Cheltenham Festival 2025: Brighterdaysahead Could Be A Mares Hurdle Banker
The jumps season is really starting to ramp up and all eyes were on Wetherby and Down Royal over the weekend, with the first Grade 1 of the 2024/25 campaign taking place over in Lisburn. We saw several standout performances over the weekend while one or two big names blotted their copybook. Here, I look back at the best of the action over the past seven days...
HEART WOOD was impressive when winning the 2m7f Listed Chase at Wexford on Monday but you’d have to question the form. It felt like a prep run for Corbetts Cross while Buddy One was making just his second start over fences and his jumping was poor. The second ran a nice race (160 RPR) and could be one to back next time out.
Henry de Bromhead doubled up with INTHEPOCKET a short while after and this was an impressive performance to say the least. In fact, that run probably sets the standard in the two-mile novice chase division and he looks an Arkle contender all over.
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Another performance that caught the eye was THE NEW LION at Chepstow and trainer Dan Skelton suggested that he’ll be aimed at the Grade 1 Challow Novices Hurdle at Newbury. He barely came off the bridle and had Belliano, a £255,000 purchase for Paul Nicholls, beat a fair way from home. He looks very good.
QUEBECOIS won the second division of the race to give the Ditcheat handler a winner and he looks a real out-and-out staying type. He’s bred to be a three miler and I expect he could line up in a race like the Grade 2 River Don Novices Hurdle at Doncaster, or the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham if he’s good enough.
While Inthepocket sets the standard for the 2m novice chase division in Ireland, you’d have to say L’EAU DU SUD does the same in Britain. Barring a bad mistake at the fourth fence, he was foot-perfect and he looks destined to compete in the big Graded races over fences. He was certainly impressive and I’m looking forward to seeing him again.
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It was a match between LOOKAWAY and PERSONAL AMBITION in the opening race at Uttoxeter on Friday but the latter lost little in defeat and he’s one to keep onside. The winner is a very good horse, having been highly tried in some big races last term and this could turn out to be a nice little race come the end of the season.
I thought CADELL was excellent in the 3m Novices Chase at Wetherby and I just wonder if he’s being lined up for a nice handicap down the line. Lucinda Russell is a very shrewd operator and this horse looks much improved for a fence and fast ground. He could be one for a nice pot at Ayr’s Scottish Grand National meeting.
Down Royal received plaudits for producing nice, safe ground and Gordon Elliott had a total of eight winners across the two days. THE YELLOW CLAY was first on the board, putting the race to bed easily enough but the runner up was a 125/1 shot that was 30 lengths behind the winner on hurdles debut. We didn’t learn much here...
It was great to see BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD justify favouritism in the Grade 3 Bottlegreen Hurdle and she was awarded an RPR of 155 for her success over King of Kingsfield and Daddy Long Legs. She’s a supremely talented mare and I can see why connections have Champion Hurdle aspirations – though the Mares Hurdle looks there for the taking.
FIREFOX was visually impressive but I’m not entirely sold on whether he’ll make into a real Grade 1 novice chaser. I’ll reserve judgement until I see him in a better race but I’d say he could find himself out of his depth against the top notchers. He jumped pretty well though and he remains of interest.
I have a huge soft spot for CHIANTI CLASSICO – readers may recall I tipped him up for the Ultima Handicap Chase around this time last year – and I was delighted to see him win the Sodexo Gold Cup at Ascot on Saturday. He’s a proper, proper horse and it’ll be interesting to see what the handicapper does with his rating on Tuesday.
The Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero yard have always been sweet on WHITE RHINO and he made a winning start to life over fences at Ayr. He travelled like a dream and jumped like a handicapper for much of the race before asserting well in the closing stages to win cosily. He’s one to keep very much onside going forward.
There was a string of non-runners at Wetherby on Saturday and BEACON EDGE was the main beneficiary in the West Yorkshire Hurdle, running out a convincing winner ahead of Twig and disappointing favourite Kateira. Danny Gilligan rode the perfect race to get the most out of his horse and it was great to see him record his ninth career success.
THE REAL WHACKER claimed his first victory since the 2023 Brown Advisory Novices Chase to win the Charlie Hall Chase, beating the well-fancied Bravemansgame who had to settle for second once again. The proximity of Sam Brown to the front two would give cause for concern over the form but it was great to see ‘The Whacker’ back in the winner’s enclosure.
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I’m a big fan of ROMEO COOLIO and I was delighted to see him make a seamless start to his hurdling career. The Champion Bumper runner-up was slick over his hurdles, showing the sort of acceleration and speed to suggest that he can hold his own in Graded races over two miles. The Grade 2 Royal Bond at Fairyhouse is up next.
ENVOI ALLEN claimed his second Grade 1 Ladbrokes Champion Chase success and it was another thrilling renewal of the race, with Hewick just touched off in second. The winner has been a fantastic horse for connections, winning nine races at the highest level. He could head to Kempton Park for the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day.
The brave HEWICK went down gallantly despite jumping like a buck throughout and he is also likely to head to Kempton Park to defend his King George crown. This little horse has a fantastic attitude and he is a huge draw for racing fans. GERRI COLOMBE ran no sort of race and he was the disappointment of the field – hopefully the Cheltenham Gold Cup runner up can bounce back next time out.
It’s gone slightly under the radar but I thought FOUND A FIFTY ran a huge race to beat a race fit Pinkerton in the Grade 2 Chase. The winner was conceding a stone to Noel Meade’s Galway Plate winner and he could be a genuine Ryanair Chase contender in the spring. He won two Grade 1s last season and he looks sure to add to that tally.
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The dogs were barking about CLASSICAL CREEK before Saturday’s bumper but I felt he was slightly underwhelming. Yes, the race wasn’t exactly run to suit and he had to do the donkey work but he looked very raw and almost backwards. He could improve for the run and he’ll need to if he is to blossom into a Champion Bumper horse.
BILL JOYCE caught the eye at Carlisle on Sunday afternoon, with Jonjo O’Neill Jr nothing more than a passenger on board. It probably wasn’t the strongest race in the world but it was good to see him jump and travel with gusto – he could make into a nice novice for Graded races this side of the Irish Sea.
I thought MARBLE SANDS put in a decent enough round of jumping in the Colin Parker Memorial Chase but it didn’t strike me as a vintage renewal. Colonel Harry was having a prep run for the Coral Gold Cup while the winner was fit and primed after a couple of runs on the flat. It was a great bit of placing and connections were rewarded with a Listed success.
Star Performance Of The Week
BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD produced a huge performance to win at Down Royal on Friday and she remains incredibly exciting for the rest of the season. She recorded a rating that would’ve been good enough to win seven of the previous 10 renewals of the Mares Hurdle – just 1lb lower than Lossiemouth’s RPR of 156 from this year’s Festival.
Gordon Elliott has mentioned the Champion Hurdle as a possible target but I’d expect her to line up in the 2m4f Mares Hurdle at the Festival and she’ll be difficult to beat. Her route to Cheltenham is unclear at this stage but I cannot wait to see her out again.
This Week’s Tracker Horse To Follow
I thought MOSSY FEN PARK made a nice start to life over fences, finishing just a few lengths behind the highly regarded Firefox. While I’m not sure Gordon Elliott’s runner was fully wound up for this, the runner up ran a big race and I’ll be backing him next time out – he cost £235,000 at the sales in May and connections have always thought he’d make a better chaser than a hurdler.