Emmett Mullins is a long way behind his uncle Willie in terms of the number of Festival winners he has trained, but his strike-rate at the meeting is an impressive 14% after Corbetts Cross took the National Hunt Chase on Tuesday and he has a clear chance to register his first Grade One Festival winner when Noble Yeats (3.30), the 2022 Grand National winner, lines up for the Stayers’ Hurdle on Thursday.
Noble Yeats made only a single start over hurdles in the 2020-21 season before a switch to novice chases the following season, which culminated in his 50-1 success at Aintree.
His record over fences also includes a running-on fourth behind Galopin Des Champs in last season’s Gold Cup, so a return to the smaller obstacles came slightly out of the blue.
He ran on strongly to beat the evergreen Paisley Park in the Cleeve Hurdle in January, however, and there is clear scope for Noble Yeats to improve on that form on Thursday, not least with the testing conditions likely to work in his favour.
Cheltenham 1.30 The novice chase at the track’s December meeting in which Ginny’s Destiny held off Grey Dawning by three-quarters of a length could be the key piece of form here. Grey Dawning was giving away 3lb and also made a bad mistake at the second-last, so Dan Skelton’s gelding has an obvious chance to reverse the form.
Cheltenham 2.10 Farouk D’Alene spent a year and a half on the sidelines after a fall when still travelling well in the Brown Advisory Novice Chase here in 2022, and finished a fine second when switching back to hurdles for the qualifier for this race at Leopardstown in December. He is Gordon Elliott’s second-string on jockey bookings but the crack amateur Rob James is well worth his 7lb claim and should give the nine-year-old every chance to defy top weight.
Cheltenham 2.50 Conditions may have turned against Banbridge, whose best form is on quicker ground, while Stage Star also has a question to answer after a disappointing run last time. That could leave the way clear for Envoi Allen to follow up his success 12 months ago, after a similar preparation that sees him arrive at the Festival as a fresh horse.
Hexham 1.10 Phantomofthepoints 1.50 Heritier De Sivola 2.30 Breeze Of Wind 3.10 Clovis Island 3.50 Walk My Way 4.30 Cudgel 5.00 Melvich Bay
Cheltenham 1.30 Grey Dawning (nb) 2.10 Farouk D’Alene 2.50 Envoi Allen 3.30 Noble Yeats 4.10 In Excelsis Deo (nap) 4.50 Jade De Grugy 5.30 Daily Present
Southwell 3.58 Stopnsearch 4.37 Star Of St Louis 5.10 Risen Again 5.45 Sienna Breeze 6.15 Westmorian 6.45 Max Of Stars 7.15 Bletchley Storm 7.45 Desert Master 8.15 Stallone
Chelmsford 5.20 Conquest Of Power 6.00 Vicario 6.30 Thunder Flow 7.00 Arzaak 7.30 Mick’s Spirit 8.00 Kitty Foyle 8.30 Eccentric
Cheltenham 4.10 The step back up to two-and-a-half miles could be just what In Excelsis Deo needs after two very promising runs over the minimum trip here earlier in the year.
Cheltenham 4.50 The top four in the betting here are all unbeaten over hurdles. Jade De Grugy, who showed a fine turn of foot to quicken away from her field last time, could well be the one to leave with her record intact.
Cheltenham 5.30 Daily Present raised only 7lb for a convincing success on handicap debut last time, has crept in at the bottom of the weights and could give Jack Kendrick, a regular winner in Irish points, an afternoon to remember.
