J J Slevin’s William Hill blog: Looking ahead to the Cheltenham Festival

Cheltenham 2024

I have some good rides over the week, including Banbridge in the Ryanair Chase, who we have been very happy with. We felt he had improved and his first run definitely suggested that. I’m looking forward to Cheltenham, we’ll have to see what the ground is like, if he gets a sound surface then he’ll be a live contender.

He is lightly raced and we’ve taken our time with him. I’d say it’s more or less just ground that has restricted him running in some contests to date, so hopefully it will be all systems go come the Festival. We were quietly confident when he won last time out at Kempton, when beating the likes of Pic D’Orhy and Edwardstone. He likes it round Cheltenham, and he doesn’t get too flustered. I’d say he’s a bit like me inwardly wound up!

Fastorslow ran a really good race in behind Galopin des Champs, and we’ve already beaten him twice. I don’t see any reason why we can’t put it right up to him again – it should be a close contest. Galopin Des Champs ran at Leopardstown like we had seen when he was a novice, especially when kicking on after the last. There haven’t been many horses recently with that same turn of foot.

Galopin on his A-game will take a world of beating. It would take a massive horse to conquer him, which I believe Fastorslow to be. Fastorslow is another horse that I think is starting to peak now and I’m really looking forward to the challenge.

If I could ride another horse at Cheltenham, it would be Ballyburn. He was good the last day at Leopardstown for Ronnie Bartlett. He’s a big galloping horse and he looks to have a big chance in whatever race he goes too.