Galway Winners to Watch for Cheltenham Festival 2026 It was a hectic time for the sport last week, as we had both Glorious Goodwood and the Galway Festival taking place simultaneously. Galway’s world-famous atmosphere was matched by the competitiveness of the racing and we have lots to ponder. Time will tell if any of the Galway winners will have any impact on next year’s Cheltenham Festival, but there are some significant winners which could be worth keeping in mind going forward. These include the Willie Mullins-trained novice hurdle winner Davy Crockett. Is Cheltenham the destination for Davy Crockett? One horse that made a significant splash, even before he ran, was Willie Mullins’ Davy Crockett. The JP McManus-owned gelding is impeccably bred and is now unbeaten in two starts under rules. He is out of Champion Hurdle winner Annie Power and by Camelot, who himself stayed as far as 1m6f. His half-brother Mystical Power was runner-up in the 2024 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and it would be no surprise to see Davy Crockett follow in those footsteps. Making the perfect start to his career in a Punchestown bumper in June, that performance did nothing to reduce the hype around this classy four-year-old. He pulled easily clear to score by nine lengths and never really had to come out of second gear. Whilst it’s entirely possible that he’ll want further in the long run, clearly he possesses enough pace to win over shorter, as he made no mistake on his first start over hurdles last week. Mark Walsh was on board this time and he overcame a mistake at the second-last to launch a challenge approaching the final flight. Mullins’ gelding then went on to score by two-and-a-half lengths. Clearly improvement will be needed to challenge at Cheltenham but he would have learnt plenty from the experience and the best is almost certainly yet to come. Hipop could be Albert Bartlett bound Another one for Willie Mullins, Hipop De Loire was an impressive winner of the 2m6f maiden hurdle on Wednesday. That was the eight-year-old’s second start over hurdles and he saw the trip out well to score by 11 lengths. The fact that he turns nine before the Cheltenham Festival is a concern, as there wouldn’t be too many nine-year-olds winning Grade 1 novice hurdles at Cheltenham, but stamina wouldn’t be an issue and handicaps could also be a solid option looking ahead to March. Galway Plate and Galway Hurdle Gordon Elliott’s Western Fold came out on top in the Plate and he’s a progressive and lightly-raced chaser. A contest like the Ultima could be a solid option provided the handicapper doesn’t overreact but he might be more of an Irish National type. Ndaawi provided another major success for Gordon Elliott in the Galway Hurdle, with some assistance from the stewards. He was last seen finishing second behind Kargese in the County Hurdle and another bold bid could be on the agenda. Other winners to consider King Of Kingsfield spent much of last season pacemaking for Brighterdaysahead but managed to make a triumphant return to chasing when winning a 2m2f beginners’ chase on Tuesday. He clearly possesses ability and could be a live chance in one of the handicaps at Cheltenham on better ground. Filey Bay’s success in the Connacht Hotel (Q.R.) Handicap was a poignant one, as the late Michael O’Sullivan’s brother Alan was on board the nine-year-old. Emmet Mullins trains and he could have a big prize in him if returning to hurdles at some point.
