Following the latest entry stage for the Championship level events at the Cheltenham Festival, favouritism for the four headline contests is split evenly between British and Irish-trained horses.
With Constitution Hill odds on for the Champion Hurdle and Jonbon favourite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase, Nicky Henderson will hope to do his bit for the home team on days one and two. However, Irish runners dominate the market for the Stayers’ Hurdle and the signature contest of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Gold Cup Looks Ireland’s to Lose
Not since the 2018 success of Native River has the most prestigious prize of the jumps racing year remained on home soil. Successful in each of the past six editions, it will be a major surprise if the Irish don’t extend that sequence to seven in 2025.
Just over two months before the big race, 19 runners remain in contention. Of that 19, only five are trained in Britain – representing a record low home entry. Whilst the Irish boast the red-hot favourite Galopin Des Champs, in addition to the second, third, fourth, and fifth in the market, the shortest-priced British runner is priced at a general 25/1.
Whilst an Irish victory appears all but assured, the best of the home team won’t go down without a fight. The following quintet will need a career best to prevail but will head to Prestbury Park with high hopes of denying Galopin Des Champs a third consecutive victory.
Grey Dawning
This Dan Skelton star was Britain’s biggest Gold Cup hope heading into the 2024/25 campaign. Two starts and two defeats later, that remains the case. The striking grey thrust his name into the mix when storming home in the Turners Novices’ Chase at the 2024 festival but has underwhelmed in three outings since.
Coming at the end of a long season, his defeat in the Manifesto Novices’ Chase was easily excused, whilst he may have lacked race fitness on his return in the Betfair Chase. Perhaps the King George VI Chase would allow the son of Flemensfirth to show his two colours. Perhaps not, with a juddering error at the first fence effectively ending his race. Two starts in open company leave him with a lot to find on ratings, but he remains more open to improvement than many of his likely rivals.
L’Homme Presse
Twice successful in Grade 1 Novice events, including the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, this Venetia Williams inmate has yet to repeat the feat in open company.
Last sighted finishing a 12-length third in the King George, the 10-year-old will be making his second Gold Cup appearance, having finished a respectable fourth in 2024.
Royal Pagaille
If the ground comes up soft on the day, L’Homme Presse may have a Cheltenham travelling companion in the shape of this dual Grade 1 winner. Each of those successes came in the Haydock mud, with this Rich Ricci star staying on tenaciously to land the 2023 and 2024 editions of the Betfair Chase.
That recent verdict over Grey Dawning offers hope, but his form figures from three previous Gold Cup outings read 656.
Ahoy Senor
Hailing from the yard of Grand National winning trainer Lucinda Russell, Ahoy Senor posted his finest display when powering five lengths clear to claim the 2022 Mildmay Novices’ Chase.
Fourteen subsequent outings have yielded just one success. On the plus side, that win did come at Cheltenham in the 2023 Cotswold Chase, and he was running a nice race out in front in the 2023 Gold Cup before falling at the 17th fence.
The Real Whacker
With three wins in seven Cheltenham outings, this Patrick Neville runner has represented North Yorkshire with distinction at the home of the jumping game. The clear pick of those victories came in the 2023 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase when The Real Whacker put in a sizzling round of jumping to hold off Gerri Colombe in a thriller.
On the back of that display, five defeats in as many starts represented a disappointing return for 2023/24. However, the nine-year-old bounced back this season with a win in the Charlie Hall Chase and finished fourth in the King George for a second time on his most recent start.