Cheltenham Festival 2024 Tips: Week 9 Road to Cheltenham Preview

The end of this week sees the calendar page turned to March and, as such, things wind down on the racing front. However, that’s not to say there is nothing to wet our appetites as Newbury host a two day fixture alongside Kelso’s Morebattle Hurdle day. 

Indeed, the latter is now worth over £100,00 and has an impressive roll of honour. Most memorably, Emmet Mullins’ The Shunter won the 2021 rendition before being successful in the Festival Plate just 12 days later. He followed that with a 2nd in a Grade 1 Novice chase at Aintree behind Protektorat before finishing 3rd in a Punchestown handicap hurdle to exemplify his trainers unorthodoxy. 

Interestingly, the 3rd that year was Faivoir who also finished 3rd in 2022 and won last year’s County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. 

Last year’s 3rd L’Eau Du Sud is also trained by Dan Skelton and nominated as one of his best chances this year for the same race - he is a best priced 14/1 for on Unibet. The Grade 2 Premier Novice Hurdle and the Listed Premier Chase help complete a fantastic card up North. 

Which Cheltenham Festival entries will we get this week? 

This week is the final week for Cheltenham Festival entries with only the Cross Country, the Champion Bumper and the Hunters Chase left to reveal. However, we will also learn the weights for the nine handicap races at the Festival.

As usual the entries will be released on Tuesday (27th). Perhaps most interesting of the entries is the Cross country with a host of horses in the betting not certain to run. Conflated is still prominent in the betting despite his owners suggesting that he will be aimed at the Ryanair instead.  

It will be interesting if Festival winner Stattler is given an entry too after disappointing in a banks race behind Coko Beach at Punchestown. Mouse Morris’ Foxy Jacks won at over course and distance in November, beating subsequent winner Latenightpass, but he has also been qualified for the Pertemps Final on the following day and so it will be interesting to note if connections leave him in the Cross Country as well. 

As usual, Willie Mullins has a host of horses in the betting for the Champion Bumper including Jasmin De Vaux, Maughreen and You Oughta Know. He spoke favourably of the latter in a recent stable tour but it will also be interesting if recent Navan winner Cantico is given an entry. 

Ferns Lock heads the betting for the Hunter Chase whilst last year’s 2nd It’s On The Line and 2022 winner Billaway are also expected to be given entries after being separated by a neck at Naas.  

Cheltenham Festival 2024 Tips

This week I’ve taken a look at the Turners Novices’ Chase market which is left in tatters after Willie Mullins confirmed Fact To File’s target to be the Brown Advisory the day before. 

Race favourite Ginny’s Destiny (5/2 on bet365) does very little wrong. He’s won three times at Cheltenham this season making all very time. He’s uncomplicated, jumps well from the front and has a battling attitude. He has a similar attitude to last year’s winner Stage Star in that he’s graduating from the Timeform Handicap chase on Trials Day to this Graded contest. I have no doubt that he will go close from a front running Harry Cobden ride. However, at a price of 5/2, I’m happy to look elsewhere. 

A lot is made that the Turners is the only novice chase to be run on the New Course. With a longer run-in and wider bends, the emphasis is undoubtedly more on stamina than the old course. 

However, I do think this comparison is overplayed, and when looking at some of the previous runnings of this race, many have excellent 2 mile form. Samcro was 2nd in the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth, Melon was 2nd in two Champion Hurdles, Defi Du Seuil won the Triumph and was latterly favourite for next year’s Queen Mother, while Yorkhill won the Tolworth and Top Notch was 5th in the previous year’s Champion Hurdle. 

The widely known features of the new course has led many to overlook that a good deal of speed is needed to win a race only run over 2m 3f 168 yards. As such, I have taken a great deal of interest in both Zanahiyr and Sharjah. The latter is now 11 but has shown a high level of form this season. 

After two chase wins in August and October, in which he jumped exceptionally well, he was a close up third in a Grade 1 at Leopardstown over Christmas as well as a running on 4th at the Dublin Racing Festival. Having finished only three lengths behind Constitution Hill in last year’s Aintree Hurdle, I have no doubt about his current ability. 

The only qualm I have of him is his racing position. Sharjah is nearly always held up out the back, running on late to collect the pieces. This helps to ensure he will be in the frame in most of his races but hold up horses have a dreadful record in this race which is often slowly run. 

Therefore, I marginally side with the former horse ZANAHIYR who is the younger of the pair, aged only seven. He has similar form as many of the above in his Triumph and Champion Hurdle placings and also runs far more prominently than Sharjah which seems key for this race. Although he didn’t jump perfectly at Thurles last time out, the race got a very good time figure and Thurles offers a notably difficult jumping test, something that will be lessened at Cheltenham I believe. 

This is the ninth of 10 Road to Cheltenham round-ups running each Monday from 1st January until 4th March, featuring ante-post tips every week! 

See below for Jamie Radford’s ante-post tips in the Road to Cheltenham 2024 series, as well as Cheltenham tips from Architect for eight races so far.

This week’s Cheltenham Ante-Post Tips 

• Zanahiyr @ 25/1 (1pt Each-Way) – Turners Novices’ Chase