‘He’s a different beast at the Festival’ - Three Irish trainers to back at Cheltenham

The Cheltenham Festival will soon be upon us and the Irish challenge is expected to be very strong, as per usual. They have dominated the Prestbury Cup over the last decade and it should be another landslide victory for the away team.

Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott are the obvious candidates for training plenty of winners but we’re going to suggest three alternative Irish yards who are well worth keeping an eye on at next month’s four-day festival.

Joseph O’Brien

Primarily a Flat trainer these days, Joseph O’Brien has a small but select team of jumpers and a very good record at the Cheltenham Festival.

The Hallgarten And Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle has been particularly good to him in recent years, as he has won it three times since 2019 and twice in the last two years. With that in mind, whoever he sends over has to go under consideration.

Arguably his biggest chance of the week, the hugely promising novice hurdler Talk The Talk did things the hard way at the Dublin Racing Festival last time out, but delivered on the line to win a Grade 1 by a bob of the head.

There will be multiple options open to him now. He could stick to two miles and go for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle or go up in trip and head for the Turners over 2m5f. Whichever race he ends up in, the gelding will be a major contender with plenty of support.

He’s a very shrewd target trainer and is always dangerous when it comes to the handicaps. Keep an eye on the betting as it’s usually telling when the money comes for one of his runners.

Enda McElhinney

Henry de Bromhead

It hasn’t been the greatest of seasons for the Henry de Bromhead yard which has experienced several dry spells, but the trainer is a different beast when it comes to the Cheltenham Festival and can’t be ignored.

He’s one of few trainers to have won all four of the ‘championship races’ and Bob Olinger is the defending champion in the Stayers’ Hurdle. The veteran is a course specialist who rarely runs a bad race at Cheltenham and is unlikely to go down without a fight once again. The Big Westerner could line up in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, which looks wide open at the moment, and she’s an improving mare. Placing in last year’s Albert Bartlett, stamina won’t be a problem and there could be loads more to come.

Emmet Mullins

One trainer with the surname Mullins made it onto this list but it’s Emmet rather than Willie.

He’s a very shrewd target-trainer and is always dangerous when it comes to the handicaps.

Keep an eye on the betting as it’s usually telling when the money comes for one of his runners.

Novice chaser McLaurey is prominent in the betting for several handicap chases and there’s scope for further improvement from him.

J’Arrive De L’Est has finished second in two Cross Country chases at Cheltenham this season and is likely to feature once again.

Leading Hunter Chase contender It’s On The Line was beaten by a neck in the race last year and he’s one for the shortlist once again.