Jake Price gives his review of the week's racing, plus provides his ante-post selection for the 2026 Albert Barlett.
Cheltenham Festival 2026
The past week has once again provided an abundance of Cheltenham Festival clues, and with Trials Day this weekend followed by the Dublin Racing Festival the week after, there are only going to be plenty more to come. This week I will be reviewing some the key action over the past seven days with my Ante-Post hat on, as well as highlighting all of the significant recent news.
WEEK IN REVIEW
We start our review of the week at Fairyhouse last Wednesday, where PROACTIF made a winning debut against his stablemate MACHO MAN. Plenty of positives can be taken from both the Willie Mullins Juveniles, but it was the JP McManus charge who raced at the head of affairs. He was pestered for the lead by Combs, but after shaking that rival off, he still had enough left in the tank to hold the fast-finishing Donelly horse. Both 4yos will surely come on for the run, but when that will be has to be up for debate considering it is only a 17-day turnaround to the Grade 1 Spring Juvenile at the Dublin Racing Festival. It is interesting to note that both of these horses received a Supreme Novices’ Hurdle entry on Tuesday.
In the very next race BAMBINO FEVER got off the mark over hurdles with an easy 12 length success. She very much justified her odds of 1/10f with a good jumping display, but she will likely have to go straight to the Cheltenham Festival off the back of two runs considering she did not receive an entry for the Solerina Mares Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse this weekend.
Thursday perhaps provided the best Maiden Hurdle performance we have seen in some time however, as Willie Mullins and JP McManus teamed up once again with MIGHTY PARK. A non-runner at Limerick over Christmas due to Colic, he recorded a relentless victory from the front – pulling 38 lengths clear of the second Roc Dino who himself was a French recruit with a decent enough reputation. Racing Manager Frank Berry stated after the race that another run would ‘mean a great deal’ to this 5yo, so the big question is where will that run be. Perhaps the most appropriate race is the Listed Sheila Bourke Novice Hurdle, run over 2m on the 15th February at Punchestown.
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One performance to have caution over came from WINSTON JUNIOR, who absolutely hacked up in the opening Juvenile Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday. Considering he was already favourite for the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, not coming off the bridle when winning is not something you really want to see if you are a backer. Bookmakers were quick to cut him into 11/2f for the race, but the assessor has duly whacked him with a 7lbs rise which increases his mark from a juicy 124 all the way up to a tricky 131. If you are already on at a bigger price then great, but he is one I would now avoid with plenty of Irish challengers yet to emerge.
By far the performance of the week came at Haydock on Saturday though, with OLD PARK STAR absolutely hacking up in the Grade 2 Rossington Main Novices’ Hurdle. Having won impressively at Cheltenham in December, he passed his litmus test against some nice types with flying colours. After a few nudges down the neck from Nico de Boinville, he flew up the run-in to record an 18-length success over the useful Hurricane Pat. Nicky Henderson’s youngster is a deserving 9/4f for the Supreme after what can only be described as the stand-out Novice Hurdle performance of the season so far.
Back at Ascot I was very happy to see LA CONQUIERE sent off evens favourite for the Grade 2 Warfield Mares Hurdle against her elders, but I have to say that I was left slightly disappointed with the result. Clearly she still ran a big race in finishing second to the vastly more experienced Ooh Betty when only beaten half-a-length despite having to give away 2lbs, but it did feel like a missed opportunity to be a real shortener in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. The handicapper thinks she stepped forward for that run as he put her up 5lbs to a mark of 133, so drifting her out to 16/1 for Cheltenham is a probably a little harsh. She will still go there with her chance, so hopefully she puts this experience to good use.
We will finish off by looking at the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase, where the most important news was that IL ETAIT TEMPS got back to his feet following a nasty fall at the penultimate flight. The Willie Mullins raider never looked himself throughout the race, and I thought he seemed to struggle to jump out of the soft ground – similarly to that of Vincenzo earlier on the card. Hopefully he will have enough time now to bounce back in the Champion Chase.
Away from the favourite, Dan Skelton’s THISTLE ASK ran a belter from the front and certainly left his rivals with little hiding place. If he were mine then I would definitely be having a crack at the Champion Chase, as the Old Course at Cheltenham suits front runners, and the race is also run over a distance of over a furlong shorter. Eventually however he was run down, with JONBON looking entirely outpaced before his stamina kicked in. Nicky Henderson has since come out and stated that the 2m5f Grade 1 Ascot Chase is next on the agenda for him, and should that race come too soon, then it would be straight to the Ryanair instead. That is great news for our selection all round.
NEWS ROUNDUP
We get plenty of news updates regarding Cheltenham horses on a daily basis this time of year, so in this section I will round up all of the most important bits which you may have missed. The main story so far this week surrounds entries for the Grade 1 Novice Hurdle and Novice Chase events, where Willie Mullins had fun on the buttons with FOU DE TOI. He eventually was only left in the Turners, leaving his Supreme Ante-Post backers with heads in hand (not for the first time). Elsewhere OLD PARK STAR, EL CAIROS and IDAHO SUN were only given the Supreme as an option, whilst exciting French Juveniles MATIN MIDI ET SOIR (now with Henry de Bromhead) and LEOPARD DU BERLAIS (still in France) were not entered in the Triumph. In the Albert Bartlett, both CONMAN JOHN and CRYSTAL ISLAND were two surprise omissions.
There has been plenty of movements in the Irish Arkle market at the Dublin Racing Festival this week too, with ROMEO COOLIO assuming favouritism. Gordon Elliott stated on Monday that no decision has been made as to which race he runs in at Leopardstown, and Patrick Mullins moved on Tuesday to say that they are ‘hoping’ KOPEK DES BORDES makes it to the DRF. It will be very interesting to see if he does, following that set-back which ruled him out of the Christmas period. Among some of Gordon Elliott’s other updates were that HONESTY POLICY may run in the Grade 2 Boyne Hurdle on the way to the Stayers, whilst KALA CONTI is a possible for the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novice Chase at Sandown on the 31st January. Back across the Irish sea, sadly LUMP SUM has been ruled out for the rest of the season by master trainer Sam Thomas.
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THE WEEK AHEAD
I am buzzing to get back to a racecourse on Saturday for Trials Day at Cheltenham, and there will be plenty of Festival clues on offer. French raider THELEME will bid to defy an 805-day absence when he makes his extremely long-awaited return in the Grade 2 Cleeve Hurdle, having been a popular Ante-Post pick for the Stayers Hurdle for at least the past two seasons. In the Triumph Trial MAESTRO CONTI will bid to defend his unbeaten record, whilst SIR GINO is the star attraction of the day in the Grade 2 Unibet Hurdle – where he is set to face off against THE NEW LION and potentially Willie Mullins’ PONIROS. It is a shame we picked the wrong race for ACT OF INNOCENCE however, as he is entered in the Grade 2 Classic Novices’ Hurdle over 2m4½f and bids to put his Turners credentials on the line.
Over in Ireland one very interesting entry to keep an eye on is DOCTOR DU MESNIL, who is entered in a 2m2½f Maiden Hurdle at Naas on Sunday. He also holds an entry in the 2m6f Grade 1 Nathaniel Lacey Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival, but we could be set to see him a week earlier instead.
CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL ANTE-POST SELECTION
Continuing the theme of Novice Hurdlers on the week where entries were made, I think that the rock-solid option and obvious shortener in what is currently quite an underdeveloped Albert Bartlett market is DOCTOR STEINBERG – and to me he looks like Willie Mullins’ best chance of landing this gruelling contest at what is admittedly an early stage.
He did not set the world alight as a Bumper horse, but when stepped up in trip to 2m5½f for a Maiden Hurdle at Galway towards the end of October he absolutely relished jumping obstacles over a longer trip. It was a decent enough race for the time of year, but under Paul Townend our selection beat Frankie John by 5.5 lengths – and that rival is now rated 129 in Ireland having subsequently placed in Grade 3 company before winning his Maiden Hurdle.
When they stepped DOCTOR STEINBERG up into Grade 2 company for the Navan Novice Hurdle at the beginning of December, he really showed what he could do. Despite the ground being described as Soft to Heavy, he again relished the stamina test. Making all of the running under Danny Mullins, he easily lengthened away from Thedeviluno – who is rated 134 in Ireland and could yet boost the form this weekend in either the Classic at Cheltenham or the River Don at Doncaster. An easy 4.75 length success over a horse like that certainly marks you down as a Grade 1 performer.
Our selection will get his chance to show what he can do at Grade 1 level in the 2m6f Nathaniel Lacey Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival at the end of the month, and looking at the entries, he will have every chance of doing so. The Ante-Post favourite is currently Doctor Du Mesnil who as mentioned may run this weekend instead, whilst the vibes surrounding second favourite You Proof have been less than positive. You then get to Tackletommywoowoo, who with all respect in the world, should not be troubling true Grade 1 performers.
Even if DOCTOR STEINBERG was to run in the Nathaniel Lacey and get beat by a horse like Doctor Du Mesnil, he could still enhance his Albert Bartlett claims if staying on strongly into second or third however, and as such he rates a smart Ante-Post play in my eyes. I really expect this horse to improve massively for a step-up in trip to three miles in the future as he is a proper grinder, and you would imagine that is the way that Willie Mullins is thinking as well. The latest shortener in the race is Espresso Milan, but he hasn’t shown anywhere near to the same level of form.
2026 CHELTENHAM BETS SO FAR
HONESTY POLICY – Stayers Hurdle @ 16/1 – Now 9/2
ACT OF INNOCENCE – Supreme @ 20/1 – Now 50/1
MANGE TOUT – Triumph @ 10/1 – Now 10/1
LA CONQUIERE – Mares Novice @ 12/1 – Now 16/1
JONBON – Ryanair @ 16/1 – Now 8/1
DOCTOR STEINBERG – Albert Bartlett @ 16/1 – Now 16/1
