With just under five weeks now remaining until the four biggest days in the National Hunt season get underway with the 2021 Cheltenham Festival, and each of the 28 races are now taking shape following big trials in the past couple of weeks.
Following a record breaking Festival last year for the horses sourced from the Irish point-to-point fields, hopes remain high that the 2021 renewal will bring further rich results.
Over the next week we will be taking a look at who are the leading Irish point-to-point graduates in each of those races beginning with day one of the Festival.
The opening day of this year’s Cheltenham Festival will kickstart four days of world-class racing on Tuesday 16th March 2021, with no fewer than four Grade One contests on the card.
1.30pm Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 87y
2.10pm Sporting Life Arkle Novices' Chase (Grade 1) 1m 7f 199y
2.50pm Ultima Handicap Chase (Grade 3) 3m 1f
3.30pm Unibet Champion Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 87y
4.10pm Close Brothers David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 3f 200y
4.50pm Boodles Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle (Handicap Hurdle) 2m 87y)
5.30pm National Hunt Chase (Amateur Riders' Novices' Chase) (Grade 2) 3m 5f 201y
Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle
After Shishkin’s battling success last year, Appreciate It heads the likely team of Irish Pointers in this year’s renewal of the two-mile contest, with Pat Doyle’s former Dromahane point winner having won successive back-to-back Grade 1’s at Leopardstown for Willie Mullins.
He now heads the betting for the Supreme and is top-priced 7/4, with Ballyadam, a four-year-old maiden winner at Portrush for Colin McKeever, and himself a Grade 1 winner following his Royal Bond victory in November currently third in the market as a top-priced 9/1 shot.
The top ten also features fellow ex-pointers Bob Olinger, Dreal Deal and Bareback Jack.
Appreciate It (1-3F) remains unbeaten over hurdles after claiming the Chanelle Pharma Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown. #DublinRacingFestival #rteracing pic.twitter.com/S2TPwdZ4I0
— RTÉ Racing (@RTEracing) February 7, 2021
Sporting Life Arkle Novices' Chase
Having landed last year’s opening race, Shishkin will be seeking to follow-up his Supreme victory as he tops the betting for the Arkle following a faultless campaign over fences for Nicky Henderson.
Virginia Considine’s former Lingstown winner has yet to be tested in Grade 1 company over the larger obstacles, but heads to the Festival following back-to-back victories in Grade 2 Novice Chases at Kempton and Doncaster.
He remains as the odds-on favourite for the Arkle.
Ultima Handicap Chase
The first handicap of the Festival, the Ultima was won by former pointer The Conditional 12 months ago and the market for this year’s renewal is again headed by pointing exports.
After chasing home Eklat De Rire in a Grade 3 Novice Chase at Naas last month, Escaria Ten, who won a Borris House maiden for Liam Lennon, currently sits at the top of the betting for this Grade 3 event.
Now with Gordon Elliott, he is currently top-priced at 10/1, two points shorter than the second favourite Dickie Diver who is also a point winner. That lightly-raced eight-year-old was a wide-margin Temlencarriga point winner for Mick Goff and returned from an absence to finished second at Newbury over Christmas for Nicky Henderson.
Unibet Champion Hurdle
Honeysuckle propelled herself to the top of the betting for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham by her emphatic performance last weekend to defend her Irish Champion Hurdle crown.
The Dromahane maiden winner for Gerry Cosgrave has remained undefeated in each of her subsequent ten starts, with six of these victories coming in Grade 1 company including on the opening day of last year’s Festival when defeating Benie Des Dieux in the Mares’ Hurdle.
Following her latest impressive ten-length success under Rachael Blackmore for Henry de Bromhead, connections have confirmed that she is set to take her chance in the Champion Hurdle this time around.
Now top-priced at 5/2 she will be looking to become the latest pointing export to win the two-mile Champion Hurdle following on from Faugheen in 2015.
Honeysuckle (10-11F) extends her unbeaten record to a perfect 10 in the Irish Champion Hurdle under an aggressive ride from Rachael Blackmore. #DublinRacingFestival #rteracing pic.twitter.com/vq3pxOT7uE
— RTÉ Racing (@RTEracing) February 6, 2021
Close Brothers David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle
With Honeysuckle now set to contest the preceding Champion Hurdle, this would look the race least likely to go the way of point-to-pointers, with her stablemate Minella Melody, the short-priced ex-Irish Pointer at 20/1.
Also sporting the Kenny Alexander colours, the seven-year-old is a Grade 3 winner and has chased home the Mares Hurdle favourite Concertista in Graded races at both Fairyhouse and Leopardstown on her latest two outings.
As her name suggests, Minella Melody started her racing career with John Nallen, winning a four-year-old mares’ maiden at Boulta.
National Hunt Chase
The National Hunt Challenge Cup is a race that has fallen to Irish Pointers in two of the last three years, with Next Destination leading this year’s charge.
A former Quakerstown four-year-old maiden winner for Pat Doyle, the now nine-year-old is undefeated over the larger obstacles having switched from Willie Mullins to Paul Nicholls ahead of this season, and he has now won back-to-back Grade 2 novice chases at Newbury and Warwick.
The top-priced 10/1 shot features just ahead of fellow point-to-point graduates in Dickie Diver, Eklat De Rire, Asterion Forlonge and Pencilfulloflead who are all priced no bigger than 20/1 in the market.
