Cheltenham Festival

Cheltenham Festival Lucky 15 Tips For Day 4

6 months ago

| BY Steve Mullington

Absurde (County Hurdle)

You’d be absolutely ABSURDE to leave the Willie Mullins globetrotter out of your County Hurdle deliberations this year.

The County Hurdle is as competitive a handicap as any at the Festival, but did you know that nine of the last ten County Hurdles have been won by either Willie Mullins or Dan Skelton? That’s quite a monopoly on the winners which further enhances the chances of last year’s winner.

Absurde figures among several Mullins entries this year and he will be bidding to become the first horse in the race’s history to win it twice.

Unseen on a racecourse since his close fifth in the Melbourne Cup, the seven-year-old has been handed a lovely weight by the handicapper, and he is a really strong each-way candidate.

Jasmin De Vaux (Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle)

Last season’s Champion Bumper winner JASMIN DE VAUX will have to jump more slickly than he did at Leopardstown in February to take Grade One honours here, particularly given the level of ability of his rivals in this 3m hurdle.

Totally going for him in this race is his power, best exemplified by his strong staying performance at Cheltenham last season when he flew home to nab Romeo Coolio to win by a length and three-quarters.

Owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede have enjoyed many Cheltenham winners over the years and would dearly love another.

Wonderwall (Hunters Chase)

Purchased last summer by ace Irish PTP trainer Sam Curling for £33,000 from Peter Bowen, WONDERWALL has been an exciting recruit to the stable.

Aged just nine-years-old, this son of Yeats has raced 22 times under rules and astoundingly under six different racing disciplines.

Wonderwall got off the mark for Curling at Loughrea, winning the open lightweight race by a cozy 1½ lengths, then followed up with an empathetic 10 length victory at Damma House, with both victories coming over three miles.

Curling also saddles the much shorter priced Angels Dawn, but it would be completely foolish to overlook his so called “second string”.

Taponthego (Martin Pipe)

Henry De Bromhead is well overdue some success in one of these big Cheltenham Festival handicaps and his TAPONTHEGO can be rewarded for its consistency this season thus far.

The six-year-old could not live with the pace in the Listed Sheila Bourke Novice Hurdle at Punchestown behind William Munny, but a return to a proper handicap should see him in a better light.

His best piece of form this season is his nine length drubbing of McLaurey in a maiden hurdle at Tipperary, and we are all aware of what that horse can on to do.