Two competitive days of racing at Cheltenham over the weekend, and while the big race saw a shock, elsewhere, the winners weren’t too difficult to find.
We had clues for the future on both days, with a 2026 Triumph Hurdle hope, a nice novice chase winner, and the Cross Country chase all providing those.
Here’s a look back at the two days, with a few horses to take from the weekend who could well either improve on what they’ve done, or continue some excellent form they’ve already shown.
Friday December 12th
I think in terms of horses that could go well again in the future, the Friday was the better of the two days, with a few catching my eye.
The opening race saw Old Park Star win for Nicky Henderson. He made it two from two over hurdles with this success. I’m not saying he’s going to be top class, but he’s worth a follow, and may find himself in a big handicap come the end of the season.
Failing to win in three flat starts for Paul Nicholls, the change of scenery has clearly done him well, and although the winning distance was 12 lengths, he was eased down, and it could have been more.
In the novice chase, Sixmilebridge was another horse to go two from two, for him it was over fences, with Fergal O’Brien’s runner claiming this contest by 13 lengths.
Again, he might not make it to the very top, but I could see him running a big race in a top novice handicap or being an outsider in one of the Spring Grade One events.
Fortune De Mer has always been labelled as a top prospect by Dan Skelton. When he won at Cheltenham in October, he was given the task of becoming a contender for one of the Cheltenham Festival handicaps.
Since then, he’s lost at Ascot, but won this weekend, to further improve his record at this track, and you get the feeling he’ll be ‘nicely handled’ with his handicap mark in mind, before the Festival.
The Emmet Mullins-trained J’Arrive De L’Est failed to land the gamble in the Cross Country Chase, but that was just his first run in Britain, and you get the feeling there could be plenty more to come. For me, he’s another to note, especially now that the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival is a handicap.
Saturday December 13th
The name Faye Bradley isn’t one that you see too often when it comes to big Saturday winners, but Glengouly gave the yard a big race success in the December Gold Cup.
Sent off at 33/1, he made all under the excellent Sean Bowen, who made full use of the horse. While I’d be surprised if he could go on from this, he certainly deserved the prize for his gutsy performance.
In the week before the race, Jagwar was incredibly well supported and ran very well despite trouble in running and mistakes at a bad time.
He looks destined to be competitive in top handicaps all season, and I think a little further in distance could bring out even more from him. He’s one to stay on the right side of.
Minella Study, trained by Adam Nicol, made it three from three over hurdles and looks destined for a run in the Triumph Hurdle next March.
It was the best performance so far here, carrying a penalty in this race but moving away from the field to win by over six lengths.
This wasn’t a traditionally strong Cheltenham juvenile hurdle, but he couldn’t have done it much better.
Special mention to David’s Well, trained by Chris Gordon, and ridden to success on Saturday by Harry Cobden.
The horse is now four from four over fences, a perfect record, and they’ve all come in handicap company. Beginning off a mark of just 106 last December when he won his chasing debut, he won this race off a mark of 128.
After being reassessed, he’s likely to be in the mid-130s, a remarkable rise, and you’d not fancy being against him next time. This win puts him right into contention for something like the Grand Annual Chase back here in March.
Adding to their win on the first day, Dan and Harry Skelton took the last two races on Saturday with Carlenrig and Nurse Susan to bag three victories together across the 14 races.