Road To Cheltenham reflects on the festive racing action, highlighting the performances that have shaped his early Cheltenham Festival fancies.
Cheltenham Festival
A week later than initially anticipated due to the inclement weather across Britain and Ireland, this column may be more beneficial given we’ve had early entries for both the Dublin Racing Festival and the Cheltenham Festival over the past seven days.
From that King George VI Chase on Boxing Day to an ‘under the radar’ victory in the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle on 11th January, I’ve landed on a few ante-post selections for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival – so let’s get straight down to business.
Marine The Machine To Retain His Crown
Solness claimed his third Grade 1 success at Leopardstown on 27th December but Barry Connell’s MARINE NATIONALE was the one to take out of the race. Having nearly parted ways with jockey Sean Flanagan at the second obstacle, it was remarkable to see him work his way back into contention and he went down narrowly in a fighting finish.
Joseph O’Brien had a successful Christmas period once again and he always has his horses in tiptop condition for that meeting. Like Marine Nationale, he was making his seasonal debut but both horses will have been fit enough given they were declared to start off in the Fortria Chase at Navan in November.
I see little coming through to challenge the defending champion and that is why I’m recommending Marine Nationale for the Champion Chase at 5/2. Majborough can’t be trusted, Sir Gino is going for the Champion Hurdle and there are doubts over Il Etait Temps around Cheltenham. If we get good ground in March, he’ll take some beating.
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Novice Hurdle Picture Remains Unclear
While the likes of EL CAIROS and TALK THE TALK put their hands up in the Supreme Novices Hurdle division, the state of the division is murky at best. El Cairos looked like an absolute machine when cruising into contention before falling at the final obstacle but did he beat a load of stayers? Only time will tell.
As for the Turners Novices Hurdle, it’s 16/1 the field outside of 4/1 favourite NO DRAMA THIS END and I can’t help but feel that I want to take the Paul Nicholls horse on. A little bit like FINAL DEMAND heading into last year’s Festival, I would be all over him in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle but I wonder if he’ll be tapped for toe in the 2m5f race.
One who could step up in that intermediate race is SKYLIGHT HUSTLE. If El Cairos is an out-and-out two miler, then one would imagine Gordon Elliott may wish to send his two best novice hurdlers in different directions. With that in mind, Skylight Hustle – a Grade 1 winner at Christmas – could line up in the Turners and he’d interest me at 20/1.
Does Final Demand Just Win?
A hugely talented horse with the world at his feet, FINAL DEMAND reminds me of 2021 Brown Advisory Novices Chase winner Monkfish and I wonder if he’ll just turn out to be a class above his rivals in March. That’s not to say I’d be punting him at his current price but I’m struggling to find an alternative angle at this stage.
KITZBUHEL was brilliant at Kempton but I’m not sure he’s a Cheltenham horse. I could see THE BIG WESTENER running a big race but she wants softer ground while the likes of WENDIGO and KOKTAIL DIVIN must step up. I do believe that the former is a proper stayer so if it became a real test, he could be bang in the mix.
The one I’d love to see line up here is ROMEO COOLIO but I just can’t see connections going down the three-mile route at this stage. If he lines up in the Grade 1 2m5f novice chase at the Dublin Racing Festival and wins, then I guess a conversation will need to be had but for now he looks booked for the Arkle at Cheltenham in my eyes.
Gold Cup Wide Open After Christmas
Gavin Cromwell took his time with INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN last season but there was at least improvement with each run, peaking in the blue riband race at Cheltenham in March. He showed little enthusiasm in the Savills Chase over Christmas and I’m happy to take him on, especially with a couple of new kids on the block.
THE JUKEBOX MAN and JANGO BAIE ran huge races in the King George VI Chase, with Ben Pauling’s runner coming out on top while Nicky Henderson’s mount was fourth but just half a length behind the winner. Both have been touted as Gold Cup runners while Betfair Chase winner GREY DAWNING will also head in that direction.
Looking back at the Savills, AFFORDALE FURY was well backed and he justified the market support to prevail. He’s unexposed and adds an interesting spice to the Gold Cup picture while dual Gold Cup winner GALOPIN DES CHAMPS ran a huge race on his seasonal debut and it would be foolish to write him off. The Irish Gold Cup beckons.
Sir Gino – Lossiemouth Double Is On… Isn’t It?
With SIR GINO beating Champion Hurdle winner Golden Ace by six lengths on his first outing for 364 days, Nicky Henderson’s stable star extended his unbeaten record to seven wins from seven races under rules and he is now a three-time Grade 1 winner. All being well, he is the one that they have to beat in the Champion Hurdle division.
We’ve seen enough of nine-time Grade 1 winner LOSSIEMOUTH to know by now that she is better over 2m4f and I’d be hopeful that Willie Mullins will send her to the race that she is most likely to win, no matter what price she is for the Champion Hurdle. 6/1 may look a big price but it means very little if she doesn’t win the race.
In fact, you can back the Sir Gino (Champion Hurdle) and Lossiemouth (Mares Hurdle) double at 6.7/1 with one firm and that offers reasonable value given both could easily be odds on come Festival week. With both horses set to run in the coming weeks, it’ll be interesting to see what happens in these two divisions.
Advised Bet: Champion Hurdle and Lossiemouth – Mares Hurdle (2pts WIN, 6.7/1)
RoadToCheltenham's Cheltenham Festival Selections:
- Marine Nationale – Queen Mother Champion Chase (2pts WIN, 5/2)
- Skylight Hustle – Turners Novices Hurdle (0.5pts E/W, 20/1)
- Sir Gino – Champion Hurdle and Lossiemouth – Mares Hurdle (2pts WIN, 6.7/1)
