The pinnacle of National Hunt racing, the Cheltenham Festival, is less than a fortnight away and England awaits another onslaught from across the Irish Sea.
Irish champion trainer Willie Mullins is the king of the Cheltenham Festival.
Galopin Des Champs provided the yard’s 94th winner there in the 2023 Gold Cup and Mullins is 1-7 to reach the incredible milestone of 100 winners next month.
Galopin Des Champs provided trainer Willie Mullins’s yard with their 94th winner (Pic – Racing TV)
His main rival in Ireland over the last decade is the 46-year-old Gordon Elliott who is closing in on a remarkable 40th Cheltenham Festival success in this his thirteenth visit to Prestbury Park as a trainer.
A hat-trick of winners last season ensured Elliott is now in fifth place on the all-time trainers list at the Festival with only Mullins, Nicky Henderson, Paul Nicholls, and Fulke Walwyn ahead of him.
With all eyes deservedly on the Mullins runners, Elliott is ‘flying under the radar’ as it were and will arrive at the meeting with realistic chances of more success.
Heading his team this time will be the Gold Cup contender Gerri Colombe. Owner Brian Acheson’s colours will also be carried by Teahupoo and Irish Point who dominate betting for the Stayers Hurdle. Stalwart performers Delta Work and Galvin head for the Cross-Country.
Most intriguingly of all, there is the unbeaten Brighterdayshead to consider for the Mares Novice Hurdle. Elliott doesn’t bother to disguise his regard for the Gigginstown mare.
“Shane McCann rides her every day. He’s as good a judge as we have here, and he says she could be as good as any we’ve ever had here,” he said.
He pays her the compliment of being unflashy, something also attributed to Gerri Colombe who has the mammoth task of trying to bridge a 23-length gap with Galopin Des Champs from Christmas if he is to emulate Don Cossack’s 2016 Blue Riband victory.
“I think Galopin Des Champs has been awesome this year, I don’t how we’re going to beat him. We are better than we were in Leopardstown the last day; for me he didn’t run his race,” he said. “We had him categorised as a mud lover [but] I think the better the ground, the better chance he has.”
Elliott didn’t hesitate either in acclaiming his stable jockey, Jack Kennedy who has several picks to make, none more so than Teahupoo and Irish Point in the stayers’ or from a particularly strong bumper team.
The trainer stressed those choices are for Kennedy who he described as “the best jockey in my mind riding either side of the Irish Sea, different class.”
The English really do look up against it in 2024, and it’s hard not to suspect Mullins’s wary eye is once more focused much closer to home in terms of major opposition.
