Lydia Hislop's Road To Cheltenham: the lowdown on Lossiemouth and more

For the second week running, the two-mile hurdlers hogged centre stage – even though only two of the match-ups actually delivered to the extent anticipated.

Lossiemouth’s fashionably late entrance came eight days after her reappearance was first announced, and saw her readily thwart Teahupoo’s bid for a Hatton’s Grace hat-trick, whilst super-sub Sir Gino – standing in for again-absent Constitution Hill – complicated calculations for trainer Nicky Henderson and owners Joe and Marie Donnelly by running away with the Fighting Fifth. Mystical Power, the super-sub’s supposed rival at Newcastle, turned up in body only.

With plenty to chew over, this week's column focuses solely on the hurdling picture.

Thank goodness she missed the Morgiana, eh? Because the Bar One Racing Hatton’s Grace seemingly wouldn’t have been much of a contest without Lossiemouth.

Gordon Elliott did his best to have her surrounded by fielding all three runners against her – and his jockeys took that idea more literally with Keith Donoghue making the running on Beacon Edge, Sam Ewing closely attending on his outer on Teahupoo, and Jordan Gainford in turn shadowing him on Maxxum in a vain attempt to hem in the mare.

Yet the closest they came to a result was four out when, with Paul Townend still wrestling with his too-keen mount, she clattered into it – drawing an audible gasp from the Fairyhouse crowd – and landed unbalanced.

The jockey later took the blame for that error, admitting: “I wanted to just miss it but not as much as that, to be honest. [But] I was happy when she missed it, took a little blow for herself and settled into it nicely from then. She had been fresh early in the race and she just got that out of her system, and then came back on the bridle, and it was easy work from there to home.” 

The visuals told exactly the same story. The error concentrated a mind that hitherto had been wandering whilst her legs were moving slower than she wanted. She jumped the remaining three flights cleanly, the last of them whilst smoothly taking the lead, and merely needed pushing out to pull three-and-three-quarter lengths clear.

That she was far from fully extended makes her final four furlongs of 52.59 all the more remarkable; even if the dawdle meant she had plenty of energy left, this was the second-fastest closing sectional of the two-day fixture. (The owner of that fastest furlong lives at the same yard and gets a fully deserved mention below…)

When Townend said, “I suppose I thought we’d go quicker earlier in the race maybe if we could,” he might as well have been speaking for his mount. “I gave her half a squeeze going down to the last and she just lengthened and was so quick from one side to the other that we landed running,” he added. “She just gives you a lovely feel everywhere.”

Let’s be clear about it, though: the race was set up for a speedster, Teahupoo was conceding 7lb and not at his best, and the mare didn’t need to improve to do this. Her odds shortening to a best-priced 2-1, little more than 24 hours after Sir Gino announced himself as another potential rising force in this division, was based more on the promise and stylishness of her performance rather than its substance.

Teahupoo had beaten Honeysuckle on heavy ground in this Grade One when that mare was mildly on the downgrade in 2022, and was at his very best when denting the aspirations of Impaire Et Passe 12 months later on soft. This time, the ground was good – some of the quickest he’s faced and placing greater emphasis on speed at the bottom end of his distance range – and Elliott attested in a frank interview with Gary O’Brien on Racing TV (watch below) that he’d be “sharper for today”.

“I think he’s stronger this year. I think there’ll be improvement on today, [although] I don’t think we’d win with a stone [of improvement] the way the mare won,” Elliott said, before suggesting Teahupoo might run in Leopardstown’s Christmas Hurdle – if anywhere – rather than going straight to the Stayers’ Hurdle as he did from this point last season.

However, when he mentioned earlier that “we’ll be trying to avoid her, anyway, wherever she goes”, sadly you sensed he was thinking more from the perspective of recent Morgiana winner Brighterdaysahead than Teahupoo, whose path naturally diverges from that of Lossiemouth from now on.

Ten-year-old Beacon Edge was fit from beating Grand National hopeful Twig and the Dan Skelton-trained mare Kateira (who’d made a chance-ending error two out when yet to be asked for her effort) in Wetherby’s West Yorkshire last month, but was plainly flattered by controlling the pace of this race. Even he clocked a finishing speed percentage of 110.66% according to the RaceiQ data, a function of the dawdle he set. Maxxum was sacrificed for the queen throughout the race but pretty much fell on his own sword with a two-out blunder.

Lossiemouth was nonetheless imperious, despite the previous weekend’s minor blip of a foot bruise (©WPMullins, who clearly turns all stones rather than leaving them lying around) – the saga of which was discussed in last week’s column. 

The trainer also hopes she will improve for this outing, which has been the message for all his seasonal debutants so far this season due to conditions on the Closutton gallops suffering from a lack of rain.

Asked by O’Brien whether he was “blown away” by her performance, Mullins said: “Well I was just hoping, with the pace of the race, that was what she’d do and she did it. The only upset was the fourth last, but looking at the first mile and a half I thought: if they keep doing this, it’s only a matter of jumping home. Anyone looking at that would think she’s going to have more speed than her opposition.” 

The fact that Lossiemouth keeps matching, and on occasions exceeding, expectations to date means there is literally no good reason why she shouldn’t be taking on the best in the best races from here on. Happily, that’s what her trainer confirmed he plans to do – barring “something happening untoward over Christmas or around Dublin Racing Festival”.

“We were always going for the Champion Hurdle this year; she’s on course for that,” affirmed Mullins. “I’ll try to keep herself and State Man apart [until then]… He’s always going to Leopardstown [for the Matheson]; he loves that place. At the moment, that’s the obvious thing to do and find somewhere else for her to go.”

Mullins didn’t even blink when O’Brien compared her with 2016 Champion Hurdle winner Annie Power, acknowledging both have “a Flat pedigree – that’s where she gets her bit of speed, I think”. Whereas he stopped short of identifying Kempton’s Christmas Hurdle as Lossiemouth’s yuletide target – setting up the unexpected present of a festive clash with either Sir Gino or Constitution Hill, Joe Chambers – racing manager to Rich and Susannah Ricci, has since confirmed “there’s every chance” she will travel there when interviewed in the Nick Luck Daily podcast on Monday. 

Chambers was less keen on reprising her win in the Unibet Hurdle (International Hurdle), given she’d now have a 6lb penalty to carry (as she would in the Relkeel on New Year’s Day). He suggested the Irish Champion Hurdle might be the likelier pre-Champion option. Should she grace the Dublin Racing Festival – as Ruby Walsh pointed out in last week’s show –Leopardstown is set up to suit State Man less well in February than at Christmas. This might even force a wrenchingly early decision from Townend.

The Donnellys may have more than one next-generation model of their own, of course, after Sir Gino made the smoothest of transitions into the big league from the juvenile sphere at Newcastle barely 15 minutes after fellow unbeaten four-year-old Anzadam had made a good impression under Townend in their yellow-and-black-checked silks at Fairyhouse.

Sir Gino clocked a smart overall time in the BetMGM Fighting Fifth, his jumping perhaps showing the benefit of schooling over fences because rather than running into the bottom of his obstacles, he picked up his feet nicely and powered away from Lump Sum by a ridden-out eight lengths.

Nico de Boinville steadied into the first and his mount had to be nimble when getting in too close at the fourth, but he breezed past front-running Kihavah two out and was assured – if not quite slick – at the final two flights. The only real issue his jockey contended with was his mount’s freshness on his first start of the season – much like Lossiemouth, only in a better-run race.

“He was very fresh early doors and I’ve just had to switch him off a bit,” a still-pumped de Boinville confirmed to ITV Racing’s Natalie Green, moments after making the shush gesture to a boisterous but appreciative crowd when crossing the line. “He’s missed one down the side – that was the only error he made – but apart from that, he seemed to learn from it. He pinged them all up the straight and seemed to finish well.”

De Boinville was not wrong. Sir Gino engaged the turbos from four furlongs out, breaking 14 seconds in the final two, his last even quicker than the one before. The only horse to put up a better recent performance on the clock in the Fighting Fifth was an on-song Constitution Hill in 2022 – and the margin of his superior closing sectionals is not massive.

However, her one mistake aside, you’d say Lossiemouth jumps more like a top-drawer two-miler than Sir Gino at this stage. Yet this fella is a year behind her in age and experience, and palpably improving. He left the impression this experience will have advanced his education significantly. His rider clearly felt the buzz, judged by his uncharacteristic celebration – even though there were no doubters to silence. Perhaps it was his own rising excitement he was trying to quieten?

By contrast, it was obvious from an early stage that fellow 6/5 favourite Mystical Power was not travelling as Mark Walsh would have hoped. Be-hooded, as he has been since finishing an outstayed second to Slade Steel in last term’s Supreme, he approached the first hurdle too keenly and overjumped it, upsides Sir Gino. Steadied back into fourth, just behind that rival, he remained a little keen until after the third flight, when Walsh signalled via some nudges and shaking of the reins that the engine was sputtering.

Relatively laboured jumps at the fourth and fifth then saw him drop to second last, his rider’s distress signals becoming more explicit. Not fluent at the sixth, he was ridden along and plainly struggling to keep up even with 138-rated Take No Chances. By the second last, it was all over but for some forlorn whip-waving and he came home 33 lengths adrift of the winner.

This was the first disappointing run of Mystical Power’s whole career. To date, he’d only ever surprised his connections for the right reasons, the hallmark of last term his steady ascent through the novice ranks. My first thought was that a problem would be found, but the following day at Fairyhouse, Mullins reported him to be “fine after the race, he was 100 per cent”.

“He jumped the first very keen and very well, and then we tried to settle him in behind Sir Gino and maybe he just didn’t enjoy that,” he added. “And maybe then, with his pedigree, he wants to go much further. You know, he’s out of Annie Power by Galileo. Maybe he just wants two-and-a-half-miles plus.”

Yet Mystical Power was patiently ridden for a turn of foot over two miles all last season, that speed seemingly blunted at Cheltenham. His best efforts came with a half-length defeat of Firefox (Lump Sum 14 lengths adrift in fifth) in the Top Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree and when needing every inch of a strongly run race over Punchestown’s extended two miles to beat the same horse by a length and three quarters.

Newcastle’s good ground was the quickest he’s yet faced over hurdles, so perhaps his trainer is right that this was a factor over two miles after a summer’s maturing. Yet this still doesn’t fully account for the level of under-performance, in my view.

Even if Sir Gino’s main rival was in effect a no-show, Lump Sum is no slouch – still improving and fit from having won the Welsh Champion Hurdle. Rider Dylan Johnston was also unable to utilise his claim in this Grade One, but his mount still produced a career-best despite being readily out-speeded by his younger rival. He stuck to his task likeably, and there are more good prizes to be won with him, perhaps over further.

Henderson watched Sir Gino from Newbury and afterwards spoke of his overwhelming relief to ITV’s Matt Chapman. “He’s very, very good and we’ve always believed it. But he’s got to prove it and I think he’s taken another step in that direction. He’s a seriously talented horse and we’ve been vociferous in our opinion of him,” he explained.

Asked the million-dollar question – whether this victory means Sir Gino will stay over hurdles this season regardless of what happens to Constitution Hill – Henderson eventually conceded: “That would sort of say: ‘Do you really need to be going chasing this year?’, I have to admit.”

However, that concession was hard won, only coming after the trainer had emphasised how well Sir Gino had schooled over fences when the intention had been to go novice chasing. “He’s so good at it,” he eulogised. “You haven’t seen a horse over fences like that [meaning Sir Gino] can. It’s unbelievable, like all those lovely good two-milers we’ve been lucky enough to have – and there’s been quite a few of them. He’s as good as I’ve seen.”

When an attestation is that glowing, you have to take it seriously – even if it might not be put to the test in racing conditions this season – and it goes a long way towards explaining why Henderson wasn’t immediately strapping Sir Gino to the Champion Hurdle’s mast. That, and the small matter of his again-sidelined stablemate, at his peak one of the best hurdlers ever to have raced. The Donnellys will also have their own preferences.

Their Anzadam had earlier shown a sparkling turn of foot to settle the Grade Three Willowwarm Mullinam Hurdle for four-year-olds in a matter of strides at Fairyhouse, clocking the fastest closing sectional of the two-day fixture at 51.79s. The earlier pace had admittedly not been especially strong for speed-favouring good ground and the whole field was bang in contention turning for home, albeit some were travelling better than others.

The winner was going best and made 6/5 favourite Kala Conti, already urged along after a less than fluent jump three out, appear slow when quickening past her on the approach to the last. Indeed, Townend had to take a pull mid-race and then struggled to ease down after the line.

Having won both his starts in France for Arnaud Chaille-Chaille in the autumn of last year, Anzadam didn’t make the track for his new yard last season. “I wanted to aim him for the Triumph Hurdle… just couldn’t get him right,” Mullins admitted in his interview with O’Brien the following day. “I’d say he’s half-right now. Maybe that’s the way to train him? But because of his troubles last year, I said I’d just get him on the racetrack.”

Yet the trainer went on to imply, via emphasis, that it was Anzadam more than Lossiemouth who “blew me away”, but surely that was just relative to expectations? “He’s four and he’ll have to take on Grade One horses now,” Mullins added, before segueing into his new-found if somewhat vague fondness for the British race programme. “I’m trying to think: where can I avoid State Man, where can I avoid Lossiemouth? Maybe I’ll be looking for something in England.”

The Elliott-trained filly Kala Conti showed an excellent attitude in defeat but shaped as though she needs to step up in trip, not for the first time. Gavin Cromwell’s prominent racer Bottler’secret threw in a rare bad effort, albeit he wandered on the approach to two out and blundered through it, finishing fifth.

British raiders Dodger Long and Givemefive finished ahead of him in third and fourth respectively. The former showed superior pace and is still on the improve, whereas the latter – who’d beaten the third and fifth in a well-run but hurdle-light race at Cheltenham previously – indicated he’s vulnerable in these circumstances and would also benefit from a longer trip.

To end, we return to where we in effect started: with the staying division. Teahupoo’s victory last March in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, two places better than when suffering a troubled late passage 12 months earlier, placed him top of this division, and victory at Punchestown in May meant he signed off unbowed in the 2023/24 season. Getting beaten by a top-class, pacey mare in a speed test for the Hatton’s Grace was no disgrace, even if it wasn’t on a par with any of that trio of performances.

However, Strong Leader emerged as a worthy challenger for the staying crown right at the end of last term with an authoritative success over Buddy One – who hasn’t yet taken to fences and may yet revert to the smaller obstacles – in the Liverpool Hurdle, even if there remains some doubt over whether Cheltenham will ever be the venue where he displays his best form.

He had been held back primarily by his clumsy hurdling technique, but there’s no denying a good engine under the bonnet. Despite a catalogue of errors in last term’s Cleeve, for example, he rallied for third behind Noble Yeats despite being clearly also unsuited by a stop-start pace. His trainer Olly Murphy has long maintained he could and should have won that contest, even though his effort appeared to me to have flattened out near the line.

Murphy therefore felt vindicated when, having deliberately skipped the Festival to be fresh for Aintree, he produced a stand-out career best. The cheekpieces trialled on that preceding Cheltenham start were discarded and Sean Bowen replaced Gavin Sheehan, executing a patient ride off a sound gallop on this strong-travelling, good-looking hitherto under-achiever.

Despite producing his characteristic calling-card of clattering through the final two flights, he managed to be an impressive winner – on the bridle until approaching the last, where a peck on landing couldn’t even stop him powering away and demonstrating his long-hinted-at stamina. This made him Britain’s best staying hurdler with, aged seven and only two starts at three miles to his name, the promise of more to come.

His return in Newbury’s Grade Two Coral Long Distance Hurdle last Friday did nothing to detract from his status, even though he had relatively little to beat on the day. Paul Nicholls said beforehand that Monmiral wouldn’t be quite good enough, and – despite his charge putting up a fight – he was right. Dan Skelton said – not for the first time and despite knowing (and saying) he would not be believed – that Langer Dan doesn’t blossom until the Spring, and of course he was right, too.

Strong Leader typically travelled well and largely jumped a lot better than is usually the case, even though the pace of the race was unhelpfully tepid thanks to front-running Flight Deck having one of his more indolent moods on. The leader kept putting down rather than jumping cleanly and had to be urged along from a disconcertingly early stage. Although he pretty much matched his third to Dashel Drasher in this race last year on paper, the eye said something different.

In the straight, Flight Deck was a sitting duck as Monmiral moved up to challenge on his left and, having jumped awkwardly at the third last, Strong Leader on his right, with Langer Dan shadowing the latter. As the two challengers moved ahead – the winner more smoothly – the one-time leader was switched right and carried Langer Dan that way on the approach to two out. However, on landing it was apparent this detail was academic to his chances as he had little left.

Monmiral then executed a lesser jump at the last, just when he needed better to stay in the game. However, he tenaciously harried Strong Leader all the way to the line, albeit Bowen didn’t need to get much animated in the saddle.

This effort thus added ballast to the impression he made at Aintree, although both were achieved at flat tracks. He will need to upgrade his Cheltenham form, where the undulations seem to discombobulate him, if he’s going to threaten Teahupoo.

Langer Dan twitchers will note the handicapper has left him on 160, a mark 19lb higher than that of both his Coral Cup triumphs. It was one of the more controversial moments of the 2024 Festival – at least on the track – when he became the first horse to win that race twice, having run abjectly on all four previous starts that season but appeared to bounce back for the application of cash. (© Fran Berry)

It didn’t matter that his trainer had long pointed to his dislike of the winter months, put on advance record that he’d been treated for ulcers, and that the horse had bled in the Lanzarote. There was also nothing I can point to in the way he was ridden during those starts that indicated he was capable of doing any better than he did – not something I could (or indeed did, in this space) suggest about his eighth in the Relkeel the previous season, for what it’s worth.

So, that victory was regarded with a jaundiced eye and generated a great deal of outrage. After he went on to finish a slightly unlucky third in the Grade One Aintree Hurdle and backed that up with second in the Select, the prosecution rested.

The Skeltons know it and are clearly stung by it. Harry could muster little enthusiasm for a poisoned chalice when asked about the horse by Oli Bell on The Opening Show two weeks ago, managing only “he’s a funny little horse’ and adding repeatedly that he was doing “okay” and no more. Characteristically, his brother has been more forthright.

“I have repeatedly explained to everybody, whether I’m believed or not,” Dan attested on Racing TV last month, “that this is not the easiest horse in the autumn or winter.” He reportedly reprised this position before the race in interview on ITV Racing last Friday. He has also made it clear that the Stayers’ Hurdle is his Langer Dan’s primary target this season.

“There will need to be a very, very good reason to run in another Coral Cup when we want to run in a Stayers’ Hurdle,” he told Nick Luck. “And I don’t actually feel like he needs to put up sparkling numbers between now and whenever. What you have to do with this horse is you have to trust him. I think when you get to the Spring, you’ve just got to trust that it all comes together.” 

In actuality, last Friday’s third is by far the best he’s ever managed this side of March, which is promising if in Dan you trust. (Either of them.) However, he will also need to prove his stamina for three miles if he’s going to be a force in his target event, because he didn’t do that here.