Brace yourself for that Christmas morning feeling: three things we will learn on Tuesday at Cheltenham
Negotiating the hectic clutter of the Supreme Novices Hurdle will be a big ask for an inexperienced horse like Mighty Park who has only had one run in his life, but he is among the favourites. Pic: HEALY RACING
Back in the old days when the Welsh were still good at mining and rugby, there was a saying that if you needed a new out-half for the national team then all you had to do was whistle down a coal mine and one would magically appear.
Although there were some signs of green shoots for the men of Harlech at Lansdowne Road last Friday, their sporting excellence these days is more likely to be found on top of a horse than at the bottom of a ruck.
Sean Bowen, who hails from Pembrokeshire, is the best national hunt rider in Britain these days and arguably even the best in the world with the possible exception of Paul Townend, obviously.
Bowen won the first of what should be a series of champion jockey titles last season and already has 208 winners this term, over twice as many as his nearest pursuer, Dan Skelton. Bowen’s younger brother, James, lies in fourth position on the table.
Ben Jones is just a couple behind him in seventh and has a plum chance of winning the Gold Cup on The Jukebox Man on Friday and their compatriot, Lorcan Williams will be looking for his second straight Champion Hurdle on Golden Ace this afternoon.
The all-time record total of winners in a British season is held by Tony McCoy who rode 289 in 2001/2, a feat that until now was presumed unrepeatable. If Sean Bowen can keep up his current strike rate, trajectory and motivation, it could soon be surpassed.
A glaring gap in his CV is, until now at least, the absence of a win at the Cheltenham festival. With plenty of chances from his main employers, Olly Murphy and Martin Keighley as well as all the spare rides he wants, that stat shouldn’t survive the week. But even if it does, remember George Best never won a World Cup and he wasn’t too bad at football.
The lead up to the Cheltenham Festival wouldn’t be the same without some kind of kerfuffle in the governance of the sport by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) - this year has been no different. The chairman, Charles Allen resigned last week after just six months in the role when his demand for a board of directors independent of powerful stakeholders such as the Racecourse Association stymied his plans for significant reform of the manner that racing is financed and operated in Britain.
The complexities of the ongoing row are deep and ongoing but there were a couple of bright spots for British racing in 2025. Attendances surpassed the five million mark for the first time since 2019 and there were also some modest improvements to the prize money pot. On the flip side, field sizes were down and this trend is expected to continue over the next several years as there is a worrying decline in foal production.
The CEO at Cheltenham, Guy Lavender, was in charge for the first time last year and promised to be innovative in addressing the underlying causes in a continuing trend downwards in festival crowds. Top of his list are lower costs and improved an customer experience for those that do attend.Â
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Alcohol prices have been rolled back to 2022 levels, there has been modest prices reduction in targeted ticket areas and ‘Ladies Day’ has been reinstated on Wednesday. Attendance capacity has been reduced to create more space and staff have also been encouraged to smile at the customers and to become a little more proactive and flexible in helping people enjoy their big day out.
It will be interesting to see if the initiatives result in greater footfall. British racegoers have been substituting the DRF for Cheltenham in greater numbers every year and there are still tickets available in every enclosure for the first three days, although Friday is sold out. Alex Ferguson will inevitably be about the place to watch his horses run and will fully empathise with Guy Lavender’s ‘squeaky bottom’ week.
When children charge for the presents under the tree on Christmas morning it’s often the first one they open that they love longest. Not necessarily the most expensive or the highest quality gift, but the one that catches their attention in the first flush of excitement.
The Supreme Novice Hurdle affects punters the same way. It’s never the best race of the week in terms of quality and prize money, but the level of excitement and pent-up joy it brings is almost physically tangible as the horses go to post and then is released in a roar when the tape goes up. And again two minutes later following an inevitable false start.
In terms of the quality of the field, it looks like the deepest renewal for many years, and any one of about eight horses could be back next year as favourite for the Champion Hurdle or either of the grade one novice chases.
Old Park Star, trained by Nicky Henderson and Mighty Park (Willie Mullins) are competing for favouritism which is no surprise. They won their prep races by a combined total of 56 lengths and their trainers both have huge success records in the Supreme. Willie was undecided until the weekend about Mighty Park’s destination but has plumped for the speedier two miler and negotiating the hectic clutter of the race will be a big ask for an inexperienced horse who has only had one run in his life.
The next three in the betting are Talk The Talk, El Cairos and Mydaddypaddy, all talented horses with immense futures and each of them capable of turning over the big two. The race is off at 1.20. Brace yourself for that Christmas morning feeling.
