Gordon Elliott Cheltenham Day 1 Entries: Check out all his runners for Tuesday
Gordon Elliott will return to the Cheltenham Festival this year, and the Irish handler will have a strong team lining up on day one of the meeting, and we focus on the Cullentra House string here...
13:30 - Supreme Novices' Hurdle
Gordon Elliott's Supreme Novices' Hurdle contender Mighty Potter could've slipped under the radar somewhat, as despite being a Grade 1 winner he has been bypassed by many discussing the Cheltenham Festival opener. With all the talk about the Nicky Henderson duo of Jonbon and Constitution Hill and Willie Mullins's Kilcruit and Dysart Dynamo doing battle, Mighty Potter lines up with a huge chance of landing this prize.
14:10 - Arkle Challenge Trophy
Having never saddled the winner of the Arkle, Elliott will be hoping he can break that duck on Tuesday and he will saddle the hugely exciting mare Riviere D'etel, who is a leading fancy for the Grade 1 2m novice chase, which is off at 14:10 on Tuesday afternoon. A winner of her first three chases, she then bumped into the classy Ferny Hollow, while a late blunder in the Irish Arkle saw her chances scuppered in that Grade 1 contest, and she was forced to finish second to Blue Lord, who she takes on again in the Arkle.
14:50 - Ultima Handicap Chase
It's the toughest race of the entire opening day, but Gordon Elliott holds a strong hand in the Ultima Handicap Chase, as both Floueur and Death Duty line up in the 3m 1f contest with a huge chance of landing the prize. They both contested the Grand National Trial at Punchestown last time out, with Death Duty claiming glory and Floueur finishing third, and with stamina assured for this contest they both have to be respected in a wide open betting heat for punters to enjoy getting stuck into.
15:30 - Champion Hurdle
Three five-year-olds will contest the 2022 Champion Hurdle, and two of the young brigade will fly the flag for team Elliott and the emerging talent spearheading the Cullentra House team will be Teahupoo, who has been in tremendous form of late, and will now look to down the mighty Honeysuckle. A fine winner of the Red Mills Trial Hurdle at Gowran Park, Teahupoo will also be joined by Zanahiyr, who has racked up a host of placed finishes this term. Six-and-a-half lengths behind Honeysuckle in the Irish Champion Hurdle last time out, Zanahiyr will need to improve significantly to figure here.
16:10 - Mares' Hurdle
The sole representative for Gordon Elliott is the well backed Queens Brook, who was edged out by the Willie Mullins-trained Burning Victory in a Grade 3 event last time out, but she should come on significantly for that effort, and she will endeavour to turn that form around on Tuesday. Well backed over the past few weeks, Queens Brook is now second in the betting behind Telmesomethinggirl, and she has to be respected.
16:50 - Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
A field of 22 will go to post for the penultimate race on day one of the Cheltenham Festival, and the Elliott team will saddle five runners in the four-year-old handicap hurdle. The Tide Turns is the current second favourite behind the well-fancied Willie Mullins-trained favourite Gaelic Warrior, while other fancied Elliott runners include Ebasari and Britzka, who have form to find to land the spoils, but could improve. Completing the Elliott quintet will be Doctor Churchill and Iberique Du Seuil, and both will need to improve immeasurably to play any sort of role in the finish here.
17:30 - National Hunt Chase
Arguably Gordon Elliott's most likely winner of the day, Run Wild Fred will head into the National Hunt Chase as a warm favourite to land the marathon contest, which will conclude day one of the meeting. A former runner-up in the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse, he showed his class when bounding to victory in the Troytown at Navan, while his second in a Grade 1 at Leopardstown in December is top form. Braeside adds more depth to the Elliott team, but he's a relatively unfancied 12/1 chance, at the time of writing, and he will need to improve on a third placed effort last time out.