Get ready for an exciting week of non-stop action from Cheltenham (Picture: Metro)
It’s finally time to start banishing those winter blues. The Cheltenham Festival, that great rite of early spring, is with us once more.
All Festival weeks have a chaos all of their own, but the party at the end of this one could rival the best we have known for some time.
With Ireland going for a Six Nations Grand Slam against England on Saturday, you can be sure the revelry will start early, especially with St Patrick’s Day coinciding with the week’s blue-riband race, the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
But all that can wait for now. Today is special enough, with the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the first of the week’s 28 races, at 1.30pm. One of the great performances of the week is expected to come in the Champion Hurdle, when hot favourite Constitution Hill goes for glory.
Nicky Henderson’s six-year-old showed all his excellence in winning the Supreme Novices’ 12 months ago, and has looked very special again this season in claiming the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle and Christmas Hurdle at Kempton.
Nico de Boinville and Constitution Hill gallop along the track at Kempton Park (Picture: Getty)
Now Constitution Hill, with Nico de Boinville on board, is expected to deliver on the grandest stage of all. Henderson, however, has been at pains to play down the huge levels of expectation around his wonder horse in the build-up.
‘One must not get too carried away at this stage of life,’ he said. ‘He is only a young horse that has had five races in his life, six if you include the point-to-point that he didn’t win.
‘Compared to some other horses he has got quite a long way to go but visually he’s been very impressive every time. You can’t fault what he’s done but this has got to continue.’
Edwardstone, ridden by Tom Cannon, going to post before winning the Arkle during the Cheltenham Festival last year (Picture: Rex)
Alan King’s Edwardstone, winner of the Arkle at last year’s Festival and successful in the Tingle Creek before Christmas, is the favourite to claim tomorrow’s Champion Chase.
Ruby Walsh, part of ITV’s team this week, fancies the nine-year-old for victory, saying: ‘Edwardstone has improved this year. He’s a better horse this year and I think he’ll win.’
The strongest challenger could well be the Willie Mullins-trained Energumene, winner last year.
Blazing Khal is tipped for the Stayers’ Hurdle later on this week (Picture: PA)
Thursday’s feature race is the Stayers’ Hurdle, with the current favourite – the Charles Byrnes-trained Blazing Khal – only given the green light to run in recent days.
An impressive comeback in the Boyne Hurdle at Navan last month catapulted Blazing Khal to the head of the Stayers’ Hurdle market, but Byrnes later revealed his stable star had returned with ‘a few bits of nicks’ that required treatment.
And then on Friday comes the finest spectacle of them all, the Gold Cup. That redoubtable old Festival war horse, Willie Mullins, looks likely to have the favourite with Galopin Des Champs.
Paul Townend rides Galopin Des Champs (right) to win The Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown last month (Picture: Getty)
The seven-year-old has won five of his six starts over fences to date, his only defeat coming at last year’s Festival when falling at the final fence with the Turners Novices’ Chase at his mercy. He has been thoroughly impressive in winning the John Durkan at Punchestown and the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown this season.
After all those years waiting for Gold Cup glory, Mullins is targeting a third success in five years following victories for Al Boum Photo in 2019 and 2020. There is an abundance of quality throughout the field with the Gold Cup winners from the last two years – Minella Indo and A Plus Tard, both trained by Henry de Bromhead – lining up again.
A formidable Irish challenge is further strengthened by Grand National winner Noble Yeats, Savills Chase hero Conflated and American Grand National victor Hewick.
Bravemansgame, pictured in his stable, will face some tough competition (Picture: Shutterstock)
The pick of the home team on form is Bravemansgame, who was brilliant when giving Paul Nicholls a 13th King George VI Chase win at Kempton.
But the horses, trainers and races are just part of the story, of course. Cheltenham will as ever be about the thousands of fans that make the pilgrimage to the Cotswolds.
The setting is as sumptuous as it ever was, a natural amphitheatre framed by Cleeve Hill giving the Festival its unique grandeur.
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We take our good news stories where we can get them these days, and the next four days should be overwhelmingly positive, as racing threatens to take rare spots on the front pages as well as back.
It is time for the talking to end. Cheltenham 2023 is ready to captivate us as only the Festival can.
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One of the great performances of the week is expected to come from Constitution Hill.