Dan Skelton’s L’Eau du Sud is poised to make a significant impact for the home team in the highly anticipated Champion Chase at Cheltenham.
Although Willie Mullins' Majborough is the favourite for Wednesday’s headline event, last year’s Arkle showed that he can be prone to error, finishing third. His recent Dublin Chase victory was impressive but perhaps overvalued by the market. Mullins’ second string, Il Etait Temps—the Tingle Creek winner—is next in betting and represents a strong contender.
Carrying the colours of the late John Hales, who famously triumphed in this race with Politologue and Azertyuiop, L’Eau du Sud boasts a classy track record and a dominant win in last November’s Shloer Chase. With only two races this season but a combined winning margin of 33 lengths, this fresh runner looks primed for success.
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Gordon Elliott, eager for his 42nd Festival winner, has a potent chance with Ballyfad in the opening Turners Novices' Hurdle. Unbeaten in their first four starts, Ballyfad was narrowly beaten in a Grade One race at Leopardstown but remains preferred to Willie Mullins’ Sober—a flat winner at Royal Ascot last year and undefeated over hurdles in two starts.
The Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase, known for its unique challenges, sees Gavin Cromwell dominating the betting, while Elliott’s Favori de Champdou, having previously won convincingly over these fences during Cheltenham’s Trials Day, now looks more vulnerable. In the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase, Romeo Coolio’s strong form was reinforced by his narrow victory over Kargese, Tuesday’s Arkle Chase winner, at the Dublin Racing Festival.
Following his fifth Festival win, jockey Danny Mullins could secure a sixth aboard Storm Heart, unbeaten in two outings this season and a standout juvenile after placing fifth in the 2024 Triumph Hurdle. Ian Donoghue’s Break My Soul offers an intriguing long-odds proposition in the Grand Annual. Meanwhile, trainer Ben Pauling backs Vanderpoel’s chance, dispelling concerns about the lightly raced seven-year-old’s preference for small fields, despite a large 19-horse field this year.
Willie Mullins’ incredible record in the Champion Bumper—14 wins since 1996—faces a new challenger in seven-time Irish champion Noel Meade. At 75, Meade, who boasts six Festival wins, has enlisted six-time Irish Champion flat jockey Colin Keane to ride The Mourne Rambler, a standout Leopardstown winner over Christmas. Known for his international success, including a Breeders' Cup victory and four Classics, Keane is well-equipped for the Bumper’s physical demands.
Selections:
1:20 Ballyfad, 2:00 Romeo Coolio, 2:40 Storm Heart, 3:20 Favori de Champdou, 4:00 L’Eau du Sud (nap), 4:40 Vanderpoel, 5:20 The Mourne Rambler