The Cheltenham Festival is now within touching distance, with owners and trainers making their final decisions about which horses should be taking part in which races. Jockeys will also be jostling for the best rides, whilst punters will be hoping to get some tips in advance of the Cheltenham Roar being heard all around Gloucestershire.
With that in mind, then, I’ve decided to have a look at the top 10 horses that will be running at the Festival. These will be the ones that you’ll be wanting to keep an eye on as well as maybe have a bet on. I’ll have a look at their form over the season leading up to the Festival and any other information I think might be relevant.
The Top 10 Cheltenham Festival Runners
I’ll do my best to tell you which race these horses will be running in, but in some cases it might not have been confirmed yet and there’s always the chance that they might be entered into a different event or not entered into one at all.
Do bear that in mind before placing any wagers. If you want to back a horse but don’t want the risk of them not running consider a bookie with non-runner no bet for the festival this year, this way should it not run you will get your stakes back.
I’m also not putting them in any particular order, instead opting to talk about them at random.
Al Boum Photo – Gold Cup
Al Boum Photo will be hoping that he can become the first horse since Best Mate in 2004 to retain the Gold Cup. Best Mate won it for three successive years, of course, whilst Kauto Star has won it twice since then but lost out to Denman in the intervening year. Certainly Al Boum Photo is in rude health heading off to the Festival, having won at Tramore on New Year’s Day.
Willie Mullins is more than aware that the statistics are against his horse achieving back-to-back wins, to say nothing of the fact that the field is going to be a competitive one. The likes of Clan Des Obeaux, who won last year’s King George, and Ladbrokes Trophy winner De Rasher Counter will be hoping to stop Al Boum Photo etching his name into the record books.
His win in the Grade 3 Savills New Year’s Day Chase is his only race of the season so far, but he ended the last season strongly enough to mean he’ll definitely be in contention. That he’s won the Gold Cup already means that he has some experience that the other horses are lacking, even if he did fall in the RSA Chase when he ran in it in 2018.
- Trainer: Willie Mullins
- Owner: Mrs J Donnelly
- Sire: Buck’s Boum
- Dam: Al Gane
- Dam’s Sire: Dom Alco
Delta Work – Gold Cup
The beauty of the Gold Cup is that it’s a challenging enough race to mean that most entries will feel as though they’ve got a chance of victory with a fair wind behind them. That Delta Work won the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown at the start of February will mean that trainer Gordon Elliott will be more confident about his charge’s chances than most.
He was entered into the RSA Chase in March of 2019 and lost his unbeaten record over fences, but his win at Leopardstown was preceded by a victory in the Savills Chase in December. That came at the expense of other likely Gold Cup hopefuls Presenting Percy and Kemboy, seeing his price come in quite a bit for the blue riband event.
His season started with a fourth-place finish in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal on November 2nd, but his two wins since then have rekindled hope of a Gold Cup win. That he’s gained a fair bit of experience at Prestbury Park over the years, including a win in the Pertemps two years ago, means that he’s unlikely to be overawed by anything on the day.
- Trainer: Gordon Elliott
- Owner: Gigginstown House Stud
- Sire: Network
- Dam: Robbe
- Dam’s Sire: Video Rock
Bristol De Mai – Gold Cup
The main thing about Bristol De Mai that means he’s worth having a look at is the fact that most bookmakers seem to have completely ruled him out of the running for the blue riband event. That is in spite of the fact that he finished third in last year’s outing of the Cheltenham Festival’s most prestigious race. That means you’ll be able to get some decent odds on a horse with previous.
He’s only been given two runs so far this season, kicking things off with a second-placed finish in a field of four at Haydock in November. It was also a small field in the Grade 2 Paddy Power Cotswold Chase during Cheltenham Festival Trials Day in January. He was beaten by Santini, but the fact that Nicky Henderson’s horse is about half the value with the bookies is notable.
He has plenty of experience racing the Prestbury Park course and this will be his third Gold Cup attempt, so it’s not as if he’s likely to be overawed by the occasion. There are other Gold Cup tips that you’ll almost certainly want to opt for as your main bets, but you’d be mad to look towards Bristol De Man for a better value, outside bet.
- Trainer: Nigel Twiston-Davies
- Owners: Mr Simon Munir & Mr Isaac Souede
- Sire: Saddler Maker
- Dam: La Bole Night
- Dam’s Sire: April Night
Min – Queen Mother Champion Chase
No race at Cheltenham has quite the same prestige as the Gold Cup, but there are a few that come close. One of them is the Queen Mother Champion Chase, which was won by Altior in both 2018 and 2019. Other big name winners include Master Minded, Sprinter Sacre and Special Tiara, so that probably helps to explain why Willie Mullins would like a win for Min this time out.
One of the problems that Willie Mullins is going to have to hope that Min can overcome is the fact that Chacun Pour Soi is also likely to run in the Queen Mother, having got the better of Min in the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown in February. That being said, Mullins is also the trainer of Chacun Pour Soi so he’s unlikely to mind having two of the favourites for the race in his stable.
There’s a chance that Min might be moved over to the Ryanair Chase instead, but whichever horse he’s entered into he’ll be worth a flutter. His season has only included two races to date, with his second-place behind Chacun Pour Soi in the Dublin Chase being preceded by a win in the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase in December.
- Trainer: Willie Mullins
- Owner: Susannah Ricci
- Sire: Walk In The Park
- Dam: Phemyka
- Dam’s Sire: Saint Estephe
Cilaos Emery – Queen Mother Champion Chase
Cilaos Emery isn’t one of the more fancied horses for the Queen Mother Champion Chase, but the fact that his official rating is identical to A Plus Tard, who is almost certainly going to run in the Ryanair Chase, suggests that he shouldn’t be underestimated. He’s quietly unbeaten in three chase run-outs, so the long odds he’ll likely be handed aren’t to be sniffed at.
He didn’t take part in the Cheltenham Festival last year after a setback, but wins against horses that went on to do well at Prestbury Park earlier in the season meant that he would have been well fancied had he shown up. He didn’t, though, so this could be the year that he impresses in a manner than was expected of him back in 2019.
Rival trainer Enda Bolger predicted big things for Cilaos Emery after seeing her own horse beaten by him at Cork in December, so that should tell you something. Willie Mullins has overseen two wins so far this season, with the only defeat coming after he fell in the Ladbrokes Dublin Chase at the start of February. Definitely worth a look.
- Trainer: Willie Mullins
- Owner: Luke McMahon
- Sire: Califet
- Dam: Queissa
- Dam’s Sire: Saint Preuil
Altior – Queen Mother Champion Chase
At the time of writing Altior is the joint-favourite for the Champion Chase, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see him become the outright favourite the closer the race gets. His running style suggests that he’s always likely to struggle, but his placings in racing makes a mockery of that ideal. Nicky Henderson has given him a will to win that not all horses can boast.
That will has been demonstrated throughout his career, winning virtually every time he’s been run over jumps. A lengthy break between April 2019 and November of the same year might well have meant that he was rather rusty when he returned in the Grade 2 Christy 1965 Chase at Ascot, perhaps explaining his second-place finish out of three runners, his only defeat over fences.
He looked back to his best in the The Game Spirit Chase, which is also a Grade 2 offering, at Newbury towards the end of February however. Little wonder, then, that trainer Nicky Henderson is quietly confident that he’ll be able to cause some trouble in the Champion Chase, even if he’s wary of the horses likely to give him a run for his money.
- Trainer: Nicky Henderson
- Owner: Patricia Pugh
- Sire: High Chaparral
- Dam: Monte Solaro
- Dam’s Sire: Key Of Luck
Paisley Park – Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle
There are more than a few people that think that Paisley Park is as close to a banker as you’ll be able to get for the Cheltenham Festival, such has been his form so far in the season. The eight-year-old has been described as ‘only getting better’ by his trainer Emma Lavelle, with his experience on Cheltenham Racecourse also working in his favour.
When I make mention of his ‘form so far in the season’, that perhaps undersells just how good he’s been. He began with the Racing UK Handicap Hurdle at Aintree in October, which he won, and followed it up with the Grade 3 Betfair Exchange Stayers’ Handicap Hurdle, which he also won. In fact, he’s won every race he’s taken part in so far in this campaign.
That includes the Grade 2 Cleeve Hurdle, run during Trials Day in January, with the race being one of the best indicators for horses likely to perform well in the Stayers’ Hurdle when the Festival rolls around. There will be a huge amount of money riding on Paisley Park when the race gets underway and the only people likely to be pleased if he doesn’t win are the bookies.
- Trainer: Emma Lavelle
- Owner: Andrew Gemmell
- Sire: Oscar
- Dam: Presenting Shares
- Dam’s Sire: Presenting
Benie Des Dieux – Mares’ Hurdle
All the talk in the lead up to the Festival is going to be about Honeysuckle, with the mare having won the Irish Champion Hurdle at the start of February. Rachael Blackmore rode her to victory in a pulsating race during the Dublin Racing Festival, giving her six wins out of six over the jumps. That means that there’s not going to be much value in her, though.
There’ll be better value in Benie Des Dieux, who might have won this race last year if not for trouble at the last. She’s won 8 out of 9 starts since moving over to work with trainer Willie Mullins, so there’s likely to be a ding-dong battle between the two if they are indeed entered into the Mares’ Hurdle. Might the fact that Benie won it in 2018 tip the scales in her favour?
The big difference that she’s gained under Mullins is consistency, with a record that read 33614 prior to the move looking like 111F1 since. Her only outing so far this season came in the Grade 2 John Mulhern Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park towards the end of January. She ran well in that race despite struggling for visibility at the start. Definitely one to think about.
- Trainer: Willie Mullins
- Owner: Susannah Ricci
- Sire: Great Pretender
- Dam – Cana
- Dam’s Sire: Robin Des Champs
Faugheen – RSA Chase
Will Faugheen take part in a race at this year’s Festival? That’s the gamble that you’ll have to consider before whether or not to place a wager on him. The Irish thoroughbred won the Champion Hurdle in 2015, so he’s got good experience of life at Prestbury Park, but there was a suggestion he might not from trainer Willie Mullins after the Flogas Novices’ Chase in February.
That’s because the 12-year-old only started jumping over fences in November, but it was a solid start thanks to a win at Punchestown. Another win at Limerick on Boxing Day in the Grade 1 Greenmount Park Novice Chase got people excited about what Faugheen could achieve over fences before his latest win during the Dublin Racing Festival.
Eleven Grade 1 wins in a career to date that includes 17 wins out of 25 attempts means that Faugheen is a firm crowd favourite, so don’t be surprised if the roar is slightly louder from the Cheltenham racegoers should Mullins decide to give him one more outing this season. The Flogas Novices’ Chase is the same length as the Festival’s Golden Miller, but I fancy he’ll be in the RSA Chase.
- Trainer: Willie Mullins
- Owner: Susannah Ricci
- Sire: Trempolino
- Dam: Miss Pickering
- Dam’s Sire: Accordion
Envoi Allen – Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle
The Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle is traditionally the race that kicks off the second day of racing during the Cheltenham Festival, so it’s one that trainers and owners love to see their horses do well in. The ten hurdles that are in play during the running require a horse to have both skill over obstacles and a good degree of stamina to be in with a chance of victory.
That’s why much of the early betting has gone on Envoi Allen. Of course, the fact that he’s notched up seven wins from seven starts also helps the feeling that he’s going to be impressive when asked to step up to a race that some much-loved horses have won over the years. The feeling from those in the know is that if Envoi Allen is at his best then he wins.
His season began with the maiden hurdle at Down Royal and was followed up by the Grade 1 Royal Bond Novices’ Hurdle at Fairyhouse. His only race of 2020 to date was a third victory in as many runnings in the Lawlor’s Of Naas Novices’ Hurdle at Naas. He’s already won at Cheltenham, managing a victory in the Champion Bumper of 2019.
- Trainer: Gordon Elliott
- Owner: Cheveley Park Stud
- Sire: Muhtathir
- Dam: Reaction
- Dam’s Sire: Saint Des Saints