The long wait is over and the Cheltenham Festival is here again, but punters will have to wait a wee bit longer than is usually the case for the big race of day one as the powers-that-be have made a tweak to the running order.
The featured event each day will now be the fifth race and there is a chance we will get a Champion Hurdle pointer or two from the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle, which has been moved up the order.
If Lossiemouth – the odds-on favourite – wins that one, the already rock-solid case for Constitution Hill would get even stronger, with the 2023 Champion Hurdler hoping to regain his crown after missing his defence last term due to illness.
The Nicky Henderson-trained superstar saw off Lossiemouth with consummate ease at Kempton over Christmas, and his presence has seen her re-routed to what should be a softer target.
Constitution Hill will have to rewrite history to an extent as only Hurricane Fly in 2013 has regained the Champion Hurdle crown, although that great was third in 2012, while this year’s favourite has never been beaten anywhere.
In his favour is the superb recent record of jollies in this race with six of the last seven emerging victorious, with the last three renewals won by odds-on shots. Only Espoir D’Allen (16/1) in 2019 has caused an upset in that time.
Apple’s Jade went off the 7/4 favourite that year but was never a factor, and her trainer Gordon Elliott is back in search of a first Champion Hurdle success with Brighterdaysahead, who is the main market rival to Constitution Hill and looked stunning when defeating reigning champion State Man and Tuesday’s rank outsider Winter Fog by 30 lengths at Leopardstown at Christmas.
She will hope to make the most of the 7lb mares’ allowance to become the fourth female winner in the last 10 years after Annie Power (2016) and Honeysuckle (2021 and ‘22), but she did lose at the Festival last term when second in the mares’ novices’ hurdle to Golden Ace, who is also in this field and might just offer a route to profit.
Her trainer, Jeremy Scott, has been in good form of late and has taken the plunge in the big one when the mares’ hurdle was an option. It might be asking too much to upset Constitution Hill, but it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that she picks up the pieces to run on for second.
With only seven runners – the joint-smallest field this century – the bookies will only pay two places, but with Festival form in the book and a last-time-out victory at Wincanton – Jezki in 2014 was the last winner to come in here off a defeat – there is a chance she is still be on the upgrade.
While favourites have a great record, there have also been a number of huge-priced runners hitting the frame in the Champion Hurdle in the last 10 years, and Golden Ace might just be worth an each-way tickle at 40s, while William Hill go 11/2 about her without the top two in the market, which looks well worth backing.
And that case might even be backed up if second-favourite Jade De Grugy can overturn Lossiemouth 40 minutes earlier, as she was fourth to Golden Ace at the 2024 Festival.
CHAMPION HURDLE SELECTIONS
Golden Ace, e/w, 40/1 (Bet365); without Constitution Hill and Brighterdaysahead, 11/2 (William Hill)
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