat improves enough to reverse the form, I can see her going favourite for the Triumph.

At this stage, it is hard to pinpoint which one of three will be the big hopeful at the Cheltenham Festival but the conclusion of the Spring Juvenile Hurdle is likely to provide a clearer outlook. I like Lossiemouth but she doesn’t really tempt me at the moment from an ante-post perspective and marginal preference goes to Gala Merceau at the current odds.

The Joseph O’Brien-trained Comfort Zone has won two of his three starts over hurdles and marginally justified favouritism at Chepstow when beating Dixon Cove by a neck. The pair are set to meet again on Trials day at Cheltenham and it’ll be interesting to see who finishes in front of who with both their Triumph Hurdle credentials on the line. I like the profiles of both horses but whether they can win a Triumph, I am not sure.

Paul Nicholls’ Rare Middleton an interesting entry

Although it wasn’t much of a race and he didn’t exactly stride clear of the runner-up, I was quite taken with the performance in general from Rare Middleton (33/1) on his hurdles/stable debut at Taunton. He wasn’t foot-perfect in the jumping department but he was clever in correcting himself and won under a very confident ride by Harry Cobden.

His rider was never required to draw the whip and he had loads left in the bonnet come the finish. I have heard reports that his next target might be the Adonis at Kempton. If that’s the case, and he was to remain unbeaten, he could be Paul Nicholls main Triumph Hurdle hopeful. His stablemate Afadil won over the same course-and-distance and Rare Middleton recorded a six-seconds overall quicker time.

He ran twice in Ireland on the Flat, finishing second of 24 on his debut before going one better at Leopardstown next time. He was sold to Paul Nicholls for a huge sum and his only entry at the Cheltenham Festival is the Triumph Hurdle as well. It is possible he could be saved for Aintree but he’s a big rangey horse, who could be suited to Cheltenham’s undulations, so at a wild price, he is one I am interested in here.

Knight Salute progressed through the ranks last season and went onto land the Grade 1 Jewson Anniversary four-year-old Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree and while he ultimately was below-par in the Triumph Hurdle, he developed into one of the best juvenile hurdlers of the season.

Scriptwriter has a good each-way chance for Milton Harris

The reason I have mentioned him is because his trainer Milton Harris has stated numerous times that Scriptwriter (16/1) is a better horse of the two and I think there is plenty of juice still in his price for the Triumph Hurdle, at least before the weekend anyway, as if he were to win the other Triumph Hurdle trial on Saturday, he’ll probably be the leading UK representative heading into that race this season.

He landed the Grade 2 JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle at this course at the November meeting, a race he had won with Knight Salute a season earlier. Scriptwriter made no mistake in repeating the feat for the Wiltshire-based handler having previously won on his hurdles debut at Sedgefield before taking that rise up the ladder in that Grade 2 event.

He travelled really well and was given a patient-confident ride by Paddy Brennan, as he produced his mount in between rivals approaching the final flight and, despite stumbling slightly on the landing side, the manner in which he quickened up the hill to hold off the late challenge of Perseus Way was impressive. He wandered off a true line on the run-in but once straightened up, he found another gear to pull away from the field.

He is a 7/2 chance to take this weekend’s opener on Trials Day and he will be joined by Comfort Zone and Dixon Cove, who were first and second in the Coral Finale at Chepstow that I have alluded to. In that race was Perseus Way, who was back in third, and he was two lengths behind the pair at the finish.

The thing is, Perseus Way was hampered and was closing on the pair at the line but, at Cheltenham on hurdles debut, Scriptwriter was pulling away from that same rival, and has the form at the course in his favour as well which is vital.

Unless I am missing something, Milton Harris’s charge should be a clear favourite for this weekend's race and his connections are bullish about his chances. Another comparison between himself and Knight Salute is that the latter was only rated 75 on the Flat, whereas the former horse is rated 102 in that sphere and was plying his trade in group events towards the end of his time with former boss Aidan O’Brien.

He is sure to have learnt a lot from his victory at this course and has room for improvement in the jumping department too. Furthermore, he contested a race on the all-weather since at Wolverhampton and despite going off 11/1, he defied top-weight to collect the spoils and maintain his winning sequence, which was extended to three wins from three starts.

The general 16/1 odds about Scriptwriter’s chances in the opener of the fourth day of the Cheltenham Festival could seem fair value if he can extend his unbeaten record to three in this sphere this weekend. I think he will be hard to beat, as not only is the only runner with course experience but also winning form as well, so he is therefore excellent each-way value at this stage for the Triumph Hurdle at double-figure odds.

Triumph Hurdle Ante-Post Tips

With Willie Mullins having a stranglehold on the ante-post market at this stage for the Triumph Hurdle, it is hard to ignore the claims of his possible runners, especially the current favourite Lossiemouth, who was mightily impressive last time and bids to give owner Rich Ricci another winner in this race having won it last year with Vauban.

He doesn’t appeal to be any value though, so I am going to take a chance on the Milton Harris-trained SCRIPTWRITER (best price 16/1) who makes a lot of each-way appeal at the odds. He is unbeaten in two starts over hurdles and made it three wins from three starts for his stable when winning on the Flat at Wolverhampton last month, proving his durability across both codes.

He goes in the Trial race this weekend, where he will meet Comfort Zone, Dixon Cove and Jupiter Du Gite, who all put their Triumph Hurdle credentials to the test as well. All three of these lack Cheltenham form and it is worth noting that Comfort Zone is only rated 84 on the Flat, whereas Scriptwriter is rated 102 and won last time off that mark in that sphere.

He will be one of the highest-rated Flat horses to contest a Triumph Hurdle and could end up being a single-figure price if he wins on his next start. I think Gary Moore’s Jupiter Du Gite is too short for the Triumph at his odds despite clocking some decent numbers when winning easily on his hurdles debut at Newbury. He could be above-average but I have a feeling his hurdles debut win was too good to be true.

I will also nominate RARE MIDDLETON (best price 33/1) as an each-way bet in the Triumph Hurdle. He won with more in hand than the winning margin indicated on his hurdles debut at Taunton and will improve enormously from that performance.

He could go for the Adonis next on February 25th and if successful in that race, his massive odds won’t last long for this possible target. The Champion trainer Paul Nicholls holds him in high regard and he is an exciting addition to the juvenile ranks.