That concludes quite a second day of the Festival with a couple of future superstars in Monkfish winning the Brown Advisory and Bob Olinger winning the Ballymore. The Champion Chase saw a huge favourite downed in Chacun Pour Soir and by a first ever mare winner of the race in Put The Kettle On. Sir Gerhard, the Bumper winner, looks a fine prospect too. But the day will be recalled for the performance of Tiger Roll, one that will put the cat among the pigeons. Even if he isn’t running at Aintree, he is a Cheltenham legend, having won five times at the Festival.
Champion Bumper (4.50pm) result
1 Sir Gerhard (Rachael Blackmore) 85-40
2 Kilcruit (Paul Townend) 10-11 fav
3 Elle Est Belle (Harry Skelton) 16-1
14 ran
Top trainers after day two.
1 Willie Mullins with three winners, five second places and a third.
2 Henry de Bromhead with three winners, one second place and a third
3 Denise Foster with two winners and a third
Nicky Henderson and Sue Smith are the only British trainers on the list, though Jonjo O’Neill does train out of Jackdaws Castle.
That’s the third year in a row that Cheveley Park have won the Bumper.
Rachael Blackmore meanwhile is top of the jockeys list with three winners and a third place, ahead of Paul Townend who has had two winners and five seconds and a third. Jack Kennedy with two wins and a second place is in second.
75 winners at The Festival for @WillieMullinsNH!
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 17, 2021
Sir Gerhard wins the @weatherbysltd Champion Bumper.#CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/OS1cJkIuga
Champion Bumper
They drop down the hill with Sir Gerhard leading into the final half mile. Ramilies follows on from him. Sir Gerhard takes it up and Rachael Blackmore has this in her grasp. Kilcruit the favourite chases her down, but Sir Gerhard wins. That was won wire to wire. Rachael Blackmore takes another win, as do Willie Mullins and Ireland.
Updated
Champion Bumper
A sluggish start sees Sir Gerhard take it up as they saunter past the stands but there is no sort of pace. And he leads them right up to the top of the course and halfway. Ten lengths from first to last.
Here’s the Mullins fest known as the Champion Bumper. Sir Gerhard, heavily fancied in the Cheveley Park colours, moved over from Gordon Elliott after the social media farrago, and is ridden by Rachael Blackmore, thankfully OK after her earlier fall. His owners had the last two Bumper winners in the lamented Ferny Hollow and Envoi Allen, considered the best thing of this Festival.
Edward O’Leary, the racing manager of the Gigginstown Stud, the owners of Tiger Roll, has been speaking about the winner of the Cross Country Chase, and there’s a swipe at the Grand National, too.
That was unbelievable - what a fantastic horse, we’re over the moon here. He’s a legend of a horse. There was a rush to retire this horse earlier in the season, but he’s a cross-country horse, that’s what he is, and we always said we’ll wait to see how he gets on over the cross-country fences once more. To win at five Festivals is amazing, what a horse. Aintree is off the agenda and we’ve no regrets about that. Both him and Easysland are rated too high. He is rated the equal of our Gold Cup horse, Delta Work, and we know he’s not as good. It’s going to be hard to retire him after that, now, and he loves racing in any case. He’ll probably have to run at Punchestown in the Grade One, where he will probably prove he is nowhere near a 166-rated horse, and it is a pity we have to do that. Cross-country racing got this horse back after he had completely lost his way, but we’ll have to go in a Grade One just to prove he has the wrong rating. He’s a cross-country horse, that’s what he is. Whatever we decide to do, and if he never wins another race, we will enjoy today.
Champion Bumper (4.50 pm) odds
- Kilcruit – 5/4
- Sir Gerhard – 2/1
- Three Stripe Life – 11/1
- Ramilies – 18/1
- Grangee – 22/1
- Cool Jet – 40/1
- Shearer – 50/1
- Wonderwall – 66/1
- I Like to Move It Move it – 66/1
- Super Six – 66/1
- Chemical Energy – 66/1
- Jacks a Legend- 150/1
- Creggan White Hare – 250
- Latest odds from Oddschecker
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual result
1 Sky Pirate (Nick Schofield) 14-1
2 Entoucas (Mark Walsh) 7-1
3 Ibleo (Charlie Deutsch) 9-1
4 On The Slopes (Tom Cannon) 16-1
19 ran
The Prestbury Cup is currently Ireland 10-3 Britain, on St Patrick’s Day, and Willie Mullins has half the field in the Champion Bumper.
Nick Schofield, the winning rider, speaks and offers big thanks to Jonjo O’Neill, Sky Pirate’s trainer, who he is says “is trained by a genius in Jonjo O’Neill”. That’s a third Festival winner for the jockey and a 27th for Jonjo.
In turn, Jonjo says “it’s great for Nick and Martin the owner. I am delighted for everyone really” as he’s hurried off the mic by Alice Plunkett, who clearly had a director asking her to wrap things up. Good to see two of the good guys in Scholfield and Jonjo win.
🏴☠️ The Pirate delivers
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 17, 2021
A thrilling Johnny Henderson Grand Annual goes to @JonjoONeill's Sky Pirate who provides Nick Schofield with a third #CheltenhamFestival winner
Results & free replays ➡ https://t.co/sBcsavHpYf pic.twitter.com/l1QbJ61oUH
Updated
Grand Annual Chase
Embittered goes down, taking down Rachael Blackmore, and hampering Zanza. At the second last, Us And Them leads, Cappucimix is still up there. Sky Pirate hits the lead, and just holds off Entoucas by a head. An English winner for Nick Scholfield and Jonjo O’Neill.
Updated
Grand Annual Chase
Off they go, and no false start despite that big field. Us And Them goes off up the front, a Pink Floyd reference perhaps. Capuccimix, the rank outsider, take the pace up. Glen Forsa is up there too. Embittered, the favourite, is in midfield.
Now for the Grand Annual, which used to be the final race of the meeting, and gave me my biggest win on the course in 2011 with Oiseau de Nuit at 40/1 but backed at something like 67/1 on the Tote. A shame I won’t get to celebrate the tenth anniversary with jägerbombs in Swindon like I did that night. Or perhaps not. It’s on the Old Course rather than the New Course and it’s going to be a trappy ride for a big field.
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase latest odds
- Embittered – 5/1
- Entoucas – 15/2
- Zanza – 8/1
- Chosen Mate – 17/2
- Us and Them – 14/1
- Ibleo – 9/1
- Sky Pirate – 16/1
- Not That Fuisse – 18/1
- Moonlighter – 18/1
- On the Slopes – 20/1
- Amoola Gold – 20/1
- Ashutor – 28/1
- Sizing Pottsie – 28/1
- Duc Des Genievres – 28/1
- Glen Forsa – 28/1
- Or Jaune De Somoza – 33/1
- Bun Doran – 33/1
- Capuccimix – 66/1
- Western Miller – 66/1
- Latest odds from Oddschecker
Paul Nicholls has shown why Politologue didn’t defend his Champion Chase crown.
This is the reason I withdrew Politologue today. It could have been just a small bang on the nose to cause it but obviously we could not take any chances with him. pic.twitter.com/h5Rlvopr9K
— Paul Nicholls OBE (@PFNicholls) March 17, 2021
Cross Country Chase (3.40pm) result
1 Tiger Roll (Keith Donoghue) 9-2
2 Easysland (Felix de Giles) Evens
3 Some Neck (Richard Johnson) 17-2
13 ran
The Tiger roars again!
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 17, 2021
A fifth win at The Festival for Tiger Roll#CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/kkSiF8vMjT
Updated
Keith Donoghue, Tiger Roll’s jockey, speaks, and he’s tearful.
That’s absolutely unbelievable to come here and win again, he means everything to me. If it wasn’t for this horse I wouldn’t be riding. Never underestimate the Tiger, lots of people underestimate him. He just loves it.
Updated
Well, that was amazing. What a horse Tiger Roll is. And what to do with him now. As he sped clear, it was so hard not to hear the crowd that would have been willing him on. He’s such a favourite at Prestbury Park. Wow, what a story.
Updated
Cross Country Chase
With two out, Tiger Roll is smashing them all up. He’s destroyed the field. That’s the doubters silenced and one in the eye for the Grand National. That’s him back to his best and a fifth Festival success. Easysland and Some Neck follow him in.
Updated
Cross Country Chase
Tiger Roll is leading by six lengths as they jump with ten to go. Kingswell Theatre is pulled up. Tiger Roll looks to have plenty in hand. Easysland and Some Neck are the chasers as they go to the Aintree Fence with five to jump.
Cross Country Chase
Tiger Roll is still up there as they go off that stepped jump, with Easysland off him. Defi Des Carres is the leader and Tiger Roll looks comfortable. Easysland finds a bit of trouble with 12 to go as they near the last circuit.
Cross Country Chase
Tiger Roll stays off Kingswell Theatre at the front of the field, with Defi des Carres up there too, as they go over the bank and head to the water jump. Easysland moves up to try and stay in touch. Balko des Flos ships out his rider with 17 to jump.
Cross Country Chase
Off we go and Tiger Roll goes up to the front off Kingswell Theatre, who leads. They take the Aintree fence and cut back just like the Canal Turn, and Tiger Roll looks game enough in these early stages. Easysland makes a small mistake on one of the smallest fences with a further 25 to go.
So then, Tiger Roll is up soon in what may well be the last time he is seen on a racetrack, even if Eddie O’Leary has not ruled him out of coming back as a 12-year-old. For most of us 2019 feels a long time away but perhaps even more so for a horse who lit up Cheltenham and then Aintree in such short order. Last year, Easysland lived up to his name in winning the Cross Country, cheese wedges and all but let’s see what Gordon Elliott’s Sneezy Foster’s mount can produce.
Updated
Cross Country Chase (3.40pm) latest odds
- Easysland – 1/1
- Tiger Roll – 9/2
- Some Neck – 9/1
- Le Breuil – 14/1
- Balko Des Flos – 16/1
- Alpha Des Obeaux – 22/1
- Kingswell Theatre – 25/1
- Hogans Height – 25/1
- Defi Des Carres – 28/1
- Out Sam – 40/1 Kings Temptation – 66/1
- Vivas – 66/1
- Arctic Pearl – 125/1
- Latest odds from Oddschecker
Put The Kettle On continued Henry de Bromhead’s brilliant 2021 Cheltenham Festival with victory in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase.
The mare, ridden by Aidan Coleman, followed up her shock success in last year’s Arkle with a battling performance to get the better of Nube Negra - with odds-on favourite Chacun Pour Soi only third.
At least three horses still held a big chance over the last fence - but as Chacun Pour Soi faded up the hill, Put The Kettle On (17-2) ran on decisively to give De Bromhead another major victory after Honeysuckle’s Champion Hurdle triumph on Tuesday.
Nube Negra stayed on to very good effect, from off the pace, but was beaten by half a length, with another length back to Chacun Pour Soi. (PA Media)
🏆 Arkle
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 17, 2021
🏆 @betway Queen Mother Champion Chase
What a mare. What a performance from Put The Kettle On!#CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/uWxIoUUNS9
Updated
Queen Mother Champion Chase result
1 Put The Kettle On (Aidan Coleman) 17/2
2 Nube Negra (Harry Skelton) 11/1
3 Chacun Pour Soi (Paul Townend) 8-13 fav
Nine ran
Aidan Coleman speaks, and speaks pointedly as he pays tribute to the first mare to win the Champion Chase. Difficult not to think there wasn’t a reference to the Gordon Elliott affair in there. Nube Negra rode well in second, too, with Harry Skelton on board.
She gets some fantastic jumps. This is testament to her ability. She heard them coming, and they weren’t coming past. This year has worked out great for me. This mare is something else. She’d win this race loose if you put my weight of lead on her back. You can’t watch this race and not really appreciate what [these animals] do for us.
What a ride from Aidan Coleman, another fine training performance from Henry de Bromhead. Paul Townend put Chacun right where it needed to be but the horse didn’t have it in him. Put The Kettle On wins her fourth race at Cheltenham.
Updated
Queen Mother Champion Chase
Put The Kettle On takes it up, Rouge Vif follows on. With three to go Chacun Pour Soi sits well off them, and takes the inside rail. Paul Townend hasn’t touched it as Sceau Royal is baulked. Chacun Pour Soi is asked to go over the last, and Put The Kettle On put it up and wins.....what a shock! Chacun run out of it. A great win for the filly who won the Arkle last year.
Queen Mother Champion Chase
Off they go, with Cilaos Emery making a mistake at the first and second. Put The Kettle On takes up the pace. It’s a heavy pace too. Rouge Vif takes up the reins with Chacun Pour Soi looking comfortable with eight to jump, taking a huge jump there.
Richard Condon’s win was hugely popular with the Irish contingent camped in the Best Mate stand.
A triumphant return 👌
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 17, 2021
Heaven Help Us and jockey Richard Condon after their dazzling win in the @Coral Cup 🏆#CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/U4X1DRh3N1
Due to Covid restrictions, we have been spared seeing the world being reflected in Rich Ricci’s sunglasses, but Chacun Pour Soi looks as good a thing as he has had for a while. And Politologue’s withdrawal opens up the field yet more. Harry Cobden rides Greaneteen, jocking off Bryony Frost. That’s a bitter blow for Paul Nicholls, who said Politologue had blood in his nose and just couldn’t be risked.
Politologue a non-runner in the Champion Chase
Oh no, Politologue looks to be a non-runner. That appears to have been because of a bleed. The defending champion will not stand his ground. Shades of Altior and Chacun last year.
Greg Wood’s Champion Chase preview
A race in which odds-on shots have a habit of getting beaten in recent years, including Douvan at 4-9 in 2017 when on paper it looked like he only needed to be facing the right way at the start to give Willie Mullins his first victory in this race. Instead, Mullins is still waiting to tick it off his list and complete a full set of the Festival’s Big Four feature events. Chacun Pour Soi, his main contender this afternoon, is currently a 5-6 shot and will probably set off a bit shorter than that if either or both of Gaillard Du Mesnil and Monkfish have obliged earlier on the card. He is, without doubt, the outstanding performer in this division at the moment, but he will need to see off last year’s winner Politologue and up-and-coming Nube Negra, who beat Altior, a late absentee from this, at Kempton at Christmas, in order to prove it on the biggest stage. Put The Kettle On, a surprise winner of the Arkle over course-and-distance 12 months ago, also deserves consideration given her liking for the track, though she was eight lengths behind Chacun Pour Soi at Leopardstown in December.
Queen Mother Champion Chase (3.05 pm) odds
- Chacun Pour Soi – 8/11
- Put the Kettle On – 10/1
- Politologue – 11/1
- Nube Negra – 12/1
- First Flow – 14/1
- Sceau Royal - 16/1
- Cilaos Emery – 18/1
- Rouge Vif – 25/1
- Notebook – 33/1
- Greaneteen – 66/1
- Latest odds from Oddschecker
Updated
Some more quotes from Willie Mullins on Monkfish’s win in the Brown Advisory.
I think that is the most nerve-wracking race I’ve ever watched - 1-4 in a three-mile novice chase around Cheltenham is not good for the ticker, especially with the way he jumped the last. Chatting to Paul he said he was idling on the first circuit, watching the jeep on the inside, the men at the fences - anything bar concentrating on his jumping. When he started racing alongside the other one (The Big Breakaway) things started getting better. Then he had to put up with the loose horse, but at least it stayed straight. It was very nerve-wracking for me. It’s testament to him that having jumped the last the way he did he was still able to quicken away from the others, I thought that was impressive once I’d got over my fright I imagine the Gold Cup will be his aim. I think he just lacked concentration today due to lack of runners - Paul said he must have thought he was only schooling today, not racing. In a race like the Gold Cup there should be no worries about that.
Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (2.30pm) result
1 Heaven Help Us (Richard Condon) 33-1
2 Craigneiche (Tom Cannon) 17-2
3 Tea Clipper (Jonathan Burke) 33-1
4 Sayo (Brian Cooper) 28-1
5 Janika (James Bowen) 33/1
26 ran
Richard Condon, a conditional jockey, says he is speechless but pays tribute to trainer Paul Hennessey, who he calls “a genius”. “I thought they’d go a mad gallop but I led from the start.”
Paul Hennessey is emotional and pays tribute to his mare. “She’s my Enable...Wasn’t Richard brilliant, he just took the race by the scruff of the neck.”
Updated
Needless to say, with seven places paid by a few bookies, it will take some time to clear up the result there. But a 40/1 winner, that’s your classic Coral Cup stuff.
Coral Cup Hurdle
With four to jump, Heaven Help Us retains his lead, as they climb up the hill. Blue Sari steps up the field. Witness Protection and Heaven Help Us are a long way out in front at the second last. And Heaven Help Us leads. He’s chased down by Blue Sari, who falls. Heaven Help Us wins, he made all under Richard Condon. What a ride from him!
Updated
Coral Cup Hurdle
Heaven Help Us continues to lead but the field comes back to him as they make their way past the stands. The JP McManus phalanx bunches up in midfield, and Saint Sonnet drops off the back.
Coral Cup Hurdle
The start of the race sees the 26 riders jockey for position, as they seek to avoid a false start. They fail to do so, and there will be another attempt as a false start is called. It’s just about a standing start so they are told to walk round again. Then they hit the rope again and a proper standing is called. Chaos, frankly. But off they go, and Heaven Help Us and Witness Protection take it out.
Next up, the Coral Cup, a bookies’ testimonial if ever there was. Drop the winner on this one, and you are looking at a good day. It’s usually a bunfight, and is a huge field, though not the maximum 30. There’s 26 runners.
Those watching ITV Racing were just greeted with the sight of Willie Mullins’ mum being interviewed by a lad off Love Island on Zoom. It started painfully but it worked in the end. Maureen Mullins paid tribute to Dawn Run, and didn’t reveal anything too embarrassing for Willie to live down. Monkfish took him to 74 Cheltenham Festival winners.
Coral Cup Hurdle (2.30pm) odds
- Guard Your Dreams – 6/1
- Craigneiche – 15/2
- Grand Roi – 15/2
- Birchdale – 11/1
- Koshari – 12/1
- Monte Cristo – 12/1
- Blue Sari – 14/1
- Thomas Derby – 14/1
- Sneaky Getaway – 14/1
- Botox Has – 14/1
- Dysart Diamond – 22/1
- Janika – 28/1
- Shakem Uparry – 28/1
- Witness Protection – 28/1
- Heaven Help Us – 40/1
- Palmers Hill – 40/1
- Saint Sonnet – 50/1
- Sayo – 50/1
- Boreham Bill – 50/1
- Tea Clipper – 50/1
- Shang Tang – 50/1
- Our Power – 66/1
- Nelson River – 100/1
- Dans Le Vent – 100/1
- Burbank – 125/1
- Garo De Juileley – 125/1
- Latest odds on Oddschecker
Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (1.55pm) result
- Monkfish (Paul Townend) 1/4 fav
- Fiddlerontheroof (Robbie Power) 40/1
- The Big Breakaway (Harry Cobden) 12/1
Six ran
Updated
“Probably the most nerve-wracking race I’ve ever watched,” says Willie Mullins of that Monkfish win. “He looks a smart one for the future.”
22111-111
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) March 17, 2021
Superstar! Monkfish wins the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase in emphatic style!#cheltenhamfestival pic.twitter.com/ro6Pu5hbXq
The winning jockey Paul Townend doesn’t look too happy with that ride, but the job is done for him and Willie Mullins.
He wasn’t foot perfect today but he’s got the job done and the further I got up the hill the better I felt. [Relief] A little bit because early on in the race we just weren’t on the same wavelength, and there’s a lot of pressure riding these fancied horses. You have to perform on them. He’s still growing up.
Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase
It’s Monkfish and The Big Breakaway who lead by five lengths at three out. The Big Breakaway pecks and that opens up the field to Monkfish. Paul Townend is still in the saddle, as he heads to the last and almost fell over the loose horse...Monkfish wins easily though that was not without anxiety.
Updated
Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase
Another short stride from Monkfish means The Big Breakaway takes it up with 11 jumps to go. The favourite’s jumping is not looking too bombproof. Richard Johnson, with eight to go, almost unseats Sporting John, and then Eklat De Rire tips off Rachael Blackmore, and she’s slow to get up, but does so eventually.
Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase
Monkfish is first to show as they all clear the first. The Big Breakaway tracks him, and Paul Townend has to right the ship when Monkfish sees a different stride to him at the second. All is else is calm as Monkfish settles into a nice rhythm.
It’s Monkfish time for the Brown Advisory, and the Willie Mullins/Susannah Ricci horse is widely considered as bombproof as they come, though we have all seen those go down over the years. This is a hard race for novices, though it’s been won by some of the greats down the years, chiefly Denman who demolished the field and made part-owner Harry Findlay a million. A personal memory of this race: watching Might Bite almost blow it having torn the rest of the field asunder. They can get tired.
Updated
1:55: Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase latest odds
- Monkfish – 1/4
- Eklat De Rire – 11/1
- The Big Breakaway – 12/1
- Sporting John – 14/1
- Dickie Diver – 33/1
- Fiddlerontheroof – 40/1
- Latest odds from Oddschecker
Champion Hurdle winners Rachael Blackmore and Henry de Bromhead were back in the Cheltenham winner’s enclosure again as Bob Olinger took the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle - the opening race on day two of the Festival.
Blackmore, who made history on Tuesday as the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle on De Bromhead’s mare Honeysuckle, scored her second success of the meeting on 6-4 favourite Bob Olinger.
On St Patrick’s Day, Willie Mullins’ Gaillard Du Mesnil made it an Irish one-two - but there was no doubting the well-backed winner’s superiority.
Blackmore tracked the pace set by chief British hope Bravemansgame, took over up the Cheltenham hill and was already three lengths clear at the last en route to victory by seven and a half. (PA Media)
Updated
That race went with the betting, with the first and second favourite coming home in order, though it was not much of a contest. “Tactics,” as Ruby Walsh put the win down to.
“Unbelievable, I’m so delighted,” says Rachael Blackmore, the winning jockey. “His potential is sky high, he was phenomenal there. Winning at Cheltenham is what it’s all about and he’s done that now.”
Rachael Blackmore strikes again!
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 17, 2021
Bob Olinger wins the @Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle in style for @HenrydeBromhead
#CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/neS2r7ydq7
Updated
Ballymore Novices Hurdle (1.20pm) result
- Bob Olinger (Rachael Blackmore) 6/4 fav
- Galliard Du Mesnil (Paul Townend) 9/4
- Bravemansgame (Harry Cobden) 4/1
Seven ran
Updated
Ballymore Novices Hurdle
Bear Ghylls is the one chasing Bravemansgame as they quicken two out. Bob Olinger takes it up as they head to the last, and he clears with ease, and it’s Rachael Blackmore and Henry de Bromhead again. Bob Olinger, the favourite wins, and by half a street!
Updated
Ballymore Novices Hurdle
Bravemansgame continues to lead as they go past the stands. All the field remains in touch as they head out into the countryside. Does He Knows has made a couple of mistakes. Bob Olinger looms with some intent with four hurdles to go.
Ballymore Novices Hurdle
And we’re off, though not to the sound of the fake Cheltenham roar, which sounded like something from a Megadrive game in the 1990s. Bravemansgame was a tad edgy in the preliminaries, but Optimise Prime takes it up over the first before Harry Cobden takes it on with Bravemansgame.
Updated
Ballymore Novices Hurdle (1.20pm) betting
- Bob Olinger – 15/8
- Gaillard Du Mesnil – 2/1
- Bravemansgame – 9/2
- Bear Ghylls – 15/2
- Keskonrisk – 20/1
- Does He Know – 66/1
- Optimise Prime – 150/1
- View latest odds on Oddschecker
Not long now until the second day gets underway with the Ballymore. Again, it’s going to be very very weird. Perhaps by the end of the week we may get used to it but it’s doubtful, isn’t it? Let’s hope the racing can live up to the standards set yesterday.
The most backed horses on Wednesday at the Cheltenham Festival, according to Oddschecker.
Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle
Bob Olinger won the Lawlor’s Of Naas very impressively in January, getting the better of Blue Lord who was running a good race in the Supreme yesterday before falling at the last. The six-year-old was narrowly beaten by Ferny Hollow on his first start over hurdles but since stepping up to 2m4f he has got even better. He faces two strong rivals here but punters are siding with Henry de Bromhead’s charge in the first race on Wednesday.
Bob Olinger has attracted 40% of bets in the Ballymore over the last 24 hours
Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase
Monkfish has taken to fences brilliantly this season, winning on all three starts this term. His jumping has been electric and he’s one of the most exciting horses in training right now. The seven-year-old won the Albert Bartlett at the Festival last year in game fashion but has improved even more this season. He doesn’t look to have much on his plate in terms of opposition here and punters are happy to keep backing the Willie Mullins favourite even though he’s now a 3/10 shot.
Monkfish has attracted 63% of bets in the Brown Advisory Novices’ over the last 24 hours
Champion Chase
Chacun Pour Soi has bolted up on all three starts this season and if he takes to the course, it’s hard to see what beats him here. Willie Mullins’ nine-year-old has had a flawless season, most recently winning the Dublin Chase with ease. If he runs to that level of form this today, he could put his rivals to the sword in the feature race on day two.
Chacun Pour Soi has attracted 47% of bets in the Champion Chase over the last 24 hours
Weatherbys Champion Bumper (4.50pm) preview
This is a head-to-head according to the betting, which might seem ridiculous in a big field of lightly-raced horses with any amount of potential improvement to come but does actually feel justified when you look at their form.
Both Kilcruit and Sir Gerhard are now running for Willie Mullins, though the latter only arrived at the stable as part of the recent exodus of horses owned by Cheveley Park Stud from the Gordon Elliott/Denise Foster yard. Both have outstanding claims on their latest performances, and put up similarly impressive timefigures in the process, though Kilcruit, who was simply devastating in a Grade Two event at Leoparstown last month.
The only other runner at single-figure odds is Foster’s Three Stripe Life, while Grangee is another from the Mullins team that could go well at a decent price. Mullins’s last five winners of this, incidentally, were priced at 25-1 twice, 16-1, 12-1 and 11-1.
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase (4.15 pm) preview
The traditional big field for the pell-mell chase around two miles which until recently brought the meeting to a close.
Embittered, who has run in Grade One company on his last two starts, seems likely to start favourite for Joseph O’Brien, but dangers abound including Zanza, Ibleo and Sky Pirate, all of whom have posted a decent win already at this trip this season.
Among the outsiders, I’m taking a chance on Amoola Gold, who finished close behind Sky Pirate at level weights at Ascot earlier in the season but gets a bit of weight from that rival this afternoon.
Glenfarcas Cross Country Chase (3.40 pm) preview
Another short-priced favourite as Easysland attempts to follow up last year’s victory in this race, with the dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll among those out to stop him.
Having tipped Easysland, it’s too late to back out now but it owed as much to serious doubts about Tiger Roll, the second-favourite, as anything else and while he is certainly the most obvious winner, even-money is a very thin price given his lack-lustre performance – admittedly under a bit weight – in the handicap event over this course in November.
Kingswell Theatre, the winner that day, takes him on again on 22lb worse terms, but is, by his trainer’s own admission, a very slow horse who needs testing conditions to stand much chance.
Some Neck also won a handicap over this track in December, but off a mark of 137, around 30lb below Easysland’s mark. Probably a race to leave alone, while appreciating the great Tiger Roll on what might yet be his final start.
News from the flat, where Oisin Murphy returns to the track after an extended delay.
Two-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy, on the sidelines for the past three months after failing a drugs test in France, has had his return to race-riding confirmed and will be back in the saddle at Lingfield today.
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) March 17, 2021
Was this the greatest Champion Chaser of all?
Or was it this?
Or are you for Moscow Flyer or Masterminded? Or are those youngsters nothing compared to Badsworth Boy and Viking Flagship? It’s rarely anything but a brilliant race,
Updated
Queen Mother Champion Chase (3.05 pm) preview
A race in which odds-on shots have a habit of getting beaten in recent years, including Douvan at 4-9 in 2017 when on paper it looked like he only needed to be facing the right way at the start to give Willie Mullins his first victory in this race. Instead, Mullins is still waiting to tick it off his list and complete a full set of the Festival’s Big Four feature events.
Chacun Pour Soi, his main contender this afternoon, is currently a 5-6 shot and will probably set off a bit shorter than that if either or both of Gaillard Du Mesnil and Monkfish have obliged earlier on the card. He is, without doubt, the outstanding performer in this division at the moment, but he will need to see off last year’s winner Politologue and up-and-coming Nube Negra, who beat Altior, a late absentee from this, at Kempton at Christmas, in order to prove it on the biggest stage.
Put The Kettle On, a surprise winner of the Arkle over course-and-distance 12 months ago, also deserves consideration given her liking for the track, though she was eight lengths behind Chacun Pour Soi at Leopardstown in December.
Coral Cup Hurdle (2.30 pm) preview
Where to start? The 26-runner field includes novices, seasoned handicappers including the 2019 winner, William Henry and everything in between, with burdens from 11st 10lb right down to 10st 1lb.
Even by Festival standards, it’s a fearsome challenge but a couple of recent trends that might help to narrow things down includes the fact that nine of the last 10 winners had had no more than nine starts over hurdles, and seven out of 10 were aged from five to seven.
Young, lightly-raced horses – including, though not necessarily – novices seem to have the upper hand, though this category includes plenty of the market leaders including Craigneiche, Guard Your Dreams, Grand Roi. Nicky Henderson, Craigneiche’s trainer, has three wins in the last seven runnings and also saddles Birchdale, Janika and Monte Cristo.
Willie Mullins, meanwhile, also has four runners, including well-fancied Koshari with stable jockey Paul Townend in the saddle, but my stab at the race is stable companion Dysart Diamond, who has a similar profile to Mullins’s Bleu Berry, the winner in 2018, and is available at around 25-1.
Twelve horses have been declared for Friday’s Gold Cup with the mysterious Al Boum Photo leading the list as he attempts to make it three in three. Willie Mullins also runs the yet more mysterious Kemboy, while Rachael Blackmore and Henry de Bromhead, the pair who took the Champion Hurdle with Honeysuckle, run A Plus Tard, beaten by Kemboy at Christmas at Leopardstown.
Nicky Henderson will mount saddle up Champ and Santini, while 2018 winner Native River will surely try and set the pace. Venetia Williams runs Aso and the fancied novice Royale Pagaille, with Tom George’s Black Op also declared. Perhaps the most popular partnership in the race would be Frodon and Bryony Frost, who won the King George together.
Full field:
Al Boum Photo
A Plus Tard
Aso
Black Op
Champ
Frodon
Kemboy
Lostintranslation
Minella Indo
Native River
Royale Pagaille
Santini
Updated
Harry Cobden will pilot those two Nicholls fancies, and he’s been speaking to Racing TV.
[Bravemansgame] could be our best chance of a winner this week and it would be great to get him home in front. All he’s done is improve, his two runs round Newbury were absolutely faultless. He’s a very easy horse to ride. Hopefully Cheltenham won’t faze him at all. They’re the two to beat but it’s not an impossible task. Politologue never runs a bad race. He always comes here and absolutely thrives. Politologue does (go round here) and he will give his best running.
Paul Nicholls has a heavy fancy in the Ballymore Novice Hurdle in Bravemansgame, who in winning the Challow Hurdle has had his route compared to Denman, which is something to live up to. He’s laid out his thoughts on that, and Politologue, who defends his Champion Chase Crown, in his Betfair blog.
On Bravemansgame: “I’ve felt for a while that Bravemansgame is one of our best chances of the week. He has done nothing but please all season, is going to make an awesome chaser and looked top-class when completing the hat trick in the Challow Hurdle at Newbury. I’ve deliberately kept him fresh for this race which has cut up with the two Irish horses the obvious dangers at the head of the market.”
On Politologue: “He returns to Cheltenham as the reigning champion and has been a wonderful flagship for the yard. He put up a brilliant performance 12 months ago when the race cut up a bit at the last minute. Although he is tough and reliable there’s no denying this is a stronger renewal with the favourite Chacon Pour Soi looking hard to beat if he takes to the track. Politologue worked with all his usual enthusiasm at Wincanton last week. This is his sixth appearance at the Festival which is a remarkable feat, the course suits him and we know he will not let us down.”
Brown Advisory Novice Chase (1.55pm) preview
There is a natural impulse when a horse is priced up at around 1-3 for a novice chase at the Festival to think: it can’t be that much of a certainty, can it? There are all those fences to jump, for one thing, and the second-favourite looked pretty good last time out … Well, since 2003 at least, is has been just that: seven horses have set off at odds-on for a Grade One novice chase at the Festival in that time and all seven came home in front, including Shishkin in Tuesday’s Arkle.
Monkfish will be shorter than all of those bar Douvan and Altior in the Arkle in 2016 and 2017 respectively, and he has looked bomb-proof in his three starts over fences since winning the Albert Barlett Novice Hurdle at this meeting last year. The time of his win at Leopardstown last time was exceptional even though he did it all on the bridle and even at this stage, he looks sure to be a major player in next year’s Gold Cup.
Front-running Eklat De Rire, with Rachael Blackmore in the saddle, might have a squeak if Blackmore can get an easy lead, and his latest form was franked when runner-up Escaria Ten went close in the final race on Tuesday, but this is likely to be all about Monkfish.
Ballymore Novice Hurdle (1.20 pm) preview
The opener on day one is short on numbers by its usual standard – this is only the second single-figure field this century – but it might advance the argument that a lot of the “missing” horses are so-called “social” runners – entered with the owners’ badges and a grand day out in mind – rather than big contenders as it has plenty of strength in depth.
It’s a toss-up at the moment whether Bob Olinger (Henry de Bromhead/Rachael Blackmore) or Gaillard Du Mesnil (Willie Mullins/Paul Townend) will start favourite, while Bravemansgame (Paul Nicholls/Harry Cobden) is hunting them up in the betting. All three arrive on the back of Grade One victories by at least five lengths.
Bear Ghylls, unbeaten in three starts over hurdles, is another to consider Nicky Martin’s 10-horse yard on Exmoor, while the decent form of Joseph O’Brien’s Keskonrisk behind Appreciate It at Leopardstown in December looks even better after the winner’s devastating display in the Supreme on Tuesday.
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Competition winner day one
Anyone who came up with Jack Kidder in the Boodles would have knocked it out of the park on day one, but the biggest-priced Festival winner for 30 years passed everyone by.
Five tipsters found Vintage Clouds at 28-1 but only one of those - Zizkov123 - found Black Tears too, and after a brief stewards’ inquiry into whether their amendment in the Mares’ Hurdle was posted in time, he/she is our day one winner with a profit of +£35.44.
Well done!
Willie Mullins is the key figure today, as always, and his two great, almost unbackable, fancies today are Monkfish in the Brown Advisory and Chacun Pour Soi in the Champion Chase. He’s laid out his hopes for them in his Sporting Life blog.
On Monkfish: “He’s in great shape and we’re very, very pleased with him. He has a great natural style of jumping and racing and we’re looking forward to getting him out in the Brown Advisory.”
On Chacun Pour Soi: “It’s unfortunate for Nicky Henderson that Altior is out of the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase. Chacun comes here in good form and hopefully we’ll get no last-minute hiccups like last year and he gets the chance to show how good he is around Cheltenham. He’s in terrific form so we’ll keep our fingers crossed. I’m not worried about the hill for him, it’s fairly stiff at Leopardstown from the second last home.”
These non-runners don’t include Altior from the Champion Chase, who was pulled out on Monday and would have been a huge story had he taken to the turf.
Two non-runners at Cheltenham today ❌
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) March 17, 2021
3.40
11 Potters Corner
4.15
18 Theinval https://t.co/qjHZnNwyPB
Going report: it’s been dry overnight in Cheltenham, which means the going is now good to soft on all courses (that’s the Old Course and Cross Country Course today). No rain forecast for this afternoon which could mean closer to good later in the afternoon.
Day Two of The Festival™ supporting @WellChild is here 🏇
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 17, 2021
🌱Going Update🌱
The official going on all courses is now GOOD TO SOFT all round. #CheltenhamFestival
Check out our Going update here 👉https://t.co/WQDuuVcReF pic.twitter.com/r2DEF9jDDn
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Here’s one of the talking horses of the entire week, and one the Mullins team fancy to go beyond winning the Brown Advisory to the Gold Cup in 2022.
Monkfish on the gallops this morning 🤩 #CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/ajENIk1evS
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 17, 2021
Cheltenham Festival tipping competition
Welcome to day two of the annual Talking Horses tipping competition, in association with Betfair, who are offering a three-figure account credit (£100) for the tipster with the best daily profit to a £1 level stake at starting price.
As ever, non-runners count as losers, and it will make our lives much easier if you could post all seven selections in a single posting, before the first race at 1.20. Normal T&Cs apply, you can read them here.
In the unlikely event of a tie for first place after all seven races, the winner will be the one who posted their tips earliest. If you have to repost to replace a non-runner, the time of the later posting will be used in the tie-breaker.
If your luck’s out today, don’t forget to try again tomorrow. Good luck to all! Yesterday’s winner, incidentally, will be revealed shortly.
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Today's races
- 1.20: Ballymore Novices Hurdle (2m 5f)
- 1.55: Brown Advisory Novice Chase (2m)
- 2.30: Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (3m 1f)
- 3.05: Queen Mother Champion Chase (2m)
- 3.40: Glenfarclas Chase (Cross Country Chase) (3m 6f)
- 4.15: Grand Annual Handicap Chase (2m)
- 4.50: Champion Bumper NH Flat Race (2m)
The Guardian's racing correspondent sets the scene
Good morning from Cheltenham, where a dry night has seen the official going at the course changed to good-to-soft all round ahead of the second and final day of action on the Old course.
It is an afternoon when Willie Mullins appears, for the moment at least, to have an iron grip on proceedings, and also a day when the bookmakers will be hoping to get at least one of the three - yes, three - odds-on shots in the seven races beaten. Two are from the Mullins yard - Chacun Pour Soi in the featured Queen Mother Champion Chase and Monkfish in the Brown Advisory Novice Chase and he also has Gaillard Du Mesnil
(2-1) in the opener and the first two in the betting in the Bumper.
The remaining hot favourite is Easysland in the Cross-Country, where the great Tiger Roll, winner of the Grand National in 2018 and 2019, will have his first outing for Denise Foster since well, we all know what since. This could yet prove to be the final race of his career, as Michael O’Leary, his owner, has made it plain that he will not press on with Tiger Roll if he feels he is on the downslope of his career, which is exactly how it has appeared in several of his recent appearances.
A slightly cooler afternoon than yesterday is forecast but it is expected to remain dry, which will start to focus attention on the going on the fresh ground on the New course, which hosts proceedings from tomorrow.
Don’t forget that our daily tipping competition in association with Betfair will be running again today, with £100 in a Betfair account to whoever shows the best return from a notional £1 level stake on today’s seven races. Entries as early as possible please, and if we can keep late amendments to a minimum, that would be appreciated too.
Cheltenham Festival: Day Two
Hello, good morning and welcome to day two of the Cheltenham Festival. What do we know so far? That it’s very odd to watch without a crowd is obvious, particularly for those of us who make an annual pilgrimage. At this point in the day, a ‘racing breakfast’ would be being sourced, a first pint of Guinness considered and hot info from the track being ignored. (Years on, I still regret not listening to those lads who told us Champagne Fever would hose up in the Supreme.)
Instead, it’s the television and the manful efforts of the likes of Nick Luck, Alice Plunkett, Ed Chamberlin and Lydia Hislop to inject the day with enthusiasm. They did a decent job yesterday while also acknowledging the aching chasm between what was happening on the track, which was of high quality, and what might have been had a capacity crowd roared Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore home.
There was also, and it had to be done, a good, balanced job of acknowledging the issues of last year’s festival taking place just as the Great Unpleasantness was taking its first dip into terminal velocity. And then rather less convincing nods to the Gordon Elliott affair. That win in the Mares Hurdle for Denise ‘Sneezy’ Foster and Ian Ferguson in the final race granted those lesser starred trainers their first and second Festival wins respectively, but their horses, Black Tears and Galvin, were both horses who until very recently travelled under the name of the disgraced Elliott. That felt problematic, even if the horses and Jack Kennedy, the jockey, were entirely blameless in the whole farrago.
On then to Wednesday, and the Champion Chase (3.05), the purists’ favourite race of the four big ones. Chacun Pour Soir was a huge loss to last year’s Festival and makes his return to face Politologue who took the prize in his absence. There’s also a Ballymore Novice’s Hurdle (1.20) to begin the day, featuring three top-class contenders. And there’s what looks a classic ‘this horse cannot lose’ in the Brown Advisory Novice Chase (1.55) (the RSA in old money) where Monkfish is the latest Willie Mullins hotpot.
All that and the small matter of Tiger Roll going in the Cross-Country Chase (3.40). Were he to win, and that looks unlikely, then expect wails of anguish that he is not running in the Grand National thanks to unkind handicapping.
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