Five beaten runners from the weekend to consider for Cheltenham

How many runners at the Dublin Racing Festival will go on to glory at Cheltenham next month?

None of us can know for sure, although a quick straw poll on Racing TV’s Twitter feed on Sunday evening revealed that about 56 per cent of the first 1700 to vote plumped for “five or more”.

There were numerous brilliant displays over the two days, although the glut of goodies will have done little to lift the spirits of British trainers entertaining hopes of a Festival triumph.

Of course, it’s not all about the winners, and several beaten runners caught my eye on both sides of the channel. Here are five to keep in mind for Cheltenham next month.

AUTUMN EVENING (Jessica Harrington)

This 27-runner 2m contest has a rich history and was tremendously competitive. While such comparisons can be misleading, it is worth noting that the winning time was fractionally quicker than that recorded by Honeysuckle in the Irish Champion Hurdle, albeit with one less flight jumped.

Call Me Lyreen swept through late to take the spoils under the inspired Davy Russell and should continue to run well (he had also gone close in a similar race at the Punchestown Festival) but Autumn Evening, who wilted late on to be third, could be even more interesting.

The five-year-old caught the eye a little way out travelling powerfully and led between on the bridle motoring to the last. A minor error there didn’t help him and some will be disappointed he didn’t finish the job off, but I fancy he’d have gone even closer with a bit more cover and his finishing effort delayed a little longer.

He looks to have many attributes needed for the County Hurdle, for which he is a general 20-1, and his age group have an excellent record in the race, with eight having won it since 2004. Ten of the past 15 winners of the race have been trained in Ireland, while Harrington struck with Spirit Leader in 2003, after he had finished fifth in the Liffey earlier in the year when it was known as the Pierse Hurdle.

DANS LE VANT (Evan Williams)

The nine-year-old has never been better and kept up a sequence of good efforts when a staying-on third behind an improving pair who got first run on him in this competitive 3m contest. It had been a similar story when he previously made the frame in the Lanzarote Hurdle at Kempton.

He’s no sluggard and, versatile regards trip and ground, the obvious race for him at Cheltenham is the Coral Cup, a race that can often be set-up for hold-up horses such as him.

Last year, Dans Le Vent was eighth in the Coral Cup off a lower rating but he wasn’t seen to best advantage and, in any case, he and his rider (Isabel Williams) simply seem a more potent combination these days.

Green Book, winner of the Sandown race on Saturday, is a best-priced 20-1 for the Coral Cup (he’s 12-1 in places) but the handicapper is bound to have a swipe at him, plus dropping in trip is unlikely to help him if he even takes that route. Those negatives are not applicable to Dans Le Vant, who is a whopping 40-1 with Unibet

DEISE ABA (Philip Hobbs)

He narrowly failed to win this 3m prize for the third successive year but again showed himself to be in fine fettle by splitting Le Mlos and Five Star Getaway (both good winners on their previous starts). He was beaten a head, having suffered defeats by a nose (to the subsequent Welsh Grand National runner-up) and a neck earlier in the campaign.

It must be long odds-on he will now try and make it third time lucky in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Chase at Cheltenham provided he’s not pushed up 4lb or more, which would take him above the 145-rating threshold. A rise of 2lb or 3lb seems more likely.

He’s gone off at 8-1 and 12-1 for the past two renewals, finishing fifth on the first occasion despite taking the scenic route early on and thumping five out when just beginning to work his way into things. He could not repeat that effort last year, but he gets a pass on that one as his stable was out of sorts.

Deise Alba is still only a nine-year-old and is possibly better than ever. I’ve scoured all the Kim Muir markets and don’t see him quoted anywhere, including among 66-1 chances. Look out for his name when the handicap entries are revealed on February 22, and keep in mind his connections still have more severe headgear up their sleeves for a horse who usually wears cheekpieces.

DUNBOYNE (Gordon Elliott)

I’m sure he went into plenty of notebooks when fifth, of 27, in a Pertemps Final qualifier at Leopardstown over Christmas after not getting the rub of the green.

He looked an intriguing contender for this valuable prize after that run and was bang in the mix two out, only to blunder at that flight and then be badly hampered on the rail soon after. That was curtains for him, and he drifted back through the field with Jack Kennedy sensibly waving the white flag.

The upside is that the handicapper may ease him a bit (the British assessor had him on 134 before the weekend) and, when everything goes to plan, he surely has a bigger performance in him. He’s had only eight runs under Rules and his efforts as a novice including chasing home Bob Olinger on one occasion, and Capodanno on another.

Surprisingly, Betfair and Paddy Power pushed Dunboyne out to 14-1 for the Pertemps Final. Other firms are more cautious, going 8-1.

SAINT SAM (Willie Mullins)

Ran a cracker to a close third behind his stablemate, Blue Lord, and Riviere D’Etel given he forced a strongish pace and made three errors – the most critical being two out just as his pursuers were closing.

Overall, Saint Sam jumped well and there was plenty to like about the way he stuck to his task when headed by rivals who had a bit more chasing experience than him.

The progeny of Saint Des Saints generally keep progressing and I’d expect last year’s Boodle runner-up, who had won easily on his chasing bow at Fairyhouse the previous month, to improve another chunk for this.

Cheltenham often favours front-running two-milers on the Old Course and, at 12-1 with Coral and Ladbrokes, he is no forlorn hope to turn the tables.