We round up the main market movers in the Cheltenham Festival betting in the last week.
Arkle Novices' Chase
- Ile Atlantique (8/1 from 20/1)
ILE ATLANTIQUE was a notch below the best as a novice hurdler last season but he's quickly made up into a better novice chaser and he enhanced his reputation with a smooth success in a Grade 2 at Naas on Sunday.
Ile Atlantique had jumped well when making a winning start over fences at Navan last month and that accuracy at his obstacles was again a feature of his performance at Naas where he readily pulled clear up the run-in to beat Firefox by five lengths.
He is now third in the betting for the Arkle at Cheltenham behind Sir Gino (4/5) and Majborough (7/2), and it's possible he could first take on the latter in the Irish Arkle.
Turners Novices' Hurdle
- The Yellow Clay (8/1 from 20/1)
THE YELLOW CLAY took his record over jumps to four from four with a decisive victory in the Grade 1 Lawlor's of Naas Novice Hurdle, adding his name to a notable recent roll of honour (replay below).
The Lawlor's of Naas was won by Envoi Allen and Bob Olinger before they went on to win the intermediate novice hurdle - now known as the Turners - at the Cheltenham Festival and Gordon Elliott's initial reaction was that The Yellow Clay would be going down the same route.
He's behind only Challow Novices' Hurdle winner The New Lion - who has subsequently been purchased by JP McManus - in the betting for the Turners.
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Brown Advisory Novices' Chase
- Champ Kiely (16/1 from 33/1)
CHAMP KIELY missed all of the 2023/24 campaign but he retains plenty of ability based on the big impression he created on his chasing debut at Fairyhouse on New Year's Day.
Champ Kiely, a Grade 1-winning novice hurdler, proved a class apart from his rivals on his chasing debut and scored by 11 lengths with stacks in hand.
The style of that success suggests that he'll soon be back in top company and the two-mile-five-furlong Grade 1 at the Dublin Racing Festival was nominated as a potential option. He has yet to tackle three miles, but with no intermediate Grade 1 novice chase at Cheltenham the Brown Advisory seems like the most likely target.
Mares' Novices' Hurdle
- Jubilee Alpha (12/1 from 20/1)
- Diva Luna (14/1 from 25/1)
JUBILEE ALPHA had to settle for minor honours when third behind Listentoyourheart in a listed mares' novice on her hurdling debut at Newbury in November but she comprehensively turned that form around at Taunton where she readily settled matters after impressing with how she travelled.
She's now behind only Maughreen in a Mares' Novices' Hurdle market that looks likely to change in coming weeks as contenders emerge.
DIVA LUNA, a Grade 2 bumper winner at Aintree last season, was also trimmed in the betting after getting off the mark over hurdles with a professional display at Cheltenham where she jumped well in the main and responded well to pressure when asked to assert.
Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle
- The Yellow Clay (8/1 from 12/1)
Gordon Elliott suggested that THE YELLOW CLAY's most likely Cheltenham Festival option is perhaps the Turners, but he was also trimmed for the Albert Bartlett after powering through the mud at Naas.
Elliott said that The Yellow Clay would probably head straight to Cheltenham but will be given an entry in the staying novice hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival. That two-and-three-quarter mile novice hurdle is likely to have a significant impact on the Albert Bartlett betting.
Mares' Chase
- Fun Fun Fun (16/1 from 33/1)
FUN FUN FUN's novice hurdle campaign ended with a whimper but she's a talented mare and made a winning start over fences in a beginners' chase at Naas.
Fun Fun Fun didn't need to come off the bridle under Patrick Mullins - who also bred the mare, incidentally - and she was halved in price for the mares' chase following that easy seven-and-a-half-length success.
The Mares' Chase is currently an open betting heat with last year's runner-up Dinoblue, who was disappointing at Leopardstown last time, at the top of the market at 5/1.
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