Ruby Walsh's top tips for the 2024 Cheltenham Festival
Tuesday
It’s obviously disappointing not to have Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle, he was probably one of the standout horses for the Festival. Like any major sporting event, if you don’t have one of the stars, it’s always a disappointment, but you have State Man, Irish Point and obviously Iberico Lord was supplemented.
He’s an interesting runner coming through the handicaps, potentially. He has a fair bit to find to win a Champion Hurdle but there are only a certain number of good horses around, so when Constitution Hill goes missing, it does open the door for others.
State Man stands head and shoulders above the opposition now. His form is rock solid and, other than running into Constitution Hill, his record is exceptional. When you think that Paul Townend is pretty adamant he didn’t show his true running in last year’s Champion Hurdle, that run is still good enough to win this year’s Champion Hurdle, so he’s going to be incredibly hard to beat.
Place-wise, I think Iberico Lord is an interesting one but it will be all about State Man.
With Constitution Hill falling out of the Champion Hurdle, the same probably applies to the Arkle with Marine Nationale, who was setting the standard. I suppose he was beaten at the Dublin Racing Festival (DRF) and he’d have questions to answer, but with him missing, the Arkle has become a wide open, and very interesting, contest.
Il Etait Temps is two from three over fences and he only has a neck advantage over Found A Fifty, and Found A Fifty could be suited better by a stronger pace, which you’re going to get here with Matata and Quilixios in the field.
Mister Chewy was a huge price earlier in the week, he was 25-1 and has been trimmed into 16-1. I thought he was an interesting one in a race where there was a lot of pace, and where you can’t really pick out the winner, but I prefer him more at 25s than I do at 16s.
I don’t see a massive amount of pace (in the Mares’ Hurdle) but I do think Lossiemouth is the one that’s improved the most from four to five and hopefully she can improve again from five to six. She was very good in the Triumph last year, she beat Zarak The Brave at Punchestown, and she was really good here on Trials Day.
The trip is the only unknown, but to look at her as an individual, she looks like a more relaxed mare this year, she’s grown up mentally as well as physically, she’s going to get better again so, fingers crossed.
There’s two short prices there - State Man and Lossiemouth - and I think they’re both really hard to oppose.
Corbetts Cross, who I think was unlucky last year in the Albert Bartlett, has Embassy Gardens to face in the Maureen Mullins National Hunt Chase, and it will be a son and grandson trying to win the race named after her.
I’d probably be in the Corbetts Cross camp. He’s been to Cheltenham and performed better (I know he ran out at the last in the Albert Bartlett) than Embassy Gardens, and I think he’ll take a bit of beating.
Willie has plenty of horses in the Supreme and could run five or six. Mistergif could outrun his odds at a big price but until we get declarations on Sunday, that’s going to be a hard race to size up.
Tuesday’s other selections: 2.50 Giovinco, 4.50: Ose Partir
bet365 are offering a £100,000 jackpot prize pot every day and £250,000 on Gold Cup Day in their
El Fabiolo was really good in last year’s Arkle but Paul Townend felt that State Man didn’t perform in last year’s Champion Hurdle, and I’d argue you could say the same for Jonbon in last year’s Arkle.
I was really impressed with Jonbon in the Shloer. I thought he was really good in the Tingle Creek, too, but things didn’t go right for him in the Clarence House behind Elixir De Nutz. You can’t really write a seasoned horse off on one run, though. You can look at novices maybe and think each run should be a progression and you’re hoping as they step up in grade, they keep improving, whereas with open horses you know how good they are, and you know how good Jonbon is, so I can excuse him his last start.
I think that with Edwardstone in here - not so much Captain Guinness, he’s learning to settle better - and maybe Gentleman De Mee will help set a really strong gallop, and I don’t think there’ll be any hiding place.
The margin for error at this level is so small, and if there is one place you could look at with El Fabiolo, and Nico De Boinville pointed it out this week, he jumps, but he’s not exceptional, and he does take the odd chance. Someday that chance catches up with you. I’m hoping it won’t be on Wednesday, but there is that little bit of doubt there, and I don’t see the Champion Chase as a foregone conclusion.
I really do like Fact To File but again, I think there’s a shape to this race (Brown Advisory) that could make it interesting.
I don’t think Broadway Boy will win but I do think he will have a big influence on what happens. I think Broadway Boy is a forward-going horse, and a front-running type, and I think he would really help Stay Away Fay in making this a stamina contest. You are attacking the one thing you don’t know about Fact To File then, and that’s will he stay, or won’t he stay.
He was brilliant at the DRF. I know it was a match but he looks an exceptional racehorse. He still has to show he stays just beyond three miles, and I think Broadway Boy and Stay Away Fay between them will find out if he does, or he doesn’t.
If Fact To File can be impressive here, he’s announced himself as a potential Gold Cup horse.
Wednesday’s other selections: 1.30 Ballyburn 2.50 Sa Majeste, 4.10 Minella Indo 4.50 Frero Banbou, 5.30 Fleur Au Fusil.
Thursday
I think the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle is Teahupoo versus the rest. He was slightly unlucky in this race last year. He has to improve a bit and he does look like he’s improved a little bit - he was good at Fairyhouse when he beat Impaire Et Passe in the Hatton’s Grace.
Crambo was only just in front of Paisley Park, and Noble Yeats was only just in front of Paisley Park. Sir Gerhard has to prove he stays, Monkfish could run in the Gold Cup and all of the rest of them, you can throw a blanket over them on all their runs this year, so if Teahupoo has improved, and he’s clear of them, he’ll be very hard to beat. Otherwise there’s going to be a good jump, and a bit of luck in running, that’s going to split the rest.
I thought Noble Yeats won a little bit snug in the Cleeve Hurdle, I think he’ll be the one (to challenge Teahupoo) more so than Crambo. Even though it was only a head and a short-head, I thought Noble Yeats was a little bit more convincing in beating Paisley Park than Crambo was, so I’ve got to be with Noble Yeats at 8-1 each-way.
I think the Ryanair is wide open, and I think there will be quite a big field.
When you look down through them, Banbridge and Envoi Allen both want the ground to dry out, so does Stage Star who was disappointing on his last start. Capodanno would like it to stay the way it is, so stamina comes into play, and so would Conflated. I think Fil Dor has a little bit to prove. Protektorat would be an interesting runner - I thought he ran really well at Newbury behind Shishkin and I think coming down in trip will suit him. Hitman is a good horse on his day - he was second at Newbury, and he has to have his chance. Fugitif powered home to win the December Gold Cup. The Clarence House was too short for him, but he could be interesting.
If the ground does dry and we get good to soft, or even a little bit better than that, I think Envoi Allen’s record at the Cheltenham Festival is incredible. He won the bumper, he won the novice hurdle, fell in a novice chase and he won a Ryanair. He’s three from four at the Cheltenham Festival and I really like horses for courses; horses for meetings.
I would say if you were looking at Brighterdaysahead in Navan on her last start in February, you wouldn’t need to have honors in maths to figure out that she ran to about 150, so that leaves Dysart Enos with a fair bit to prove.
Gordon Elliott is really talking up Brighterdaysahead and I only remember a couple of horses that Gordon has ever really got off the fence about; Don Cossack, Envoi Allen - who were both champions - and Samcro, which he got wrong, but two out of three ain’t bad. And he’s talking about Brighterdaysahead like she is the second coming, so you have to listen to that.
Thursday’s other selections: 1.30 Gaelic Warrior, 2.10 Gabby’s Cross, 4.10 Riaan, 5.30 Where It All Began.
Friday
I’d say it’s a pretty similar race to last year; they’re both good Gold Cups. The right two horses came to the second last last year, the King George winner versus the Irish Gold Cup winner. I don’t see the King George winner (Hewick) getting involved this year but I do think Fastorslow is a very good horse, I think he’ll be a bit better than he was at Leopardstown and I think Galopin Des Champs could be too.
I am with Galopin Des Champs; I have allegiances to the Willie Mullins camp, so I’m not going to turn my back on him!
He was brilliant here last year. I thought he was spectacular in Leopardstown at Christmas, I thought he showed his superiority at the DRF and I think three and a quarter miles really suits him. Fastorslow is a faster jumper than him and has beaten him twice at Punchestown, over three miles and two and a half miles, but I just think Galopin is a little bit better than Fastorslow, but I do think they’ll be first and second.
The interesting one is what finishes third.
Which Shishkin shows up? The one that really wants to go a gallop, he can run a big race. Gerri Colombe I don’t think ran to form at Leopardstown at Christmas, I think he can do better than that. Paul Nicholls seems to think he can get Bravemansgame back and I’m not going to doubt him - he’s a master trainer. I think Corach Rambler could be the interesting one at a big price. When he beat Fastorslow (in the Ultima), and he beat him snugly enough. Fastorslow is 4lb better off but I’d say Corach Rambler beat him with more than 4lb up his sleeve and he was spectacular in the Grand National; he’d be the outsider at a price for me.
Last year it was Bravemansgame and Galopin Des Champs heading to the second last and I think it will be Galopin Des Champs and Fastorslow this year, and I’m hoping to see the same result.
That’s what you want, the cream coming to the top.
People always take things for granted, me included, but it’s never that easy and he has to go and do it but I think he can. I’m hoping he’ll go to Punchestown and win as well because then that’s the path you follow with him again next year and it’s the kind of campaigning that you want to see.
You look at Al Boum Photo and he won two Gold Cups. If Galopin Des Champs wins next week, which horse will be held in higher regard in history? It’s already Galopin Des Champs because of how many times we’ve seen him, how many times he’s raced compared to Al Boum Photo, and I think that’s what made Kauto Star great, that’s what made Desert Orchid great and it’s what made Istabraq great. Horses only become great by continuously running and winning a lot of the time and that’s why I hope he can win.
Every sport needs superstars. We don’t have Constitution Hill this week, so hopefully that superstar can become Galopin Des Champs.
Friday’s other selections: 1.30 Sir Gino, 2.10 First Street, 2.50 Gidleigh Park, 4.10 Its On The Line, 4.50 Dinoblue, 5.30 Quai De Bourbon.