Finale Juvenile Hurdle: Comfort Zone holds off Dixon Cove to land Jonjo O'Neill Jr treble at Chepstow

Cheltenham Festival Trails Day takes place at Prestbury Park on Saturday afternoon, with pointers aplenty expected for the big meeting meeting in March. There are eight races for punters to get stuck into, with the Clarence House Chase being run at Cheltenham once again this year after last weekend's Ascot card fell to the weather. The action kicks…

A late absentee from the Turners Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival due to the rain-softened ground, Banbridge will head to Aintree with strong claims of making the breakthrough in Grade One company having already shown himself to be a very smart novice. Trained by Joseph O'Brien, Banbridge was last seen filling the runner-up spot in the…

A late absentee from the Turners Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival due to the rain-softened ground, Banbridge will head to Aintree with strong claims of making the breakthrough in Grade One company having already shown himself to be a very smart novice. Trained by Joseph O'Brien, Banbridge was last seen filling the runner-up spot in the…

The first race on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival is the Triumph Hurdle, the championship for four-year-olds making their way in the jumping game. It is the leading event in the National Hunt calendar to be exclusively contested by juveniles and is run over a trip of two miles and one furlong over the New Course. No trainer has enjoyed…

Hot favourite Galopin Des Champs will face a maximum of 13 rivals in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup. The seven-year-old has won five of his six starts over fences to date, his only defeat coming at last year's Festival when falling at the final fence with the Turners Novices' Chase at his mercy. He has been thoroughly impressive in winning the…

TOP trainer Milton Harris was left red-faced after confidently placing a £1000 each-way bet on his Cheltenham Festival horse. Harris was so sure his stable star Scriptwriter would win a big race on Saturday that he placed a bet on the horse to win next month's Triumph Hurdle too. The trainer, who once dated Belinda Carlisle and was fighting for his…

Ed Quigley aka'Longshot Ted' looks back at recent events, gets some stuff off his chest, and casts an eye to the future in his latest column Well, what a day of fun and quality that was. Prestbury Park's 9-race extravaganza didn't disappoint as we saw close finishes, class performances, and some big upsets. Undoubtedly the story of the day was…

Paul Nicholls and Harry Cobden completed a 19.63/1 double courtesy of Il Ridoto (9/2) and Springheeled Star (11/4). The former landed the Paddy Power Cheltenham Countdown Podcast Handicap Chase but only after a rare old tussle with 7/2 favourite Fugitif. Cobden was always travelling powerfully aboard the winner but so was Gavin Sheehan on the…

Stage Star produced a sparkling round of jumping to successfully defy top weight and land the Timeform Novices' Handicap Chase. Paul Nicholls' charge outclassed his rivals, and was on the bridle as he led the only serious danger Datsalrightgino over the last. Harry Cobden's charge took another length out of his rival there and was merely pushed out…

The Triumph Hurdle often has a short priced favourite as one juvenile catapults into the top billing for the young horses throughout a National Hunt season. This year that particular horse looks set to be the filly Lossiemouth for Willie Mullins. She will hope to follow in the footsteps of Burning Victory back in 2019, who won the race as a female…

Kateira & Perseus Way - 2pt Win - 2.17/1 (Paddy Power) singleSelection singleSelection First up, I'm playing the double of Kateira & Perseus Way. The first selection is Kateira in the Mares' Novice Hurdle. I was very impressed with her win the last day. It was a Class 4 race officially but I thought it would be a race to follow and it is already…

Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore will aim to bounce back from her first defeat at Fairyhouse to win a fourth consecutive Irish Champion Hurdle This year's Dublin Racing Festival looks set to play host to a star-studded line-up after early entries for the two-day Irish calendar highlight at Leopardstown were revealed on Thursday. Eight Grade 1s…

The Churchill gelding was a neck superior to Dixon Cove in the Grade Two event at Chepstow over Christmas. The JP McManus-owned four-year-old had previously finished third at Fairyhouse to Triumph Hurdle favourite Lossiemouth, who subsequently franked that form by winning a Grade Two at Leopardstown on Boxing Day. The Owning Hill handler is keen to…

It was another fantastic festive period of equine action as Leopardstown and Limerick took centre stage at the end of December. Not surprisingly, Kilkenny trainer Willie Mullins continued to dominate the training sphere over the days after Christmas as he saddled 16 winners, of which were five Grade 1's. In total Mullins had 73 runners over the…

It was a shame Edwardstone unseated Tom Cannon at the fifth in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton. He had been brilliant in the Tingle Creek and this was supposed to be further evidence that he's ready to have a real crack at Energumene in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Alas, it wasn't to be, but at least he returned unscathed and the Champion…

Home By The Lee (left) wins the Christmas Hurdle There is a new name atop the Stayers' Hurdle market after Home By The Lee silenced any doubts about his Lismullen Hurdle success with a resolute performance to capture the Jack de Bromhead Christmas Hurdle. The delighted winning trainer Joseph O'Brien indicated the new 6-1 outright favourite with…

Michael O'Leary's first time at the races this season saw him in the Grade 1 winners enclosure at Leopardstown after Conflated delivered the Ryanair boss another Savills Chase success. Proving once again perhaps that it's better to be both lucky and rich, O'Leary's rare day at the races coincided with a late injury scare that ruled out the Gold Cup…

Comfort Zone was made to work very hard to justify odds-on favouritism in the Coral Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow. Paying a handsome compliment to the Willie Mullins-trained Lossiemouth, the current Triumph Hurdle favourite who had him back in third las time out, Joseph O'Brien's charge was a rare winner of the Grade Two event for…

Chepstow hosts one of the highlights of the jumps season on Tuesday, the Coral Welsh Grand National Handicap Chase, while there is top Flat action from Wolverhampton, all live on Sky Sports Racing. Wales' Christmas highlight sees 19 go to post for the Coral Welsh Grand National Handicap Chase (2.50) at Chepstow on Tuesday. The field is headed by…

The Two Amigos made it third time lucky when making just about every yard of the running in the Coral Welsh National at Chepstow. Fifth to Potters Corner in 2019 and second to Secret Reprieve the following season, Nicky Martin's 10-year-old was providing conditional jockey David Prichard with by far the biggest win of his career. The first three…

One-time Derby favourite High Definition made a successful start to his jumping career in the opening race of the Christmas Festival at Leopardstown. The Galileo colt looked every inch a Classic contender in the making after charging home to win the Beresford Stakes as a two-year-old, but had failed to get his head in front in 12 subsequent…

Zarak The Brave: hoping to build on his maiden win in a Grade 3 at Fairyhouse on Sunday While all eyes will be on the three Grade 1s on the card, there is plenty of quality scattered throughout the other five races at Fairyhouse. The best of the rest is the Grade 3 Bar One Racing Price Boost Juvenile Hurdle (12.25) which pits two of Willie Mullins'…

Honeysuckle: heads a quality field as she bids for a fourth consecutive Hatton's Grace Hurdle Honeysuckle will face seven opponents when she bids to eclipse Limestone Lad, Apple's Jade and Solerina to become the first four-time winner of the Bar One Racing Hatton's Grace Hurdle (2.30) at Fairyhouse on Sunday. Henry de Bromhead's star mare will make…

Cheltenham Gold Cup, RacingGav returns with his fifth preview for next month's Cheltenham Festival. This week sees our main man finding big value in the the Triumph Hurdle which currently sees Willie Mullins headikng the betting wth three potential entries. Scriptwriter - 16/1 singleSelection My fifth selection of this Cheltenham Festival Antepost…