Constitution Hill has dominated every challenge with ease, winning all 10 of his races to date. However, in Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle, he may face his sternest opponent yet in Brighterdaysahead (4.00), who also boasts the strongest recent form in the field.
The Neville Hotels Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting was set up for Brighterdaysahead by a front-running stable companion. Meanwhile, State Man, the defending champion on Tuesday, was clearly not at his best and finished a long way behind Gordon Elliott’s mare.
Brighterdaysahead still managed to put a remarkable 30 lengths between herself and the runner-up, achieving this in an exceptionally fast time under the conditions. Taking her 7lb mares’ allowance into account, Timeform’s ratings suggest that her performance puts her just 3lb behind Constitution Hill’s best-ever run, which came in the Supreme Novice Hurdle at this same meeting three years ago.
While Constitution Hill is undoubtedly one of the greatest hurdlers of all time, the gap between him and the market principals may be much smaller than the betting odds suggest. Consequently, Brighterdaysahead appears to be seriously overpriced at around 9-4.
Cheltenham 1.20: Kopek Des Bordes is the first of four hot favourites in the opening day’s Grade One events. A repeat of his level of form at the Dublin Racing Festival in February should be sufficient to set punters on the right path. The visual impression of his 13-length success was backed up by a very fast time, and he has as much, if not more, potential for improvement than any of his rivals.
Cheltenham 2.00: The odds-on Majborough, last year’s Triumph winner, is top-rated based on his Grade One victory at Leopardstown in February. However, he took a while to warm up in that race, and L’Eau Du Sud could prove a formidable opponent. With flawless jumping in four starts this season, Majborough may need to be equally foot-perfect to win, making Dan Skelton’s runner a strong bet at around 4-1.
Cheltenham 2.40: Irish stables have a poor record in this race, going 0-32 since 2016. However, they have come close in recent years, and Paul Gilligan’s novice Sequestered is a live contender at around 16-1. The seven-year-old was useful over hurdles but has already shown significant improvement over fences. His performances in valuable big-field handicaps at Leopardstown suggest even better to come.
Cheltenham 3.20: A straightforward repeat of last year’s dominant victory appears to be on the cards for Lossiemouth after the decision was made to switch her from the Champion Hurdle.
Cheltenham 4.40: The up-and-coming James Owen stable has a chance to secure its first festival win with Liam Swagger. He has already improved on his useful Flat form over hurdles and has been given a very workable mark following a light campaign, with no jumps run since December.
Cheltenham 5.20: Now Is The Hour could show significant improvement with this step up to a marathon trip. Trainer Gavin Cromwell’s track record at Cheltenham, particularly during the festival, is exceptional, making this runner one to watch
