The Best Trial Races to Unearth Those Cheltenham Festival Winners

Anyone that has visited Beverley races will know there are few things as exciting as cheering a winner home down the final straight.

While the Flat racing season at Beverley doesn’t kick off until Easter, the Cheltenham Festival is upon us in just a matter of weeks.

This National Hunt meeting is undoubtedly the most eagerly-anticipated in UK and Irish racing, with huge cash prizes for the winning owners and the opportunity to be able to say that your horse is a major champion.

As for punters at the Prestbury Park track or those watching on at home, there is nothing sweeter than picking out a Cheltenham Festival winner.

There are many factors that go into that process, many of which are outlined in the Racing Post’s guide to racing, but the weather is one of the most significant. While it’s far from the most predictable variable, the long term weather forecast suggests we could be in for good-to-soft ground at worst come March 12.

That allows us to analyse the most likely trial races, most of which have already been run, to see if it’s possible to identify some Cheltenham winners this far in advance of the Festival.

Top Notch Chasers Earn Their Stripes

The biggest prize of all at the Cheltenham Festival is the Gold Cup, a renewal that most of the very best chasers in National Hunt history have all taken the honours in.

Realistically, there are quite a few Grade One chases that serve up evidence that a horse is ready for the big time.

Might Bite, the bookies’ favourite for the 2018 Gold Cup, had served notice to punters of his class by winning the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park the prior Boxing Day, and, while he didn’t go on to win at the Festival, he did still take the spoils in the subsequent Betway Bowl Chase, another insightful waypoint for bettors.

Last year’s headliner at the meeting was won instead by Native River, a former Welsh Grand National champion and two-time Denman Chase winner. Elegant Escape won the Welsh in 2018 – he’s a lengthy 25/1 hopeful for the Gold Cup, with the rescheduled Denman Chase to take place at Ascot on February 16.

Other notable pointers for punters to follow include the Irish Gold Cup, the Punchestown Gold Cup and the Punchestown Chase.

Staying Power

One of the most gruelling races at the Cheltenham Festival will be the Stayers’ Hurdle, where the runners battle it out over three miles of track laden with a dozen hurdles to navigate.

In the last four years, two favourites have prospered: Cole Harden in 2015 and Thistlecrack in 2016. The former enjoyed limited Grade One success, but the latter was – and remains – a phenomenal horse who has won plenty; from the King George to the Liverpool and Long Walk Hurdles.

Meanwhile, the 2018 Stayers’ Hurdle champion, Penhill, had previous at Cheltenham, having won the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle the year prior. The eight-year-old almost doubled up in the Punchestown Stayers’ Hurdle a few weeks later, going down to the outstanding Faugheen.

Let’s Hear It For the Girls

The owners of the best fillies in the business have a big decision to make ahead of the Festival: battle it out for the prestigious Mares’ Hurdle or, instead, take on the boys in one of the other flagship races.

Willie Mullins saw the matter clearly enough: he won the Mares’ Hurdle six years in a row with Quevega, bagging a handsome payday each time.

But Gordon Elliott, the trainer of Apple’s Jade, has a big decision to make regarding his outstanding seven-year-old. Does he look to claim a second Mares’ Hurdle title and get revenge on last year’s victor Benie Des Dieux or does he, instead, send his Gigginstown money-maker into battle for the Champion Hurdle?

In her career, she has a number of Grade One victories to her name, including the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle, the Christmas Hurdle and the Irish Champion Hurdle to name but three.

The 2015 Mares’ Hurdle winner, Glens Melody, never raced again after her career highlight, while Vroum Vroum Mag had hinted heavily at her 2016 success by winning the Ascot Mares’ Hurdle the preceding January; she also went on to claim the Christmas Hurdle and Punchestown Champion Hurdle.