Check out Jake Price's weekly racing column and his Cheltenham ante-post tips for the Martin Pipe and County Hurdle.
Cheltenham Festival 2026
There has been almost too much rain around lately, but Newbury on Saturday was able to provide us with plenty more Cheltenham Festival clues – albeit on very testing ground. As ever, I will be reviewing all of the recent action with my Ante-Post hat on, before discussing the recent news updates which include Cheltenham Festival scratchings made on Tuesday.
WEEK IN REVIEW
We start the review of the week on Thursday at Huntingdon, where our once Supreme selection ACT OF INNOCENCE lined up in the 2m3½f Listed Sidney Banks Memorial Novices’ Hurdle at Huntingdon. He did it nicely when clearing away from his rivals to score by 3.75 lengths, but there will be no repeat of Shishkin who took this race on his way to the Supreme, as he was scratched from that race on Tuesday. Instead, he will run in the Turners Novices' Hurdle, for which he is priced at 12/1. If only I had picked out the right Nicky Henderson Supreme horse back in December!
We will swiftly move onto Saturday next, where SOBER GLORY was an impressive winner of the opener at Newbury in testing conditions. Harry Cobden very much controlled the race from the front, but I loved the way that after Kadastral got to his girths when the tempo slowed, he was able to extend away again to score by a massive 27 lengths. He has been backed into 14/1 for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, but you do feel he would need heavy ground to be seen to best effect.
One of the highlights of my Saturday came in the 4YO Rated Hurdle at Naas on Saturday, as our Fred Winter selection SARATOGA ran a great race in his third and qualifying start for the Cheltenham handicap. Gordon Elliott’s Filly HIGHLAND CRYSTAL was a game winner and looks a nice type in her own right, but I did have a slight worry that our selection was going to win up the run in. Thankfully Mark Walsh got him into the bottom of the last and was able to claim second place instead, and we are now in a brilliant position as he is into 5/1 for the Day 1 Juvenile race.
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I really enjoyed the performance of STEEL ALLY in the Grade 2 Oddschecker Kingmaker Novices’ Chase up at Warwick on Saturday, and he has made his way into Arkle Chase equations off the back of a 10-length victory. Elsewhere at Newbury HAITI COULEURS ran out a very professional winner of a below-par Denman Chase, but he would not be too far up my Gold Cup shortlist at this stage.
Perhaps the most significant performance of the weekend came from LULAMBA, who ran in the Grade 2 Game Spirit Chase at Newbury despite there being plenty of ground concerns beforehand. The Arkle favourite did not blot his copybook however, as despite looking in a bit of trouble when niggled along turning for home, he went on to impressively draw away from his more experienced rivals by 6.5 lengths. He is the one to beat in March, but it was good to see KOPEK DES BORDES school over fences at Punchestown last week, as he continues his unorthodox preparation.
We will end the review section at Navan on Sunday, where OSCARS BROTHER ran out an impressive winner of the Grade 2 Ten Up Novice Chase. Despite a smart performance he was not the main talking point though, as second placed THE WALLPARK was all the rage on X. The Irish assessor saw it fit to drop him 1lb to a mark of 142 for that eye-catching effort, but those who have dockets for the NH Chase will want to tread carefully – as the BHA are able to take into account his latest hurdles rating of 155, which may rule him out of any 0-145 contests.
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 scratchings for the Cheltenham Festival early closing races, and amongst the surprise names who won’t be turning up in March are YOU PROOF, STRONG LEADER, FIRE WARNING, DAVY CROCKETT and CARLENRIG. Meanwhile unless they go for a handicap then EL FABIOLO, JIMMY DU SEUIL, NEMEAN LION, LOVE ME TENDER, JUBILEE ALPHA and HIDDENVALLEY LAKE will also not be in attendance.
Elsewhere on Tuesday entries were revealed for the Mares Novices’ Hurdle and Mares Chase events, but there were no real surprise omissions outside of Sunday’s easy Navan winner ZANOOSH. Away from the admin side of things, JANGO BAIE will go straight to the Gold Cup after missing his engagement in the Denman Chase at Newbury, whilst INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN is not guaranteed to defend his crown, with Gavin Cromwell saying that plans are still up in the air.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Among the most exciting names entered over the weekend is IMPAIRE ET PASSE, who could make his long-awaited return to the track in the Grade 2 Red Mills Chase at Gowran on Saturday. That race would set him up nicely for a tilt at the Ryanair Chase, and perhaps he could then return to Aintree afterwards. Another face we may see this weekend for the first time in a while is KAWABOOMGA, but with only three hurdles starts under his belt, we are unlikely to see him at the Cheltenham Festival this season.
One of our selections who may well end up running on Saturday is JONBON, who is best priced 8/15 for the Grade 1 Ascot Chase over 2m5f. He really does only have PIC D’ORHY to beat, but if he kicks him aside as the odds suggest, then he would certainly be a live contender for the Ryanair Chase. Another JP McManus horse that we will not being seeing this weekend however is MIGHTY PARK, who did not receive an expected entry in the Listed Sheila Bourke Novice Hurdle at Punchestown on Sunday.
| Ryanair Chase Winner | Best NRNB Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Fact To File | 1/1 | bet365 |
| Gaelic Warrior | 7/4 | Betfred |
| Jonbon | 5/1 | William Hill |
| Heart Wood | 8/1 | Betfred |
| Banbridge | 10/1 | bet365 |
There are plenty of horses who will be looking to get their final qualifying runs in this weekend too, and I have tried to compile a list of the most exciting ones to my eye. Looking towards the Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap Chase, the likes of SHUFFLE THE DECK, LOVELY HURLING, JALILA MORIEVIERE, KISS WILL, SOLDIER IN MILAN and BALLYGUNNER CASTLE could all qualify – noting that the 2m7f Beginners Chase at Punchestown on Sunday does not meet the 2m7½f condition specified for the NH Chase.
YEAH MAN has been put into the Red Mills Trial Hurdle over 2m to get his fifth and qualifying run in for the Pertemps Final, whilst RELIEVED OF DUTIES has been entered up to get his fourth run in for the Grand Annual. Jimmy Mangan’s PURE STEEL could also get a fourth run in, which would qualify him for the Plate and Grand Annual. In terms of the Fred Winter, MADNESS D’ELLE and MANOIR DE MIRANDE could book their tickets to Prestbury Park.
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CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL ANTE-POST SELECTIONS
The first of two selections this week comes in the County Hurdle, where the market has taken a bit more shape in the past week or so. Following Live Conti being ruled out of the race due to injury, Murcia has assumed favouritism – but my worry with her is whether the Dublin Racing Festival was her day, as she was Paul Townend’s only handicap ride of the whole weekend. I Started A Joke could go up in trip, and Khrisma is yet to qualify.
Willie Mullins is the king of this race having won five of the past ten renewals, and you would have to say that the race is much harder to win now that Novices’ need to have had five starts over Hurdles to even qualify. Instead, the new trend might to be to look at low mileage second season hurdlers like Kargese 12 months ago, and one who very much fits that bill is KARBAU.
This 6yo was recruited from France last season, and after finishing fourth in a Maiden Hurdle over 2m3½f on debut, he then absolutely bolted up by 16 lengths at Punchestown in January to book his ticket to Cheltenham. He was one of five Willie Mullins sent to the Supreme, but he very much disappointed when only able to finish in tenth place on the Old Course.
It was what he did for the rest of the spring that marks him down as a serious contender for Handicap Hurdles this year however, as at Aintree he again was chucked into Grade 1 waters for the Top Novices’ Hurdle. He looked a completely different horse that day, and in the end he rallied for third behind Salvator Mundi (156) and Romeo Coolio (150) – only beaten a length by Gordon Elliott’s marked improver over fences.
Following his great effort at Aintree he ended his season at Punchestown when badly hampered by a fading Kopek Des Bordes, but he still ran another solid race when finishing in third behind Irancy (151) and the re-opposing Salvator Mundi – for whom he got 5 lengths closer to on this occasion.
For whatever reason we didn’t see KARBAU in the early stages of the season, but he finally returned to action in the Grade 3 Limestone Lad Hurdle at Naas on the 25th January, where despite the Heavy ground he was sent off the evens favourite. I was quite surprised at this as Glen Kiln (147) had everything in his favour including race fitness, and he eventually ran out a 1 length winner – but that was the perfect sixth run over timber from our County Hurdle fancy, with Spring Festivals in mind.
When running at Aintree the BHA assigned him an official rating of 140, and since that run I don’t think he has done a whole pile to deserve a massive raise from his current Irish mark of 146. My guess would be that he will land on something like 148 for the County Hurdle, and that looks an ideal mark to me considering his profile. I would not be surprised if he ends up being Paul Townend’s ride either, come the day.
KARBAU – County Handicap Hurdle – 1pt EW @ 16/1 NRNB
Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle
It is getting harder and harder to find Novice Hurdlers for the Martin Pipe these days due to the five-run rule, but one horse who ticks almost every box is Gavin Cromwell’s THE PASSING WIFE, and he certainly looks worth a play at this stage, with little else of the same profile coming to the fore in recent weeks.
This 7yo was a point-to-point winner before going straight over hurdles, but having been beaten connections decided to go back down the Bumper route instead – and he ended up winning three races in this sphere, which is no mean feat. Going back over Hurdles with all that experience under his belt is where we have seen him excel however, and his form stacks up really strongly.
On debut he and Skylight Hustle (145) got in a battle too soon and set up the race for late closer Thedeviluno (141), but that is probably the strongest piece of Maiden Hurdle form all season in Ireland. On his next start he was then a massive eye-catcher in the Grade 2 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, where he stuck to his task well in third place, closing with every stride behind solid yardsticks Koktail Brut (140) and Blake (139).
Connections tried him in the 2m Grade 1 over Christmas where on this occasion he just found it all a bit too much over the minimum trip, but when connections stepped him up to 2m3f for a Maiden Hurdle at Punchestown last month he absolutely bolted up – beating the well touted Doctor Du Mesnil by 9 lengths on the bridle.
At that point I was worried that any Martin Pipe bid may have been left behind due to him winning so easily, but thankfully the Irish Handicapper only added 3lbs to take him up to a mark of 139. With further improvement sure to come over intermediate trips, I think he will get a mark of something like 142/143 in Britain, and he will have one of the best profiles in the race to boot. Something else to note is that Gavin Cromwell has been in poor form during the time this horse was running well, and he will also be able to recruit one of the better Conditional riders too – with Conor Stone-Walsh and Eoin Staples potential bookings.
THE PASSING WIFE – Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle – 1pt Win @ 12/1 NRNB
JAKE PRICE'S 2026 ANTE-POST BETS
HONESTY POLICY – Stayers Hurdle @ 16/1 – Now 7/2
ACT OF INNOCENCE – Supreme @ 20/1 – NR
MANGE TOUT – Triumph @ 10/1 – Now 16/1
LA CONQUIERE – Mares Novice @ 12/1 – Now 16/1
JONBON – Ryanair @ 16/1 – Now 5/1
DOCTOR STEINBERG – Albert Bartlett @ 16/1 – Now 11/4
SARATOGA – Fred Winter @ 14/1 – Now 5/1
NEWTON TORNADO – NH Chase @ 14/1 – Now 10/1
BALLYFAD – Turners @ 8/1 NRNB – Now 8/1 (NRNB)
KARBAU – County @ 16/1 NRNB – Now 16/1 (NRNB)
THE PASSING WIFE – Martin Pipe @ 12/1 NRNB – Now 12/1 (NRNB)
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