Cheltenham Festival second-strings who could cause an upset

By Enda McElhinney

The top trainers at the Cheltenham Festival often have more than one horse good enough to run in each race and this is especially relevant to the likes of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott.

When this does happen, the yard's leading riders have to make a choice and when there's not a lot in it, they don't always make the right one and it can lead to some interesting horse racing results.

Here are some Cheltenham Festival second-string runners who could cause an upset next week.

Supreme Novices' Hurdle - Sober @ 16/1

Willie Mullins has plenty of horses entered in the Supreme and this impressive Fairyhouse maiden winner looks like the trainer's first string. It's going to be a big step up in class for him and if he's not quite ready, impressive Grade 2 scorer Sober can fill the void.

He was an excellent stayer on the Flat and managed to win a Group 2 over an extended 1m7f in his native France. Also an impressive winner in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot, he does also have the option of the Turners over 2m4f.

That being said, he looked like a Supreme candidate when winning the Moscow Flyer at Punchestown in January, a race which Willie Mullins often targets with his better two-mile novices. He's fully deserving of a place in this field and could beat stablemate Mighty Park.

Arkle Novices' Chase - Kargese @ 6/1

Kopek Des Bordes heads the market for this race at the moment, but his preparation has been far from smooth. In fact, he hasn't been seen since winning a beginners' chase at Navan in November.

That's definitely a negative here and stablemate Kargese has had a much more straightforward campaign and is progressing nicely over fences. Already a Cheltenham Festival winner, the mare came out on top in last year's County Hurdle.

Her 7lb allowance could make a significant difference here and she beat Lovely Hurling just as impressively as Kopek Des Bordes did, when beating him by 14 lengths eased down. Romeo Coolio was only a neck ahead of her in the Irish Arkle last time out as well.

It's all about speed in the Arkle and this sort of test would be much more suitable for her than Romeo Coolio, enabling her to turn the tables. She looks like a very solid alternative to Kopek Des Bordes here.

Brown Advisory Novices' Chase - Kaid d'Authie @ 5/1

Final Demand remains at the top of the market for this race, even after a very disappointing display at the Dublin Racing Festival.

The Willie Mullins-trained seven-year-old was never travelling well and Paul Townend had to encourage him at almost every fence.

Kaid d'Authie took full advantage and stayed on powerfully to pull well clear of his stablemate and land the Grade 1 event over an extended 2m5f. Three miles will be no problem for him on that evidence and he's a much less risky alternative.

Mark Walsh will ride the JP McManus-owned gelding and the handicapper has Kaid d'Authie on a 2lb higher mark than Final demand. He has already caused a small upset once, so what's to stop him from doing it again here?