Gavin Cromwell
Gavin Cromwell’s William Hill blog: Cheltenham review & Aintree plans
William Hill ambassador Gavin Cromwell reviews the 2026 Cheltenham Festival and lays out Aintree and Punchestown plans for a selection of his stable stars.
Cheltenham Festival reaction
I’m happy with all the horses that went to Cheltenham. They all came home safe and sound and they’re back riding out.
The Cheltenham Festival is a very hard place to get winners, so we were grateful to have one last week. The majority of the horses ran really well, with another eight finishing in the first four.
We had a couple of hard luck stories and the one that stands out is The Passing Wife in the Albert Bartlett. He could’ve won in different circumstances, but we’re happy with our decision to run him there. His next aim will be the three-mile Grade 1 novice hurdle at Punchestown, then he may well go chasing next season.
Only By Night was another who ran really well. A lot of people were doubting whether she would say, but I’ve always thought that she would. It was in the back of our minds not to ride her to get the trip but now, with the benefit of hindsight, we can ride her more positive the next day because we know she’ll stay. We’ll go straight to Punchestown with her now.
After a circuit in the Gold Cup I was thinking ‘this is getting embarrassing now’, because Inothewayurthinkin just wasn’t travelling or jumping. He stayed on really well to finish third and we were happy with the run in the end, but it was disappointing the way he ran for the first three quarters of the race. We know he has such a huge engine and it can be frustrating, but he certainly showed a lot more there than he had done for the rest of the season.
He’s come out of it well and he’s straight back into full work. We want to go to the Punchestown Gold Cup with him and if he can build Cheltenham, then hopefully he can step up at Punchestown.
Grand National a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity with Final Orders
Final Orders was a brilliant winner of the Cross Country Chase, under a fantastic ride from Conor Stone-Walsh. He now has entries at Aintree for the Grand National and he’s also entered in the Irish National.
I don’t buy into the talk that he’s now the best handicapped horse in the race. Aintree is not the same jumping discipline as the Cross Country at Cheltenham. He made up 28 lengths jumping at Cheltenham and I just don’t think that’s possible around Aintree. He’s a good jumper and if he does everything right then he will make up ground, but do I see him being very well-handicapped? No, I don’t.
The thing is, he’s rated 138 in Ireland, so he’s effectively 19lbs well-in for the Irish National compared to his revised English mark. That said, I’m not sure it’s as simple as that given how much he’s improved in the Cross Country discipline.
The Grand National at Aintree is a once in a lifetime opportunity, though. We’ll be keeping an eye on the ground in both Fairyhouse and Aintree, because it’s so important to him. We’ll make a decision closer to the time.
The Grand National is the main aim for both Now Is The Hour and Perceval Legallois. I thought Now Is The Hour ran a super race in the Brown Advisory and he handled the good ground fine. The step up in trip at Aintree will play to his strengths and he’s developed into a good jumper.
Things didn’t go right for Perceval Legallois last year, but we’d like to have another go with him. He’s only had the two runs this season and he hasn’t shown a whole lot, but we’re happy with him at home and I think the race suits him.
We also have a few entries in the Topham. Will The Wise ran a really good race in the Plate and I think the trip here will be perfect for him.
Addragoole has an entry and that would see him stepping up in trip. I was left scratching my head after the Grand Annual because he travelled around well, but just didn’t pick up. Keith Donoghue seemed to think stepping him up in trip, dropping him out and taking our time with him might just bring out the best in him. He’s a good jumper and I’d like to give it a try.
