Mares' Novices' Hurdle Tips & Predictions
The opening race on Thursday is the Mares' Novices' Hurdle, a Grade 2 event run over 2m1f on Cheltenham’s New Course.
Despite being run over a shorter trip, this race has a history of producing staying types, and Britain has come out on top in each of the last three renewals, offering some hope for the home team in the opener.
Willie Mullins won the first five runnings but is winless in the last four. A maximum field of 24 has been declared and we’ve picked out three horses that could be worth keeping an eye on in this thoroughly competitive event.
NAP: Galileo Dame @ 9/2
There’s probably a fairly short list of juveniles that have run in this race so it’s interesting that connections have decided to take a stab here.
Joseph O’Brien’s filly was a smart performer on the Flat and was far from disgraced when finishing fourth in the Listed Cheshire Oaks back in May.
She was even deemed worthy of lining up in a Classic, although she finished down the field in the Irish Oaks at the Curragh in July.
This daughter of Galileo didn’t get the smoothest of passages through the race when second to Wendrock on her hurdling debut at Leopardstown over Christmas but she would have learnt plenty from the experience.
Tackling Grade 1 company next time, she took a significant step forward to finish second by less than a length behind leading Triumph contender Hello Neighbour and if progressing again, the four-year-old is entitled to be in the mix.
We don’t know how much harder it would be for a juvenile but she gets an allowance here and hopefully it’s enough to bridge the gap.
NB: Jubilee Alpha @ 10/1
Paul Nicholls doesn’t have many good chances this week but the smart mare Jubilee Alpha has to be somewhere near the top of the list.
Second in a Grade 2 bumper at the Aintree Festival, she filled the same spot on her first start over hurdles in a Listed contest at Newbury.
She made no mistake at Taunton next time and produced a very smart display to score comfortably and gain her revenge on Newbury conqueror Listentoyourheart.
The form has received a boost since as well, as the second went on to win a Grade 2 on her next start and that certainly bodes well for Jubilee Alpha.
Doing plenty wrong in the early stages at Windsor most recently, Nicholls’ six-year-old was keen but still had enough in the tank to come out on top.
Improvement will be needed but there should be more to come and Harry Cobden has picked her over stablemate Just A Rose.
Also consider: Air Of Entitlement @ 12/1
There’s plenty to like about Air Of Entitlement’s maiden hurdle victory at Down Royal over the Christmas period and the form is rock-solid, as the runner-up Ballybow has won a Grade 3 since and has plenty of fans expecting him to run well in the Albert Bartlett on Friday.
You could argue that Henry de Bromhead’s mare is more of a stayer but those are the types that tend to do well in this race and that could be to her advantage.
Stable form is a bit of a concern but the great Rachael Blackmore is set to take the ride and Air Of Entitlement retains loads of potential going forwards.
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Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation