WITH the Cheltenham Festival just around the corner I thought I would take this chance to have a brief look at the main Championship races of the week. I will of course be writing a smaller daily column through next week also bringing to the table the many hugely competitive handicaps as well.

TUESDAY

The Champion Hurdle (4.00) looks a really odd race this year with last year’s Turners winner, The New Lion, favourite in most books, but his hurdling still looked vulnerable when winning the International Hurdle here at the back end of January after coming to grief in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle.

However, all of the alternatives have question marks against them and it could well be that the fortunate 2025 heroine Golden Ace picks up the pieces again if fellow mares Lossiemouth (better on the New Course) and Brighterdaysahead (needs testing ground) also run below their official marks.

Last year’s Triumph Hurdle winner PONIROS was a huge eye-catcher in the Irish Champion Hurdle and although he has plenty to find with the two Irish mares, I think he has been trained with this one day in mind all season and obviously comes good at this time of the year.

If he lines up here in preference to the County Handicap Hurdle then Henry De Bromhead’s Workahead could hugely outrun his three-figure price. The fact that his astute trainer has kept the lightly raced eight-year-old in the race says plenty about what he expects from his charge and also the hugely open nature of this year’s contest.

WEDNESDAY

The Queen Mother Champion Chase looks Majborough’s to lose following his demolition job at Leopardstown at the Dublin Racing Festival, when he galloped and jumped his rivals into submission to the tune of 19 lengths and more.

And with his closest rival in the market and title holder Marine Nationale ruled out again, a similar performance would suffice. However, still fresh in my memory is the way he couldn’t deal with the fences here 12 months ago in the Arkle Trophy on better ground and with Solness and Thistle Crack sure to hassle him up front from the start, his fencing could once again come under the microscope. 

That makes the solid play a small win bet in L’EAU DU SUD (4.00). Deep ground was no good for the Dan Skelton trained runner in the Tingle Creek after a fluent and impressive success in the Cheltenham Chase over the course and distance. He has been kept nice and fresh by connections for this his big pay day.

THURSDAY

Two big Grade One events to look at for day three with the Festival Trophy attracting just 14 entries at the six-day stage with both Gaelic Warrior and FACT TO FILE (4.00) entered.

I suspect that the former will go for the Gold Cup on Friday and if in the same form as 12 months ago, the selection will be very hard to beat. His win in the Irish Gold Cup was impressive and the way he travelled through the three miles that day and indeed here in 2025 suggested that he was and still is the best national hunt horse in training on both sides of the Irish Sea.

The Stayers Hurdle at 3.20 looks a wholly more open event and I think that the race will pivot around whether KABRAL DU MATHAN gets the drying ground he needs to see out this new three-mile experience. He was hugely impressive when landing the Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham over an extended two-and-a-half miles, looking as though he had plenty more left in the tank and if Harry Skelton can get him to relax in mid-race, then I think his speed could prove decisive against the likes of Teahupoo and the new kid on the block and course specialist Ma Shantou.

FRIDAY

The Cheltenham Gold Cup (4.00) looks a distinct upgrade on the past few renewals with a new generation of staying chasers coming through giving the big race of the week a deep looking strength in depth shape to it.

We all know that the dual champion Galopin Des Champs has been a brilliant flag bearer for Willie Mullins, but this season it looks as though his body and mind have succumbed to plenty of hard races and a place could be the best he can hope for up against fresher legs here.

Of the first four home in the King George at Kempton Park I fancy that the Nicky Henderson trained Jango Baie can reverse form with The Jukebox Man and Gaelic Warrior. My main worry though, with the Seven Barrows runner, is that he can put in the odd slow jump when the taps are initially turned on when the race begins in earnest, which is what happened at Christmas. Still, he remains on the upgrade and will enjoy the extra yardage and stiffer New Course here and is rightly respected.

And this is sure to be a really deep test of stamina with the Welsh National hero Haiti Couleurs set to line up. So whatever the going, we are assured of a real lung burster here with Sean Bowen likely to up the pace from some way out just as he did at Chepstow.

That could bring the out and out stayers into play over this extended three and a quarter miles. So with the greatest of respect to Grey Dawning, holder Inothewayurthinkin and Spillane’s Tower, I think the best value play could well be I AM MAXIMUS (4.00) each-way at around the 33/1 marker. 

The former Grand National hero ran a cracking race when a staying on third in the Leopardstown Christmas Chase before getting stuck in the mud in the Irish Gold Cup over the same course and distance last month. The key to him is surely the spring ground and with only light rain expected through the week, I think that he can pick up the pieces here late on.

The other race worth mentioning on day four is the Triumph Hurdle and I think that the mare SELMA DE VARY (1.20) looks very solid getting 7lbs from the boys. Her opening run in this country when second to Narciso Has was a cracking introduction and even a small step forward here makes the daughter of Zarak hugely competitive.