Monday’s jumps cards at Plumpton and Hereford will have to pass precautionary inspections on raceday morning.
Cave Court brought up his sixth career success in the Albert Bartlett Qualifier Handicap Hurdle.
Ballybow made the best way home in the extended 2m2f maiden hurdle at Naas for Gordon Elliott and Sam Ewing.
All eyes will be on the impressive bumper winner Maughreen when she makes her hurdling debut at Punchestown on Monday.
Dancing City took a step up in class in his stride in the Grade 3 Finlay Ford At Naas Novice Chase.
As we approach the business end of the National Hunt season there appears to be a shift taking place in the balance of power between the Irish and British trained horses.
Only twelve months ago we witnessed the unprecedented dominance of the Willie Mullins yard when the perennial Irish Champion Trainer added a first British Trainers’ Championship to his CV and hoovered up virtually every key race in the calendar - Champion Hurdle, Gold Cup, Grand National - and won all eight Grade One contests at the Dublin Racing Festival, before then matching that with a similar haul of Grade One races at the Cheltenham Festival in a stellar season.
My Racing StorySponsored By Tote
I'm from Co Cork and always grew up with a few cobs at home. When I was 14, I went into James Dullea's racing yard down in Bandon, Co Cork and I learned loads there. To be fair, he taught me everything that I know about racehorses and how to ride one. Any days off school, weekends, school holidays, and during Covid-19 I was riding out. He was very good and gave me loads of experience. I always wanted to be a jockey. I always used to watch the racing on the television and you would always get a buzz off it. Then when I was in James' yard, I really got the bug. I'm in Gordon Elliott's two years now. I was talking to James and asked him where would be best for me to go up the country to be in the heart of racing. He said he would get me into Gordon's. I went up there for a couple of days and I never looked back. I got a full-time job after two or three days and I'm here ever since.
The 2025 Cheltenham Festival is almost upon us and as the best national hunt horses, trainers and jockeys in both Ireland and Britain are doing their final preparations ahead of the four-day extravaganza in March, the team at irishracing.com have taken a look at the options available to racing fans eager to enjoy the spectacle.
A combination of expensive ticket prices to the event and price-gouging on accommodation in the Cheltenham area has led to a fall in attendance over the last two years at the Festival. Many Irish and British fans of the sport, who would have traditionally made the annual pilgrimage to the Cotswolds to experience the unique atmosphere and excitement of the Cheltenham Festival, are instead going to destinations abroad where their money goes further.
The festival organizers are aware of this trend and have made a number of tweaks to the race programme at the Festival for 2025, arranged for more official parking spots at the course and also tried to influence the accommodation providers whose prices skyrocket around the time of the festival each year.
Cheltenham preview with Donn McClean | Formscan
Cheltenham preview with Donn McClean. Emma Nagle is joined by Donn McClean to preview the action from this weekend's action from Cheltenham as well as a glance at the other Saturday cards.
By Tom Weekes - MUST GO NOW gained a belated first win in an easy manner on New Year’s Day and can follow up from 10lb higher. Lightly-raced and inconsistent prior to his Fairyhouse win, that form is working out well with the third-placed horse scoring subsequently and the selection should now progress. Cave Court is ground-versatile and is suited by this distance but is now 4lb higher that when finishing second at Leopardstown over Christmas. One Big Boum is 8lb higher than when winning at Cork last month but is progressive while Interchangeable narrowly won an unplaced maiden last month and steps up in grade. Hartur d’Arc has a higher chase rating but today’s race, over an inadequate distance, will help his confidence.
