Road To Cheltenham: "From day one, he seemed to have something special"

It’s official. Constitution Hill will not run at Cheltenham on Trials Day. Yet ultimately, the reason provided was unassailably medical rather than anything less equivocal.  

“A routine scope last week wasn’t entirely satisfactory and a follow-up this morning shows the issue hasn’t resolved and therefore there would not be time to get him ready for next week,” Nicky Henderson announced via X – better known as Twitter – on Monday. 

However, the trainer had first demurred a fortnight earlier about the Unibet International Hurdle – better known as the Bula – when understandably declining to go into detail without first having consulted the Champion Hurdler’s owner, Michael Buckley. 

Speaking on the New Year’s Day edition of the Nick Luck Daily podcast, Henderson said: “Trials Day isn’t a certainty, I must admit, but we won’t go into that one now. Not that there’s anything wrong – I just don’t need to, I don’t need to, I’m not going to… [unclear]. It’s a possibility. But I’ve never discussed it. Michael is in some far-flung country and that’s not at the top of the list of discussions at the moment, that’s for sure.” 

The trainer’s “reservations” seemed more pronounced eight days later when speaking to the Newbury Weekly News. “He’s gone from the Christmas Hurdle to the Champion Hurdle without a race, and he did the same the year before with the Supreme,” Henderson said. 

“I know I’ll be accused of being a wimp, but there are reasons behind my thinking. I’m doing it for the best; I’m not doing it for my own amusement. I’d like to run him [in the Bula] if it makes perfect sense but I’m not convinced it does.” 

In his latest statement, however, Henderson implied he’d changed his mind. Rather than following through on his groundwork argument of how best to prepare this horse to defend his crown, he said he will “reluctantly” miss the Bula. “Both Michael and I and all the team had very much hoped for a better result [from the scope] this morning so that we could run on Saturday week,” he stated. 

Whatever you might make of this chronology – and only Henderson knows his thinking for a fact – the upshot is the most talented hurdler for more than twenty years will run a maximum of three times this season, with at least one of those races a gimme. 

More fundamentally, even this diverting chain of events should not distract from the fact that, had circumstances not conspired to cause him to miss two engagements, his campaign would still have lacked ambition. 

For all that Buckley outlined an improbably swashbuckling future career in the afterglow of Consitution Hill’s exploits last March, when thoughts of chasing were later rejected – and soundly explained to the public – no correlative plan was hatched to burnish his reputation over hurdles. 

That plan would have entailed steering him towards greater challenges – the Matheson rather than the Christmas Hurdle and/or the Irish Champion rather than the Bula. That’s what the likes of Night Nurse and Monksfield did – and that is why they are cherished almost half a century on. Instead, modern-day racing fans have ended up with less of the same. 

The scale of expectation created by his connections’ bold words has inevitably added to the depth of disappointment now their actions have thus far fallen short. There is also another, growing frustration – even fear – among those of us who believe this horse possesses the ability to be remembered as the greatest hurdler of all time – and who had thought his connections shared this desire. 

Since his devastating defeat of Jonbon in the 2022 Supreme, no assignment has contained either a suitably rigorous opponent on the day or else been conducted in a manner conducive to expressing his talent more comprehensively. The concern must now be that if his connections were not inclined to campaign him assertively this season, when Constitution Hill is in his prime at the age of six-going-on-seven, when will they do it? Brilliance is, sadly, not ageless. 

To achieve greatness, the number 1 is not enough – no matter how many of them are collected next to a horse’s name. In fact, more often such a profile implies a paucity of purpose rather than genuine pre-eminence. 

For those of us lucky enough to have seen Constitution Hill in the flesh, it would be a travesty if subsequent generations of racing fans have cause to doubt his rightful place in history. 

If the King George was anything to go by, the Ryanair market is likely to undergo a controlled explosion on Sunday, when ante-post favourite and dual winner Allaho takes on the current titleholder Envoi Allen, not to mention a couple of threatening stablemates in Capodanno and Appreciate It, in the Horse & Jockey Hotel Chase at Thurles.  

That’s why, ahead of this Thursday’s show, we asked you Roadies to predict who will head the Ryanair market come Sunday night. [insert poll] 

For me, the evidence of Kempton suggests Allaho is not the horse he once was. This is not a widely held view – albeit my co-presenter Ruby Walsh shares it – hence the horse shortened at the fore of the Ryanair market when Stage Star flopped on New Year’s Day and, at the time of writing, trades as favourite for this Grade Two. 

After his success in Saturday’s Silviniaco Conti Chase, Banbridge – this column’s ante-post Arkle selection last season – is currently the Ryanair second favourite. On his first run since winning the Grade One Manifesto Novices Chase at Aintree 275 days ago, his jumping lacked precision as he sat just off the pace set by Pic D’Orhy, who was conceding 3lb. 

He looked to be getting the worst of it jumping-wise in the straight, getting in too close to the third last and brushing through the top of two out as he loomed alongside the leader, who duly exited the obstacle the quicker. All in all, Pic D’Orhy looked a happier bunny than on seasonal debut at Ascot but his old propensity for one key error reared its head here as his last-fence bungle, albeit not as dramatic as many in the past, was decisive. Cobden also later reported his mount had hung left. 

Banbridge was set to contest last year’s Turners Novices’ Chase but was withdrawn due to the heavy rainfall during the Festival. His chance in the Ryanair is also ground-dependent as his only underwhelming effort from last term was in a heavy-ground Drinmore. 

He’s also already proven around Cheltenham, as a winner as a novice over fences on the Old Course and over hurdles in the 2022 Martin Pipe on the New Course, so there’s a lot to like about his chance – and his price could get shorter on Sunday night. However, I don’t think he’s as far clear of some of his longer priced rivals as the market already believes him to be. 

On his first attempt beyond two miles over fences, Edwardstone blew it. Having initially settled, he began to tank under Tom Cannon and became overbold, leading to an error at the fifth. When he corrected himself at four out, it was plainly because he had run himself out. 

If I were Alan King, I think I’d revert to two miles. Ten years of age is quite late to be teaching Edwardstone new tricks and this bull of a horse has a strong streak of impatience. His flop when second favourite in last year’s Champion Chase was not representative of his talent – he wasn’t going from an early stage. 

This year, third place is available for the taking whereas him even getting involved in the Ryanair is not guaranteed – and he’s a dangerously talented lurker at 20/1 if either El Fabiolo or Jonbon are not on their game. 

Incidentally, I suspect that pre-Cheltenham clash could be off in more ways than one now that Saturday’s Ascot card has been lost to the weather. If Willie Mullins indicates he won’t travel El Fabiolo to Trials Day, I suspect the British Horseracing Authority won’t be in a hurry to reschedule the Clarence House at all, arguing – no doubt to Nicky Henderson’s dismay – that the Game Spirit offers enough of a stepping stone to the Festival.  

Finally, it was devastating for Laura Morgan and her team that their stable star Notlongtillmay broke his shoulder when falling awkwardly at the last whilst lying in third. He had flown their flag with gusto when second to Stage Star, both in last term’s Turners Novices’ Chase at the Festival and in the Paddy Power Gold Cup in November. 

When I interviewed Morgan post-race on those occasions, she was rightly bursting with pride at his achievements. What a very different interview she volunteered to give ITV’s Alice Plunkett last Saturday, bravely feeling it her duty to tell racing fans what had happened to Notlongtillmay and, in doing so, conveying how cherished he was. What a hole his loss must have punched in that yard. Best wishes to them all. 

Grey Dawning rose to the top of Britain’s novice-chasing ranks with a decisive staying success over Apple Away and Broadway Boy at Warwick last Saturday. He was helped by his two main rivals taking each other on in mutually assured destruction for the first six fences of the Grade Two Trustatrader Hampton Novices’ Chase, but he jumped well and came home in isolation. 

It’s arguable that even the winner got involved a shade early at the fifth last, which might account for him running down the final two fences so markedly to his left. He intimidated Apple Away at the second last, crowding her into the left-hand corner when she least needed it as she was surely running on fumes at the time. 

In by far the deepest assignment of her chasing career to date, Apple Away ran unpenalized – unlike the winner and third – but her relatively inexperienced rider Patrick Wadge was unable to claim his 3lb either. A Grade One winner against the geldings as a novice hurdler last year, this effort strongly suggests she’ll be capable of better over fences with greater experience and a more circumspect ride.  

Broadway Boy’s jumping became scruffier the longer that the leader continued at her unrelenting pace. Fourth-placed The Changing Man had needlessly taken closer order at the start of the final circuit and his jumping started to unravel under the same scrutiny. He began to adjust more markedly left and weakened at five out. Broadway Boy breasted the next but bravely stuck to his guns until the straight. 

If opting for Cheltenham, Lucinda Russell has options for Apple Away – the Ultima or the NH Chase with her mare’s allowance – but she might be inclined to plot a course towards Aintree’s Mildmay Novices’ Chase as her primary target and build in some further match practice en route. The mare will need to improve to cut it in graded company over fences, but she remains promising. She forced this unsustainable pace and still emerged clear second best, after all. 

Broadway Boy was attempting to concede weight all round, including 3lb to the winner, and will find more suitable options. The NH Chase looks the obvious choice, given his proven stamina beyond three miles and handicap experience that serves competitors so well in that event. Yet it would be precipitate to conclude Nigel and Willie Twiston-Davies won’t still give the Brown Advisory a spin – you know their slogan. The stable’s Blaklion was beaten three times en route to RSA Chase success in 2016, remember. This year’s edition looks deep than that, however. 

It would be no surprise were Joe Tizzard opted to switch The Changing Man back to hurdles now that he’s shown distinct promise over fences without yet getting his head in front in three starts, as the horse was a decent eighth in last term’s Pertemps. Equally, he might try to sneak him into the bottom of the Ultima as his dad Colin did with Oscar Elite, a novice of mildly better profile who finished a good third to Corach Rambler two years ago. 

The Grade One Scilly Isles was mentioned for Grey Dawning in the aftermath, albeit by assistant trainer Tom Messenger rather than his holidaying boss, Dan Skelton. His brother Harry offered some encouragement for that half-mile drop in trip when observing: “I really think he could get any trip the way he races – he just sits behind the bridle a bit, he relaxes and is never keen.” 

However, he’s shaped like a stayer every time I’ve seen him – from when winning perhaps the last-ever edition of the discontinued Grade Two Leamington Novices’ Hurdle on this card last year to when finishing an unfortunate second to Ginny’s Destiny on his penultimate start at Cheltenham, smashing through two out. 

He’s still widely available at a not-unreasonable 9/1 for the Brown Advisory, lying fourth in the betting behind three horses who are likely to stand their ground in Grangeclare West, Fact To File – surely the likeliest candidate of JP McManus’s three entries in that race now that deliberate jumper Corbetts Cross is his sole NH Chase entry – and Stay Away Fay. 

It’s not impossible the first pair could clash at the Dublin Racing Festival, as their mutual trainer Willie Mullins is not averse to letting his big guns clash at that meeting, which would likely have a knock-on effect on this market. Paul Nicholls had initially suggested last year’s Albert Bartlett winner would head to Ascot’s Reynoldstown Novices’ Chase next month, but has since mentioned Saturday week’s Cotswold Chase against more experienced rivals. 

“I don’t think I have ever run a novice in the Gold Cup,” he added, surely with studied vagueness, when asked about that Festival option. His owners understandably believe the New Course would suit Stay Away Fay better than the Old, but thankfully Nicholls is disinclined to put his horses’ careers in fast-forward. Overcoming or learning from the challenge of the non-ideal, either straight away or over time, is part of the developmental process. 

It’s a philosophy Jimmy Mangan well understands. He hasn’t entered his recent Grade Three winner Spillane’s Tower in any of the Festival’s four graded novice events, nor is he inclined to consider any of its handicap options. Don’t mistake that position for a lack of regard for the horse’s ability, however. 

“He’s the classiest horse I’ve trained. From day one when he came to me, he seemed to have something special, you know?” Mangan told Nick Luck in Tuesday’s edition of the eponymous podcast (listen below).

“But he’s a big horse and he’s very fortunate he’s got a great owner and whatever time he’ll take, he’ll get. He’s definitely a horse that from the last fence home that pedigree clicks in – he finds that extra bit of a gear which is vital in the closing stages. He definitely has a classy pedigree, all right. 

“I’ve always thought to make a good chaser you’ve got to run him pretty often. You can be schooling forever but it’s like a hurling game or playing soccer or anything – you can be training forever but you can’t beat a good match and a good race gives the finishing touches.”  

His owner is – wait for it – McManus, who despite a clutch of notable reversals to his novice-chasing fortunes this season with setbacks to Inthepocket and Indiana Dream, seems content to fall in with Mangan’s plan. 

Of course, we’ll only know that for a fact when Cheltenham’s handicap entries are published next month but his trainer has been talking prize money and that’s where the Festival’s lesser targets tend to fall down in comparison with other, often less competitive handicaps along the way. 

“I’ll be leaving it all up to Frank [Berry, McManus’s racing manager] and the lads,” O’Brien, I mean Mangan said. “But look, he’s a horse that has great races here in Ireland, super prize money there at Punchestown, Leopardstown and Fairyhouse. And they’re not short of horses to represent them over there. There’s no panic with this horse. His future is ahead of him.” 

The market strongly expected Blood Destiny to win that Punchestown contest following his likeable debut over fences last month. A year younger and less scopey than Spillane’s Tower, the Mullins-trained five-year-old raced keenly and got in close to the first couple, in general jumping less fluently and efficiently than before. There were still one or two deft leaps, too, however. 

When he turned into the straight, seemingly in control, your eye was immediately drawn further back to the jaunty progress of Spillane’s Tower who, after reaching for three out, was starting to get a roll on when asked by Mark Walsh. He jumped the second last in third, but victory already looked inevitable. Switched to the inner, he could even afford to get the lesser jump and still run down his rival with something to spare. He’s still gawky but possesses plenty of talent. 

Runner-up Blood Destiny may need dropping in trip but the waters run deeply over two miles in graded company and he might not be able to keep his head afloat. A drop in grade might be in order, too. 

Third-placed Silent Approach, whose lip chain in the paddock and mounting in the chute betray that she’s quite the handful, backed up the form of her Grade Two Cork success. Though Danny Mullins had appeared confident when looking behind him for dangers after five out and his mount stuck to her guns, she was still brushed aside in the straight.  

Fifth Monbeg Park hates chasing. It only took two fences and a static landing at the second of them before JJ Slevin was already niggling him along. His jumping spoke of a deep lack of confidence and he’d be far better off reverting to hurdles for the time being. He showed a fair level of form over the smaller obstacles at Fairyhouse and Punchestown at the back end of last season. 

However, fourth-placed Imagine – for whom the Kauto Star had been mentioned but who didn’t appear at all during the festive period – produced a flat effort, in line with a number of Gordon Elliott’s runners last weekend. Beaten as early as the home turn, he looked exhausted in the straight. It might be best to forgive this effort. 

His previous Craddockstown success had received a double-franking at Fairyhouse the previous day when the second and third from that race – ever-busy Lucid Dreams and Uncle Phil – finished first and second in the opposite order in the feature 2m1f handicap. 

Racing towards the outer, Uncle Phil dominated from the front and has now racked up three successes. He’s entered in both Arkles, but that’s surely flying too high. It was a career best from Lucid Dreams. 

Yet it was third-placed Letsbeclearaboutit, ridden towards the inner,who caught my eye for a future engagement when stepped back up in trip, as well as non-novice Saint Roi, competitive for the first time this season and who would have finished closer bar for a rival falling at his feet three out. Perhaps he will yet execute in the Grand Annual where Andy Dufresne came up just short. 

To finish off the graded theme, I was expecting more from Colonel Harry than he produced when winning Wetherby’s new-look Grade Two Towton Novices’ Chase – now staged over five furlongs shorter than its former three-mile trip and in mid-January rather than three weeks later. Despite those changes, it still attracted just four runners but it’s hardly alone in suffering such a fate given the available horse population. 

On paper, a length-and-three-quarter defeat of Trelawne – who’d run so encouragingly behind Ginny’s Destiny and Grey Dawning at Cheltenham on his previous start – looks fair enough but that rival did his best to chuck the race away at least twice. 

Rounding the stable bend, the leader tried to convince David Bass to clock off early by hanging truculently right. Once he’d regained control, his rider responded by firing Trelawne into the back-straight fences but again his mount hung awkwardly right the moment steering was again required. Reminded by Bass to opt for the straight rather than the A1 when turning for home, he responded by blundering through the fourth last and pecking the turf. 

You’d have thought Colonel Harry would have been long gone after all that but somehow Trelawne continued to dispute the lead and looked dangerous again at the second last, forcing an error from his rival. Gavin Sheehan had to regather the winner for a better jump at the last and also repel a final rally from his errant rival in a race that was more strongly run than it might have appeared. 

A return to Sandown – where he was second to Turners entry Le Patron in the Grade One Henry VIII Novices’ Chase early last month – has been mentioned for Colonel Harry, who’s entered both over that intermediate trip and in the Arkle at Cheltenham. 

The application of headgear is surely the next stop for Trelawne, who pulled a stunt like this at Uttoxeter previously but clearly has plenty of talent. Whilst a step up to three miles would clearly be beneficial, Bass might have mixed feelings about wrestling with him for a further half mile. 

Back in third, King Of Ryhope put up a brief fight at the top of the straight but – not for the first time – weakened quickly as if something might be amiss. Chasing Fire, who unseated at the first at Aintree on his previous start, finished last of four – something of achievement given how little he has adapted to this discipline. 

On Friday, Mister Policeman corroborated the evidence of his chase debut when jumping too deliberately to make an impact in the opening novice chase on Naas’s rescheduled fixture. Instead, Rachael Blackmore controlled the race on Quilixios, her mount jumping the first two fences more fluently than the favourite and into a definitive lead at the third, from which point her opponents were chasing his tail.  

Mister Policeman was successively out-matched in the air by Sa Fureur and Aslukwoodhavit at the third last, which relegating him to fourth as Blackmore made for the stands’ rail on entering the straight. Having jumped soundly throughout, Quilixios also negotiated the final two flights most cleanly and, as a strong stayer at the two-mile trip, never faced a serious challenge. 

Blackmore confessed afterwards that she had thought Quilixios would stay further but the experience of his heavy defeat over three miles in the Grade Two Florida Pearl at Punchestown last November had revealed otherwise. She was also pleased to find he didn’t jump right, as he did persistently on chase debut at Limerick. 

He’s clearly suited by an assertive ride over the minimum trip, redolent of his 2021 Triumph Hurdle success, but my sense is he lacks the class for an Arkle – thus far his only Cheltenham entry – and that the Grand Annual would be more his level, albeit controlling that often helter-skelter affair would be unlikely. Hopefully, we’ll find out more in the Irish Arkle. 

Sa Fureur travelled comfortably until asked to quicken with the winner on the home turn. He was responding but got into the bottom of the second last, bashed through the top and immediately ceded any advantage. He stuck to his task well but was also a shade careful at the last. A step up in trip in handicap company looks the most suitable option for him. 

The best part of Mister Policeman’s race came when the jumping was done and he stayed on strongly over that stiff test to the line. Entered in both novice-chasing Grade Ones at the Dublin Racing Festival and also the Turners at Cheltenham, he needs to step up in trip but even then, his jumping is unlikely to be an asset. 

“That bubble has burst – certainly over that trip. His work is good but his jumping isn’t,” remarked Willie Mullins in interview (below) with Ruby Walsh on Racing TV, even musing whether a pair of blinkers might help. 

Back in fourth, Aslukwoodhavit was out of his depth but performed creditably enough on his first start after another short break. Provided he is capable of stringing performances together, he can build on this and win a domestic handicap. 

Five-year-old Byker had been declared to run in that beginners’ chase when originally staged but defected to Fairyhouse the following day, where the cheekpieces that helped him to second place in last term’s Boodles Fred Winter were reapplied. He ran a bit better than on debut but mistakes started creeping in during the second half and he ended up barely clambering over the last for a distant fifth. 

At the other end of the race, Hunters Yarn got off the mark over fences at the second attempt, having tipped up when clear at the last over a slightly shorter course at the same track in December. Entered only in the Arkle thus far at Cheltenham, he would have beaten Sa Fureur, who inherited that race, more comfortably that did Quilixios at Naas subsequently. 

Here, he steered an admirably straight path as stablemate Polo Lounge yet again jumped wildly left but nonetheless built on his reappearance in form terms. The winner moved into the lead three out but made a serious blunder – Paul Townend ask him up only for him to put down – when joined by Firm Footings at the next. 

That horse had run Spillane’s Tower close at Punchestown and respectfully chased Arkle favourite Marine Nationale at Leopardstown over Christmas but here his effort petered out disappointingly and he’s surely capable of better. Again, could he be an Elliott under-performer? He’s been given entries at three different distances at Cheltenham – all the graded novice chases bar the Arkle – but surely looks better suited to a handicap. 

Back in third, Path D’Oroux also shaped better than the literal form. It was good to see him bouncing back from a nasty-looking fall at Leopardstown over Christmas when he collided with a rival mid-air. Then, he had been poised to record a career best and this performance suggested that was no fluke. He can definitely win a handicap. 

Keeping to that theme, over at Kempton Harry Cobden steered a wide trip on Chianti Classico and could never quite mount a challenge to more experienced course specialist Flegmatik, who was kept much more towards the inside line and repelled the novice by two lengths in an open handicap chase. 

The NH Chase entry jumped soundly for second place, however, and shaped as though a step up in trip would suit but he’d be better off sticking to handicap company for something like the Ultima, which trainer Kim Bailey won in 1999 with Bettys Boy and saddled the second in 2021 in the novice, Happygolucky, from a mark of 147. Rated just 4lbs lower, Chianti Classico remains competitively handicapped. 

Finally for the action in this section, Etalon beat Salamanca Bay in a match for Warwick’s opening contest that same day – a novices’ limited handicap chase that replaced an open handicap and which the Racing TV team on the day, Stewart Machin and Martin Dixon, felt was duplicated too closely at hand in the calendar. 

The runner-up is a free-goer and went clear from the second but became too brave for his own good at the fourth and was forced to reach to land it. He then began to jump increasingly out to his right before being overtaken four out and eased off after blundering through the next. The winner’s jumping was novicey early on but became more assured and straightforwardly stamped his authority on this event. 

Finally, recognition of the two surprise packages among Cheltenham’s novice-chasing entries. First, brilliant Kauto Star winner Il Est Français has been given a fall-back entry in the Turners but co-trainer Noel George reaffirmed that the Grand Steeplechase de Paris remains the plan and they’d only be tempted by Cheltenham if the Turner looked weak. It doesn’t. 

Second, Iroko – for it is he – has arisen from his sick-bed as it turns out his foot injury may not be season-ending. Shortly after winning on chase debut at Warwick, last term’s Martin Pipe victor had been sent back to owner JP McManus’s base in Ireland due to suffering the setback but has returned to the yard of Ollie Greenall and Josh Guerriero. 

“He’s only been back with us a week as he did go back to Ireland, so we probably will struggle to get a run in before Cheltenham. He won’t got for a handicap and is only a maybe for any race there at this stage as, obviously, he’s not done much work yet,” Greenall told me via text. Iroko holds entries in the Arkle and Turners, but clearly faces a race against time to make those dates. 

There were plenty of us readin’ Tommy wrong ahead of the rescheduled Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle last Friday, but there’s no reason to believe the outcome of the deepest event of its kind this season was in any way a fluke – even though victory went to the outside of Willie Mullins’ quartet of runners. It was a strongly run affair and it found a few horses out. 

To be fair to his trainer, he did make a point of telling those who were listening that his unbeaten outsider shouldn’t be overlooked. Readin Tommy Wrong needed all of the 2m4f to get on top, having set off in a slightly detached last and lacking fluency at his hurdles in the early stages. That tendency to lose ground against his opponents continued, the power with which he travelled compensating for his static landings the longer the race went on. 

From entering the home turn, he slipstreamed stablemate and ultimate runner-up Ile Atlantique, who’d assumed outright front-running duties from the third, before progressing from fourth to second either side of the second last. Of course, he jumped the last less well than the runner-up, leaving a hind leg trailing and ceding the advantage, but under pressure he wore the leader down near the line. 

Readin Tommy Wrong must head to the Albert Bartlett as he lacks both the gears and sufficiently slick jumping for anything else. He must be the leading contender at this stage. Is he doing anything wrong or does he just need to be ridden differently, taking a lead and being delivered later? It isn’t the trip as he saw that out well. 

That’s the third close finish out of which Ile Atlantique has come out the wrong side, supplementing his bumper defeats by Stellar Story at Naas and by Firefox at Fairyhouse. 

Mullins was critical post-race of third-placed Lecky Watson seeing too much daylight. Reportedly “lean and fit” for this, according to the Racing TV team of Ruby Walsh and Lisa O’Neill, sitting as the outlier of four from the rail for much of the race under Danny Mullins. He tried to lay down a challenge two out but lacked fluency there and began to lug left as the front two left him behind. Something like the County or Coral Cup would suit him ideally. 

If you’re going to hand a free pass to any horse in this race, it must be Firefox on the basis of the Elliott theme discussed above. He travelled and jumped impeccably, so has no excuse on that score. Yet following a good jump three out which propelled him to press Ile Atlantique, he was already looking distinctly less threatening when making a mistake at the second last. 

He was race-fit when beating the Mullins-trained Ballyburn on his previous start at Fairyhouse and that horse has since impressed, upped in trip, at Leopardstown, so there are reasons not to take that form literally. But Firefox’s body of work – and the esteem in which he is held at a powerful yard with plenty of measuring sticks – impels him to be given another chance. 

Royal Bond third An Tobar was keenish early on but held a promising position until approaching four out, where the pressure of the race forced a mistake. He could hang on merely until the home turn and faded to fifth. Already a seven-year-old, Henry de Bromhead’s ambitions must surely have turned to chasing, at least in his head. 

Rider Rachael Blackmore was asked pre-race how this mount compared with Navan Grade Two winner and this season’s Road To Cheltenham novice-hurdling pin-up Slade Steel. I’m hoping her answer was diplomatic as she suggested there wouldn’t be much between the pair. “I won’t be nailing my colours to either of them yet,” she concluded. 

Chapeau Du Soleil was even worse than his Clonmel debut. Jostling for the lead at the second, he lost three positions with a clumsy leap and then pretty much tripped over the next, dragging both hind legs through the turf with a nasty-looking wrench. “Ow!” as Shishkin might say, via Nicky Henderson. Not surprisingly, Patrick Mullins’ mount played no further meaningful part in the race. 

Yet it was Croke Park who finished last, having raced fairly prominently but then struggling to hold his position after his jumping was put under pressure three out. He had previously shaped as lacking the pace, and probably the quality, for a race like this. Of course, he does also hail from the Elliott yard, so perhaps that was a factor if they’re undergoing some sort of lull. 

Mystical Power was set to run in the original version of that Grade One race but defected to take on Jigoro in the Grade Two Moscow Flyer at Punchestown two days later and continues to give the impression of a novice on a sharply upward trajectory. The time wasn’t anything special, so that conclusion rests mostly on the evidence of the eye. 

He was keen to post and early on in the race – perhaps raising doubts about the giddy atmosphere pre-Supreme, the race for which he was propelled to favouritism following victory here. There is also room for improvement in his jumping, but the confidence with which Mark Walsh rode him was fully justified. 

Having been waited with travelling strongly three out, Mystical Power was pushed along to take a gap on the home turn but then feathered the brakes again entering the straight. However, having ranged up alongside Jigoro, Walsh found that rival had no response and so was compelled to commit. His mount ran right away from his faltering rival, who clattered over the last for good measure and could well be another Elliott-trained runner to be under a temporary cloud. 

Back in third, James’s Gate shaped in need of a step up in trip. This was a relatively quick reappearance after returning from a 607-day absence on his first start for Martin Brassil over Christmas and he needs another for a handicap mark. Fourth-placed Lombron was out of his depth. 

Mystical Power now heads a plethora of JP McManus-owned novices with their eyes on the Supreme prize, including Jeriko Du Reponet and No Flies On Him, who may head his DRF team in this division. Ever get the feeling the green-and-gold are going to have a good Cheltenham? 

Champion Bumper hero A Dream To Share will not be among that specific team, however, as he will be having a second season in bumpers due to an early season hold-up limiting the amount of schooling trainer John Kiely has been able to get into him. His next stop with be the DRF bumper he won last year under talented teenager John Gleeson. 

Finally, there are a handful of other hurdling performances to note, quickfire, from the last week. The once well-regarded Tullyhill – second to A Dream To Share at Punchestown – got off the mark over hurdles at Naas last Friday, still over harsh on the brakes as a hurdle hoves into sight but perhaps more comfortable going left-handed over an obstacle. It was a one-sided contest, however, with newcomer Stoneyford Lady – a half-sister to Captain Guinness – showing some promise back in third. 

In very testing conditions at Clonmel the previous day, Quai De Bourbon found enough to fend off stablemate Westport Cove – patiently ridden under a change of tactics from Christmas – and claim the Munster Hurdlefor the Closutton massive. He’s now unbeaten in two starts for the yard. 

Afterwards, Paul Townend’s comments were noteworthy. “He only does what you make him do. He’s a good jumper but the hurdles are a bit small for him – he’d have more respect for a bigger jump. It’s testing ground so it turned into a bit of a staying race,” he said. “I had been worried about the drop in trip as he’s going to be a stayer. The rail helped me. He surprised me a little.” 

Jimmy Du Seuil later made it a double for Townend, jumping scrappily but winning by a wide margin. Another Mullins inmate, Lisnagar Fortune, got off the mark at Punchestown on Sunday but remains a sloppy jumper. A step up in trip might help. Placed horses Jasko Des Dames and Mercurey showed enough to score at this level. Crecora Hills and Gabriel Ranger did enough amid the backwash to suggest they have ability. 

In Britain, Tellherthename bounced back from his abject display in the Grade One Formby Hurdle on Aintree’s Boxing Day card with a straightforward success at Huntingdon. This was much more like his win here in November and his second to the Aintree winner Jango Baie on debut at Ascot. 

Gentle Slopes denied Junkanoo on the racecourse and, perhaps less justifiably, in the stewards’ room at Kempton – the verdict upheld by a nose despite a nudge from the winner to the second. Formerly with Milton Harris and reappearing for Nicky Henderson after a year off, the winner is a good-looking, scopey horse who’ll make a lovely novice chaser. Junkanoo, a Glorious Goodwood winner in his day, blamelessly racked up his third second in a row and will be rewarded for his consistency soon. 

The 1-2 from Warwick’s National Hunt maiden, Diamond Ri and Vincenzo, both look to have a decent future. The former travelled powerfully and recovered instantly when shuffled back by a weakening rival at one point, muscling his way into daylight and careering away – despite getting into the bottom of the second last. The latter was briefly stuck behind horses when Diamond Ri made his decisive move but put up a likeable fight. 

Lastly, the North have gotta horse. Eight-year-old Doyen Du Bar is clearly not easy to train but he’s got plenty of ability. Dominating from the outset, he defied a penalty to win by 17 lengths in stylish fashion at Kelso on Sunday. Although his races had been punctuated by long breaks, this is the third he’s strung together in relatively quick succession and he looks a smart chaser in the making. 

Advised 16/11/23: Envoi Allen at 16/1 for the Ryanair Chase with Paddy Power   

Advised 04/01/23: Appreciate It at 12/1 for the Ryanair Chase with Paddy Power 

Advised 01/01/24: Marie’s Rock at 33/1 for the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle with Bet365