#Gaelic Warrior

7 February 2022 By Roger Kennedy [email protected] Starting on Tuesday, 15 March and continuing till Friday, 18 March, the Cheltenham Festival is almost upon us. If you want to get your ante post bets in, now is likely the best time to start picking your horses for each race. Of course, you will need some information on the favourites to win major…

Willie Mullins and Paul Townend after Impaire Et Passe won on his hurdling debut at Naas in December Impaire Et Passe was cut for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle over 2m and the longer Ballymore Novices' Hurdle over 2m5f after impressing at Punchestown. Which race at the festival do our experts favour? If he were mine it would be the Supreme…

Colin Tizzard can sign off in style with a win for Eldorado Allen in the Betway Bowl (2.55). The top trainer is soon to hand over the reins to his son Joe and the grey has a fine chance of victory at Aintree. He stayed on determinedly behind star chaser Allaho in Cheltenham's Ryanair Chase last month and is in an upward curve. Earlier, Pied Piper…

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…

Newcastle's Flat card features a conditions race over a mile and a quarter with some smart older performers entered up. They include the John & Thady Gosden pair Harrovian and Forest of Dean who finished third and fifth respectively in a listed race at Lingfield in November which has thrown up some winners since. This looks a bit less competitive,…

The week just gone over jumps was a welcome pause after the unrelenting Christmas and New Year action, but it has nevertheless thrown up several Festival clues in the last few years. The feature event at Sandown, the Unibet Tolworth Hurdle, has gone to subsequent Sky Bet Supreme winners Constitution Hill and Summerville Boy in recent seasons, while…

The last seven favourites have been successful in this Grade 1, including Envoi Allen and Bob Olinger who went on to win the Ballymore, and Grangeclare West will be the one trying to continue that sequence. Willie Mullins has won this race eight times and had the option of running Boodles runner-up Gaelic Warrior, who won at Tramore by 86 lengths…

Ruby Walsh has offered his expert insight into the upcoming Cheltenham Festival with the legendary jockey expecting another thrilling week of action in England. Walsh is no stranger to Cheltenham having been the leading jockey 11 times at the Festival, nabbing 59 winners and twice racing to Gold Cup glory. And previewing the races, Walsh is backing…

Brazil: produced a smart performance to beat Fil Dor in Grade 3 company at Naas A race that at its entry stage had the likes of Vauban, Pied Piper, Gaelic Warrior, Icare Allen and Irish Point has ended up in an unexpected match - the first two-horse race at declaration stage in Ireland for a decade. There have been nine match races across the last…

FACILE VEGA is a massive drifter in one of the Cheltenham Festival markets. The unbeaten Willie Mullins-trained superstar was matched as low as 3.5 for next March's Ballymore. But now it looks almost nailed on the son of Quevega will run in the Supreme. Facile Vega was not among the 20 entries for the 2m4f Grade 1 Lawlor's Of Naas hurdle next…

The 2022 Cheltenham Festival may just be over, but we're already thinking about what will happen at next year's meeting. Rachael Blackmore was once again the toast of Prestbury Park as she won both the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup, becoming the first woman to do so. Cork jockey Paul Townend also enjoyed remarkable success, winning five races…

eel the roar greeting the opener at the Cheltenham Festival this afternoon and you will soon realise how much you missed it. With two novice races of nine runners or less, day one reflects the field-size issues that have become a major concern in British racing - yet the opener still goes back in time. Nicky Henderson supplies a hot favourite and…

Gaelic Warrior won easily at Tramore on his first start since the Fred Winter at Cheltenham, where he led over the last Gaelic Warrior's return journey to Cheltenham is under way after a bloodless victory in the 2m maiden hurdle. After being agonisingly denied by a short head in the Fred Winter at the festival in March, the Willie Mullins-trained…

THE horse that let down thousands of Cheltenham accas last season made a sensational return to action at Tramore on Tuesday. Gaelic Warrior - who was backed off the boards for the Boodles Juvenile Hurdle at the Festival but could only finish second - won by an incredible 86 lengths on his comeback. He was widely considered one the bankers of the…

Gold Cup third Protektorat meets the last two winners of the Betway Bowl on day one of the Grand National meeting. Dan Skelton's chaser, the best of the British runners in the Cheltenham Festival feature, is up against Clan Des Obeaux and Kemboy. The pair have flourished in the Grade 1 Aintree contest, run over conventional fences at a distance of…

Get ready to place your bets and cheer your horses home - the 2022 Cheltenham Festival is here. Fans return to the four-day meeting after missing out last year, with sales hitting record levels. Over 60000 people will watch the thrilling sporting action from the grandstands during the week. The feature Gold Cup, sponsored by Boodles, is wide open…

THE Cheltenham Festival ante post markets have been in full swing since March. Shrewd punters have been busy plotting and predicting how this year's races will finish. Irish trainers dominated last year and with the likes of Willie Mullins and Henry de Bromhead having such strong yards, it's no surprise many of their superstars lead the way…

WILLIE MULLINS will be Galopin down the road to more big-race glory. The Closutton maestro may be knocking on a bit at 66 - but he has no plans to hand over the reigns to his son Patrick just yet. And his team of Galacticos will take some stopping. Such is his squad strength only a couple of star strikers from Britain would even make it into a…

Reigning champion Minella Indo will be hoping to make it successive Gold Cup wins toward the end of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, but will face plenty of competition from the likes of last year's National Hunt Chase winner Galvin and previous two-time winner of this race Al Boum Photo. That all comes after four full days of racing though, with…

With a month or so to go till the Cheltenham Festival, the ante-post markets are really beginning to take shape with racing fans across the country hoping to seek out value ahead of those famous four days in March. It's a very busy time for the trading team too, and we asked William Hill's Director of Racing, Mark Howarth how things are looking…

CONFLATED has the ability to crush the hopes of two past winners of today's Betway Bowl Chase by taking the Aintree prize. Both Clan Des Obeaux, winner of last year's contest, and Kemboy, successful in the 2019 race, have disappointed this season, suggesting they are now on the decline. In contrast CONFLATED (2.55, nap, ITV) has stepped up to the…

Galvin, Conflated and Fil Dor are among the big names set to be in action for Gordon Elliott over the festive period as the Cullentra handler shuffles his pack for Leopardstown's Christmas Festival. Elliott has enjoyed huge success at the four-day meeting in recent years, with Galvin's thrilling Savills Chase victory over A Plus Tard a clear…

Top tipster Simon Rowlands has four bets online for the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday, including an each-way selection in the Champion Hurdle. The question of what is the ideal preparation for the Cheltenham Festival is usually confined to the horses, but I find myself wondering whether being battle-hardened or fresh as a daisy…

THE Cheltenham Festival is back in person this week - which is basically Christmas for racing fans across Britain and Ireland. You will no doubt be hearing tips from all corners as to who is likely to win the top prizes on offer at the annual race meet but only a few truly know what they're talking about when it comes to spying a winner or…