CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL: preview of the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup

Now, almost every race is to be revered, boasting its own agenda and its own personality. To win them is to win at the Festival and, outside the Grand National, that represents the pinnacle of Jumps racing.

The stardust is still sprinkled by the jewels in the crown, however. The accolades of top 2m hurdler and top staying chaser remain the most sought-after. Their places on the roll of honour remain the most prized.

Here’s my pre-meeting take on this year’s Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup:

UNIBET CHAMPION HURDLE (Tuesday)

Although 14 horses have won the Champion Hurdle more than once, not since Hardy Eustace in 2005 has one won back-to-back renewals. BUVEUR D’AIR is on the cusp of emulating the late Dessie Hughes’s admirable warrior, however, if the formbook and the betting markets are to be believed.

Nicky Henderson’s 7yo, owned by JP McManus, is a very short price to repeat his classy success 12 months ago when he justified a surprise mid-season decision to abort his chasing career. It wasn’t a vintage Champion, but there’s no doubt he’s a seriously talented tool and one who has effortlessly extended his unbeaten run to nine with three easy and cosy triumphs this term.

Given his slick jumping and his ability to handle any ground, it would be a major surprise if Buveur D’Air was turned over. He wasn’t particularly impressive at Sandown last time, but the need to cut out his own running probably didn’t suit. Here, he is likely to get the strong gallop he relishes.

My only concern for the favourite would be that, for a horse Henderson freely admits requires lots of work, he’s not been given any kind of a test on the track this season. The sages reckon that won’t matter because this is a weak Champion, but I’m not too sure about that. Any race that contains four proven Grade One performers from the Willie Mullins yard, FAUGHEEN, MELON, WICKLOW BRAVE and YORKHILL, is not a contest lacking strength in depth in my book!

For Wicklow Brave, this will probably be, like last season, a sighter for other targets during the spring. And the presence of Yorkhill is probably one last throw of the dice to try and rekindle his best form. But I am not prepared to give up just yet on Faugheen, superb Champion Hurdler of 2015. Yes, age is against the 10yo (only four winners have been older than eight since 1951!), but he ran far better than he was given credit for in the Irish Champion last month and the return to the plate of Ruby Walsh would be dangerous to under-estimate. Cheekpieces are fitted for the first time, with the aim of sharpening him up, and it wouldn’t surprise me either if connections opted for a change to his usual front-running tactics in a bid to revitalise and refresh.

Melon, in my opinion, is the dark horse of the race. A magnificent-looking animal, he has always been regarded with the utmost respect by the Mullins team and remains open to stacks of improvement. Forget his effort behind Faugheen in the Irish Champion because the fitting of a hood to help him to settle better was resented by the 6yo. It is highly significant that Mullins sent him over to Cheltenham for his previous run in the International Hurdle when he looked all over the winner approaching the last, only to be run out of it up the hill by seasoned veterans MY TENT OR YOURS and The New One. He actually gave 6lbs to My Tent, runner-up in three of the last four Champions, so he should certainly reverse International form, and I can see him running into a place at least here. The presence of the brilliant Paul Townend in the plate is a huge bonus.

Gordon Elliott’s MICK JAZZ is another more than capable of picking up place pieces late on. He is likely to be ridden patiently to make the most of his turn of foot. And I’m a big admirer too of Alan King’s late entry, ELGIN. The handicapper appeared to have got his measure when he was beaten in a big handicap at Ascot over Christmas, but he looked to have improved again for a break when landing the Grade Two Kingwell Hurdle when upped in class at at Wincanton last month. His profile suggests he’s best on such tracks, flat and right-handed, but he did land the Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham in November.

All in all, a much better, much more competitive Champion Hurdle than many would have you believe. Buveur D’Air has earned his place on the pedestal, but Faugheen is over-priced, while Melon is a stand-out each/way bet.

TIMICO CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP (Friday)

The very mention of trends can leave some racing professionals foaming at the mouth with anger. But because most of the races at the Cheltenham Festival have such long histories, they have developed very robust profiles, hence trends that cannot be ignored. Trends that reflect the kind of horse we should be looking for to win the Blue Riband event of the week.

For the Gold Cup, there are a staggering number of trends, about 30, that have built up over the years. It is almost unheard of for any horses to satisfy all of them. For instance, NATIVE RIVER, MINELLA ROCCO and DEFINITLY RED fall down on one that tells us that almost all Gold Cup winners in the modern era have never run further than the 3m2f trip.

However, quite remarkably, the current favourite, MIGHT BITE, fits the bill in every single respect and as a horse almost certainly still improving, he represents one of the star bets of the week.