Chris Dixon's Notes And Angles: Houx Gris looks so well teated off 130

So, the most eagerly anticipated meeting of the season has been and gone, and after so much build-up and anticipation it always seems to flash by almost as quickly as Bob Olinger went away from Bravemansgame after turning for home in the Ballymore. That moment, captured in some magnificent jockey cam coverage below, was one of my favourites of the Festival.

It was one of many excellent performances on the track, the type of moment that would have been enhanced and made all the more memorable had it been accompanied by the boisterous cheer that is the soundtrack to so many highlights of Festivals past and will be of Festivals future.

Perhaps some of those connected to the winners last week won’t have been bothered by the absence of that atmosphere, but I’m sure many will and in this week’s column I’m going to pinpoint the horses I believe are most likely to return and repeat the feat at what will hopefully be a ‘normal’ Cheltenham Festival in 2022.

Appreciate It laid down a strong early marker for most impressive Novice Hurdle performance of the week when bolting up in the opening Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the imposing 7yo looks sure to make into a high-class novice chaser next term.

However, if I were to pick just one I’d like to be with now at the Festival of 2022 it would be the previously-mentioned Bob Olinger. Like Appreciate It, he only beat a small field but it looked the classiest novice hurdle of the week going into the meeting and with previous Grade 1 winners Gaillard Du Mesnil and Bravemansgame seeming to run their races in hitting the frame and the time comparing favourably with the later handicap, the form looks both strong and reliable.

A gorgeous model of a horse, Bob Olinger has athleticism to match his physique and I’m certain he will make into a top-class novice chaser next term when I’d expect both the Arkle and Marsh to be options on his agenda at the start of the campaign but the Marsh seems a much more likely target and he’s currently a 5/1 shot for that race.

This looked a strong division going into last week and though Envoi Allen’s mishap in the Marsh means we didn’t get to see what he had to offer in a deeper race over fences he remains with massive potential. Monkfish made light enough work of the opposition in the Brown Advisory Chase to cement his position as the leading staying prospect among the Novice Chasers but his performance lacked the style of Shishkin’s Arkle victory and it’s the Nicky Henderson inmate, successful at back to back Festivals now, who I see as most likely to hit the target again next year.

His Champion Chase price of 6-4 may seem thin enough given what can go wrong between now and then but there’s a general lack of depth in the division...unless Allaho, as Willie Mullins has suggested, drops back in distance.

This year's race looked a substandard renewal in which the standout horse in open company over two miles this season, Chacun Pour Soi, didn’t run up to his best and he’ll be a 10yo next time around. With all that considered I expect Shishkin will be one of the shortest favourites of the week next year having dominated the division in Britain. That said, I’m not going to tip him at that price with 51 weeks still to go and from a punting perspective the 12-1 about Energumene each-way probably makes more appeal if you’re looking for a long-range bet.

Politologue’s late defection from the Champion Chase meant that four of the five open company Grade 1 champions defended their crown last week but none of them were able to hold onto their title. Both Epatante and Al Boum Photo ran well to hit the frame and there’s every reason to think they’ll be back in 12 months time to attempt to wrest it back while hopefully the full compliment of Honeysuckle, Put The Kettle On, Allaho, Flooring Porter and Minella Indo will be there in a bid to go back-to-back.

The pair most likely to be capable of doing so are Honeysuckle and Allaho, who were both devastatingly impressive in success and are good enough and young enough to expect they’ll take all the beating again next time around. Willie Mullins has already mooted the possibility of bringing Allaho back to two miles at Punchestown next month and it will be interesting to see how he gets on there.

If I were to back one right now for next year it would have to be Honeysuckle, though, given her ability to handle any conditions and a well-trodden path of Hattons Grace then Irish Champion Hurdle expected to be taken to get her to Cheltenham in peak condition. She’s 3-1 for a repeat success and while I’m not falling over myself to back her right now, I’d rather do that than lay the same bet.

The Cheltenham form lines are sure to be strong once again, and there are several horses that will be of interest before the season is out and into the next campaign coming from these races but the three that stand out to me are Dan Skelton’s Shan Blue along with Nicky Henderson’s Craigneiche and the Paul Nicholls trained Houx Gris.

I’ll start with Houx Gris. He was my ante-post tip for the Boodles Fred Winter and I was left with a feeling of what might have been. Ridden closer to the pace than I’d anticipated, that proved to be a disadvantage as the race went, whilst he was also too keen without any cover in the early part of the race. He still ran a belter to finish fourth and a 2lb rise in the weights still leaves him on an attractive mark of 130. He’s entered in the Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr next month and I expect he’d take a lot of beating if taking his chance.

I didn’t fancy the claims of Craigneiche at all going into the Coral Cup on Wednesday, taking the view that he wouldn’t hold his position well enough through the race to win a big-field Festival handicap. As it was he ran much better than I anticipated but left the firm impression he’ll be better when upped to three miles and so long as he can hold it together mentally before a race then I expect to see him come home in front in a big staying handicap hurdle at some stage in the year ahead.

Finally onto Shan Blue, who for the second time in succession wasn’t seen to best effect, this time due to an overly aggressive ride through the middle part of the race. He comes out of the meeting with an official rating of 150, the sort of mark off which I think he can land a top handicap. His trainer has few peers domestically in targeting horses at specific handicaps and I’m hoping that he’s aimed straight towards the Paddy Power Gold Cup in November, a race I believe would suit him perfectly.