Cheltenham Festival 2023: Day three talking points

Timeform’s John Ingles highlights four talking points on day three of the Cheltenham Festival.

Can Mighty Potter avoid the fate of recent favourites in the Turners Novices’ Chase?

Punters could be forgiven for thinking twice about supporting hot favourite Mighty Potter for the Turners Novices’ Chase given the fate of odds-on shots in that contest in the last two years. Two years ago, Envoi Allen was unbeaten in eleven races for his then trainer Gordon Elliott, two of those at previous Festivals, when sent off at 4/9 for what was then the Marsh Novices’ Chase but crashed out early in the race, while in a virtual match last year, 5/6-shot Galopin des Champs came down at the last when clear to leave Bob Olinger to collect.

While Envoi Allen – who runs in the Ryanair Chase later in the afternoon – hasn’t quite reached the heights expected of him, Galopin des Champs could well do so on Friday when set to start favourite for the Gold Cup. Mighty Potter might not have quite the reputation that pair had as novices, but there’s no doubting he’s a very exciting young chaser in his own right and he bids to give Elliott his third win in the race registered as the Golden Miller after Shattered Love and Samcro.

Mighty Potter was pulled up in last year’s Supreme Novices but has put up high-class efforts to win Grade 1 novice chases in his last couple of starts, having the re-opposing Banbridge back in third in the Drinmore at Fairyhouse and then storming clear to win the Ladbrokes Novice Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival, performances which make him very much the one to beat here.

Shishkin out to get his Festival record back on track in the Ryanair Chase

Shishkin took an unbeaten record over fences into last year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase, including a beating of his chief rival Energumene in the Clarence House Chase beforehand, but proved bitterly disappointing, never travelling from the word go before Nico de Boinville called it a day after the eighth fence.

That was in contrast to Shishkin’s performances on his two previous visits to the Festival. He was a gutsy head winner of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2020 but fences were always expected to be the making of him and he duly proved a dominant winner of the Sporting Life Arkle twelve months later. Following his abject defeat at last year’s Festival, blamed on a rare bone condition, Shishkin’s flat performance when a well-held third to Edwardstone on his return in the Tingle Creek in December raised further questions about his future.

But it also prompted a change of strategy in terms of distance and, wearing a tongue tie for the first time after a breathing operation since Sandown, Shishkin was right back to his top-class best with a runaway victory in the Ascot Chase where he looked to relish the longer trip. In the absence of Allaho, winner for the last two years, Willie Mullins fields three others against him, including last year’s runner-up Janidil and the top-class Blue Lord who suffered only his second defeat over fences at Leopardstown last time, but a repeat of his Ascot performance should ensure Shishkin is back in the Cheltenham winner’s enclosure again.

Third Stayers’ Hurdle would put Flooring Porter in select company

Flooring Porter joined Baracouda as a dual Stayers’ Hurdle winner this century when winning the race for the second time twelve months ago. Another win this year would put him alongside Inglis Drever (whose three wins weren’t gained consecutively) and would also leave him one short of Big Buck’s feat of winning four Stayers’ Hurdles. Flooring Porter might not be as good as those other multiple winners, though he’s been good enough to beat the best staying hurdlers at the last two Festivals under well-judged rides from the front from Danny Mullins.

But Flooring Porter has managed only a couple of fourth places in his two starts this term and at one stage was reported by Gavin Cromwell to be only 50-50 to make it at all to Cheltenham this year after a setback. His stiffest competition could come from his fellow Irish entries. They include Home By The Lee, only sixth behind him at Cheltenham last year but the winner of both races Flooring Porter has contested this year, most recently when beating Ashdale Bob in the Christmas Hurdle. Klassical Dream beat Flooring Porter in last season’s Christmas Hurdle while Blazing Khal, back from injury and unbeaten over hurdles, and Teahupoo, who successfully stepped up to three miles last time, have emerged as credible new rivals this term.  

Dashel Drasher and 2019 winner Paisley Park are the sole home-trained runners in the line-up, while Gold Tweet is one of two French challengers, having had both that pair behind him in the Cleeve Hurdle on Trials Day in January.

Plenty of very promising types in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle

It’s not often you get four horses with the Timeform ‘large P’ symbol – denoting the likelihood of considerable improvement – meeting in the same race but that’s the case in the race run this year as the Jack de Bromhead Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. There are several other promising mares in the 21-runner field but Nicky Henderson has two of the ‘large P’ horses, Luccia and Under Control. Luccia looks an exciting prospect with an unbeaten record from four starts, and has impressed in winning both her starts over hurdles, listed contests at Newbury and Exeter. Four-year-old Under Control is more of a dark horse but it’s interesting she’s taking her chance too, having only made her British debut, albeit an impressive one, in a juvenile hurdle at Newbury less than a fortnight ago.

Henry de Bromhead won this with Telmesomethinggirl two years ago and has five chances in a race that he’s obviously keen to win again this year in particular. His ‘large P’ entry is Magical Zoe who is also unbeaten, including in her two starts over hurdles in the autumn, doing very well to quicken from an unpromising position to take a Grade 3 contest at Down Royal on her latest start.

Coming from a very different background to those is the fourth ‘large P’ horse, Princess Zoe. She’s best known as a smart stayer on the Flat for Tony Mullins, winning the Prix du Cadran in 2020 and, more recently, last year’s Sagaro Stakes at Ascot, and she appeals as the type to improve significantly in a race such as this after dead-heating on her hurdles debut at Punchestown in January.