The Coral Gold Cup at Newbury and Newcastle’s Fighting Fifth Hurdle take centre stage this Saturday afternoon, but the high-class weekend action doesn’t end there. On Sunday, we have a Grade 1 double bill from Fairyhouse, with the 2025 editions of the Drinmore Novice Chase and Hatton’s Grace Hurdle.
Fine prizes to win in their own right, the two races also provide early pointers towards the Cheltenham Festival. This year, as in so many years, the fields are dominated by runners from the yards of Irish training titans Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott.
Champion trainer on both sides of the Irish Sea, Mullins registered a Grade 1 double last weekend in the Morgiana Hurdle and the John Durkan Memorial Chase. Elliott’s sole top level success of the current season came in the American Grand National, but the betting suggests he is the man to beat in the two feature events.
Drinmore Novice Chase: Romeo Coolio vs Gold Dancer
First run in 1994, this 2m4f contest has a habit of highlighting a future superstar. Previous winners include Grand National hero I Am Maximus (2023), Cheltenham Gold Cup champ Don Cossack, and three-time Cheltenham Festival winner Envoi Allen.
With eight previous wins, Elliott is the most successful trainer in the history of the race. The master of Cullentra House is odds on to add to that tally in 2025. Long touted as a horse to follow by his handler, Romeo Coolio has largely delivered on the hype. He has yet to win at the Cheltenham Festival – finishing second in the 2024 Champion Bumper and third in the 2025 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – but he advertised his Grade 1 credentials when claiming the Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle in 2024.
Looking as well as ever when strolling to a 14-length success at Down Royal on his seasonal return, Romeo Coolio is a general 4/7 chance to add a second Grade 1 to his CV. If there is a negative, it’s that his only previous outing over obstacles at Fairyhouse resulted in an odds-on defeat in the 2024 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle.
Should any chinks emerge in Romeo Coolio’s armour, the market suggests Willie Mullins’ Gold Dancer is the most likely to take advantage. When compared to the market leader, this Gigginstown House Stud runner showed relatively little over hurdles, failing to win in four outings for Mullins. So far, he has been flawless over fences. Kicking off with an easy win in a Beginners Chase, he has since added Grade 3 wins at Galway and Tipperary. Improving at a rate of knots, he may at least give the favourite something to think about.
Hatton’s Grace Hurdle: Teahupoo vs Ballyburn
Making its debut in the same year as the Drinmore Novices’ Chase and held over the same 2m4f trip, this €120,000 contest boasts an equally impressive roll of honour. Istabraq, Limestone Lad, Apple’s Jade, and Honeysuckle all landed the prize more than once.
With five wins, Elliott needs just one more to join James Bowe at the head of the trainers’ table. In Teahupoo, he has a horse who has already shown he has what it takes to succeed in this race. Mastering Klassical Dream by a neck in 2022, the 2024 Stayers’ Hurdle winner successfully defended his crown when conquering Impaire Et Passe in 2023. He came up short when second to a peak-form Lossiemouth in 2024 but doesn’t have that mare to worry about this time around. Last sighted claiming the Champion Stayers Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival in May, he is a general 5/6 chance to add his name to the list of three-time Hatton’s Grace winners.
Sitting on four wins, Mullins will draw level with Elliott if saddling the winner in 2025. Grade 1-winning novice Mystical Power is an intriguing contender as he bids to rebound from a disappointing 2024/25 campaign. However, the clear Closutton number one is the supremely talented Ballyburn. He has finished outside the first two only once in 12 career outings and has four Grade 1 wins to his name. Those top-level successes include a 13-length romp in the 2024 Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle. With his ability to jump a fence leaving something to be desired, he reverts to hurdles this season. Unbeaten over the smaller obstacles over 2m4f+, he sits just behind Teahupoo at a best price of 7/4.
With the Grade 2 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle heading the undercard, Sunday’s meeting falls firmly into the not-to-be-missed category for fans of top-class jumping action. Bring it on!