Jade De Grugy and Paul Townwend

Cheltenham Festival tips: On the radar following Christmas and New Year action

By Matt Brocklebank

Horse Racing

Thu January 11, 2024 · 11M ago

Matt Brocklebank highlights four horses who came onto his Cheltenham Festival radar following the busy Christmas and New Year programme.

Star in the making

JADE DE GRUGY – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle

Kenny Alexander, Willie Mullins and co went to 230,000 euros to secure the purchase of Jade De Grugy at the October horses-in-training sales so they clearly expected big things, but it was hard not to be very impressed by her debut effort at Leopardstown on December 28.

That 15-length demolition in the two and a half-mile maiden hurdle won by the likes of Identity Thief, The Bosses Oscar and Gaillard Du Mesnil in recent seasons marked her out as potentially something special and it sounds like connections have no fears whatsoever about aiming her at the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle over the shorter trip of two miles at Cheltenham.

Rated 125 P with Timeform on the back of the debut win, she’s still a good 10lb behind antepost market leader Dysart Enos in form terms but there’s are suitable Graded race at Fairyhouse later this month in which she could be allowed to advance her claims. Having said that, heading straight to Cheltenham has never been an issue for Mullins’ mares over the years and this one looks out of the top drawer from the limited evidence we have.

She's 8/1 generally and 10s with one firm.

Juvenile growing up fast

NURBURGRING – Triumph Hurdle, Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle

The juvenile hurdle division can sometimes be a bit of a slow burner but a couple of Ireland’s leading lights appear to have been on the go since the tail-end of the summer when Wodhooh beat Nurburgring (who finished first but was placed second after causing interference) at Listowel.

The promoted winner, trained by Gordon Elliott, has gone in again three times since, while Nurburgring was gelded and skipped a couple of months before coming back with a Grade 3 win over the Elliott-trained Kala Conti at Fairyhouse. That form was overturned at Leopardstown on Boxing Day, but Joseph O’Brien’s horse was 7lb worse off there and finished strongly in third, beaten less than a length at the line after jumping even better again throughout the race.

All that experience won’t be lost on him come the big prizes at the Dublin Racing Festival and into the spring, but even if he doesn’t quite come up to Triumph standard (20/1 with BetVictor), I’ll be keeping a close eye on his BHA rating with the Fred Winter firmly in mind.

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Handicap project

PETIT TONNERRE – Grand Annual/Festival Plate

Jonjo O’Neill is a past master when it comes to getting his horses to peak for the spring and it would come as little surprise to see Monbeg Genius go two places better than last March in the Ultima Handicap Chase given how well handicapped he looks on that evidence.

He’s already well found in the long-range markets for the opening day’s big handicap, but don’t lose faith in the same yard's Petit Tonnerre either after he had another spin round Cheltenham on heavy ground on New Year’s Day.

He was a staying-on seventh in last year’s County Hurdle off a mark of 140 and ran off a couple of pounds lower than that on Monday (could be dropped again for this latest run). I wonder if the novices’ handicap chase on Trials Day might come under consideration next, although it’s not until getting back on a bit of spring ground that I expect him to really come to hand for this shrewd operation and the Festival Plate might ultimately be preferred to the Grand Annual.

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Outsider of interest

CANTICO – Weatherbys Champion Bumper

Patrick Mullins would be first to admit that the bumper team at Closutton still appears to be in a state of flux but he was keen to stress how much faith he has in Cantico when speaking earlier in the week and this horse in the Turley silks of Galopin Des Champs has been nudged right out to 33/1 for the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.

GDC was disappointing on his debut for Mullins, don't forget, and it turned out pretty well for him later in the same season (and beyond!), and there wasn’t much wrong with Cantico's effort in third behind Goldinthemountains at Leopardstown.

Some quality horses have been beaten in this bumper before kicking on in future, including the Mullins-trained Allaho, and I do think we’ll see a better showing from Cantico when he gets a proper pace to chase as this turned into a bit of dash for the line. I suspect the DRF awaits and that 33s for Cheltenham could look huge it he shows his true colours there.