Juvenile hurdlers: How do they stand ahead of Dublin Racing Festival and Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham

SALVER (Gary Moore) – Timeform rating: 139

If Gary Moore’s Salver goes on to really dominate the juvenile hurdling ranks this season then Willie Mullins may be left with a sense of the one that got away given he’s a half-brother to Saldier, who won a Grade 1 for Ireland’s champion trainer as a four-year-old a few years back.

There may be a touch of that feeling already as Salver has looked an absolute snip at €25,000, winning all three starts over hurdles for a Moore yard that continues to do incredibly well in this particular division.

He was green under pressure first time out at Warwick but still managed to win despite fluffing the final two hurdles and he’s not looked back since, easily following up at Exeter before trouncing his rivals on bad ground in the Grade 2 Finale at Chepstow on December 27.

That race lacked depth, as can often be the case, but Joseph O’Brien sent over Harsh, who had finished third to Mighty Bandit in a Punchestown maiden before winning at Cork, and he was well and truly stuffed in fourth.

Salver’s jumping has got better with every run which bodes well and while it remains to be seen if he has enough natural speed to preserve his unblemished record when the ground finally dries out a little, he’s the clubhouse leader with Timeform – or at least he is until the Dublin Racing Festival early next month.

NURBURGRING (Joseph O’Brien) – Timeform rating: 137

One of the more experienced hurdlers in the list, Nurburgring continues to climb the ladder having made a winning debut in this sphere at Killarney in August.

He was fully entitled to be a force over hurdles considering his peak Flat rating of 96 (ran in the Queen’s Vase won by Gregory at Royal Ascot) and while he lost out to Wodhooh following a stewards’ enquiry at Listowel, he’s kicked on again since returning after being gelded in the autumn.

Good value for his half-length defeat of Kala Conti in a Fairyhouse Grade 3 (wandered on the run-in), the son of Zoffany ran in Leopardstown’s Grade 2 over Christmas and put up a fine performance in third, finishing behind Kala Conti this time although the winner was 7lb better off at the weights.

He’s not a star waiting to burst into life – a few of these appearing to hold such potential - but experience often counts for plenty when it comes to handing out the big prizes in the spring and Nurburgring shouldn’t be overlooked.

STORM HEART (Willie Mullins) – Timeform rating: 136p

One of three for Mullins in this list, he’s definitely among those who really could be anything at this stage, the Timeform rating of 136p earnt on the back of a striking 22-length debut win at Punchestown on New Year’s Eve.

Pied Piper won the same maiden before being placed in the Triumph and at Aintree in 2022 and Veneer Of Charm also won it before landing the Fred Winter at Cheltenham, so it’s typically a good race and Storm Heart made his rivals look ordinary.

A winner over a mile and a half on the Flat in France (good ground), he travelled really strongly towards the head of affairs in the heavy conditions at Punchestown, and it was hard to pick any holes in his jumping which was safe and accurate from the outset.

He’ll surely be thrown into the deep end at the Dublin Racing Festival now and whatever beats him will be considered a serious Triumph Hurdle horse as that will not be easy to accomplish by any means.

BURDETT ROAD (James Owen) - Timeform rating: 135p

In terms of BHA Flat marks, Burdett Road’s 101 really is a punchy number for a juvenile hurdler and all his experience during his time on the level with Michael Bell looks to have shone through in two starts this winter for new trainer James Owen.

In essence, he’s a ready-made, pattern-level performer who must have delighted connections with how smoothly he has transitioned to tackling obstacles. Granted, his jumping was a bit iffy out the back at the November Meeting at Cheltenham when last seen, but the way he made up ground from rear on the turn for home was something extraordinary and jockey Harry Cobden clearly knew how much the horse had left in the tank.

He powered up the hill to maintain his unbeaten record, putting six and a half lengths between himself and runner-up An Bradan Feasa, who has since won by three lengths back at Cheltenham’s December Meeting, and there must be a good chance he’ll step up again with a bit of sun on his back and on a sounder surface come March. It's not really a surprise to see him given a speculative entry for the Champion Hurdle, although he's obviously fully expected to line up in the Triumph rather than Cheltenham's day-one feature.

KARGESE (Willie Mullins) - Timeform rating: 135

The only filly to have broken into Timeform’s top 10 juveniles so far this term, Kargese is another Mullins horse clearly packing a good deal of potential when you consider she’s yet to win for her new yard.

She did land a couple of hurdle races in France, however, including a Grade 3 at Auteuil in May, so we can given her a pass that she came up three-quarters of a length short on Irish debut in the aforementioned Grade 2 South Dublin Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown.

Splitting Kala Conti and Nurburgring that day, with some seriously talented potential improvers in behind, she immediately thrust her name into the Triumph hat and is no bigger than 14/1 for the Cheltenham race at the time of writing.

Lossiemouth led home a 1-2-3-4 for Mullins in last year’s Triumph, becoming only the fifth filly to win in the history of the race, a couple of lengths clear of another filly, Gala Marceau, in second. Like Gala Marceau, Kargese is owned by Kenny Alexander and will reportedly bid to follow in her footsteps by also winning the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at the DRF.

KALA CONTI (Gordon Elliott) - Timeform rating: 133

It might be a touch harsh to suggest Kala Conti is a good ‘yardstick’ horse at this stage given she won the principal juvenile contest in Ireland over Christmas, but her form does tie in nicely with several of the others and she’s been consistently good since starting out for Gordon Elliott, without blowing anyone away.

She’s evidently learnt a lot from the first day in terms of her jumping technique and she obviously had the speed to capitalise on her good track position when holding off Kargese and Nurburgring at Leopardstown.

She had run three times (including the one in France) over hurdles prior to that, however, and there’s a feeling that some of the others might just be that bit wiser and physically harder if meeting again next month.

SIR GINO (Nicky Henderson) – Timeform rating: 132p

No other trainer can better Nicky Henderson’s seven career wins in the Triumph Hurdle and while Pentland Hills (2019) is his only winner of the Festival contest since Peace And Co almost a decade ago, Sir Gino was obviously bought by the Donnelly family with big things in mind.

So far so good with the son of It’s Gino and he makes Timeform’s top 10 current juveniles based on his length and three-quarter defeat of Salvator Mundi (snapped up by the same owners but yet to reappear for Willie Mullins), together with a 14-length romp at Kempton over Christmas on his first run for the new yard having undergone wind surgery.

It wasn’t all plain sailing there, Sir Gino making a fiddly mistake at the fourth flight which appeared to teach him a sharp lesson in the hurdling department as he gave the next plenty of air.

There was no doubting his superiority in the end as Nico de Boinville produced his mount around the outside of the leading pair before asserting with a big leap at the second-last. He put in a short one at the last flight but got away with it comfortably enough before drawing clear.

There’s a significant engine there and it’s not hard to see the New Course playing to his strengths as he’s not a typical Henderson speed-merchant by the looks of it, but the hurdling will surely need to improve.

MIGHTY BANDIT (Gordon Elliott) – Timeform rating: 129p

Never far off the early pace, Mighty Bandit turned his racecourse debut into a bit of a rout when winning a three-year-old Punchestown maiden by nine and a half lengths in November.

It’s doubtful that race contained anything of Triumph standard but a couple in behind have won maidens since and a few others will likely end up developing into realistic Fred Winter contenders too.

Mighty Bandit was understandably sent off the short-priced favourite for Leopardstown’s Grade 2 on Boxing Day on the back of that introduction, but he was really disappointing on the day, after which the vet reported him to have a nasal discharge - which can’t have helped.

So he’s probably worth excusing the last run, during which his jumping left a bit to be desired as well, and the next assignment will reveal more in terms of whether connections can have genuine Grade 1 aspirations heading into the spring festivals. The jury is out for now.

LIARI (Paul Nicholls) - Timeform rating: 128p

By Cracksman out of a Motivator mare who produced a 2019 Listed winner in France (Likala), Liari didn’t exactly let the family down during his time with Jean-Claude Rouget on the level last year, winning at Toulouse over an extended 10 furlongs, and Paul Nicholls is on record staying he’s one for that future who needs “looking after”.

Those comments came on the back of a taking success in December at Aintree (replay below), where he was superb in the jumping department. Some inexperienced juveniles tend to back off the hurdles and look wary of attacking them with much relish, but nothing could be further from the truth with his fella – he was brilliant, and coped very well with the heavy ground despite getting a bit tired late on.

Quite what the form of that race is worth is questionable but he’d beaten a couple of subsequent winners on his debut for Nicholls at Wincanton in October and definitely looks the leading Triumph candidate for the yard at this stage.

It’s also worth pointing out that his Flat win in France came on ground officially described as good.

BATMAN GIRAC (Willie Mullins) - Timeform rating: 128

The ‘double-green team’ of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede have had loads of fun with four-year-old hurdlers over the years and although Batman Girac initially had the look an expensive flop (€150,000) when hanging badly and failing to justify 7/4 favouritism on his Irish debut at Fairyhouse in early-December, there were plenty of positives to take from his subsequent fourth later that month.

A tongue-tie – worn for his two races for previous connections in France including the Compiegne success last April – was added to the hood he wore at Fairyhouse and Mikey O’Sullivan elected to hold him up for a late run.

In the end it appeared the prominent racers had an advantage and Kala Conti was definitely well placed, just off the early pace, to strike in the home straight but the eye was drawn to Batman Girac staying on for a never-nearer fourth.

The big question now if whether he can continue to build on that festive effort – he is entered at Fairyhouse on Saturday – and put his hand up for a place in the Closutton Triumph Hurdle squad or ends up more of a Fred Winter project come the spring after another confidence-building run or two.

All things considered, it’s really not hard to envisage him sitting right up near the top of the pile come the end of the campaign.

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.