The Leopardstown Christmas Festival is always a pivotal moment in the National Hunt calendar, and its impact reverberates far beyond the festive period. With high-profile performances and emerging stars grabbing the headlines, the festival has once again reshaped the horse racing betting landscape for the Cheltenham Festival.
From horses solidifying their claims for glory to others drifting in the ante-post markets, Leopardstown provided plenty of clues for punters looking ahead to March. In this article, we’ll explore how the festival’s standout moments have influenced the odds and changed the narrative for Cheltenham’s most anticipated contests.
Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is not just the highlight of the Cheltenham Festival, it’s the crown jewel of the entire jumps racing campaign, and Galopin Des Champs now heads the market for the showpiece after securing a second successive Savills Chase.
The dual Gold Cup winner had a lot to answer for after finishing third to his younger stablemate on his reappearance in the Punchestown Chase but reversed the form in remarkable fashion, finishing over seven lengths clear of Fact To File.
JP McManus’ eight-year-old remains Galopin Des Champs’ main rival in the Gold Cup at odds of 4/1, but it will take something special to stop the nine-year-old from completing the historic hat-trick in March based on what we saw at Leopardstown.
Champion Hurdle
The Champion Hurdle picture changed drastically over the festive period, with Constitution Hill’s victory over Lossiemouth in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park on Boxing Day seeing Nicky Henderson’s stable star claim favouritism for the Cheltenham day one feature.
However, Brigtherdaysahead could have serious claims in the Champion Hurdle after her stunning performance in the Neville Hotels Hurdle if connections are brave enough to reroute the six-year-old from the Mares’ Hurdle and take on Constitution Hill, having so far been reserved on the idea.
Gordon Elliott’s mare was slashed to 5/1 for the Champion Hurdle after her incredible 30-length success in the Grade 1, but the Mares’ Hurdle is still looking like the more probable option. Meanwhile, defending champion State Man is out to 11/1 after a disappointing third.
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
The Irish have a formidable record in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in recent times, winning eight of the last 12 renewals of the Cheltenham Festival opener, and powerhouses Mullins and Elliott could be set to battle it out for this year’s Grade 1.
Romeo Coolio confirmed his Supreme credentials when bouncing back from defeat at Fairyhouse on his second start over fences to claim the top-level Future Champions Novice Hurdle in convincing fashion from stablemate Bleu De Vassy—winning by nine lengths.
The Mullins-trained Salvator Mundi remains the favourite, but Elliott’s charge was slashed to 8/1 and could prove good value given that the Supreme’s current market leader was less than convincing when just about doing enough to win the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle recently.
Stayers’ Hurdle
Defending champion Teauhpoo had excuses when losing to Lossiemouth on reappearance at Fairyhouse in December, with the Hatton’s Grace about half a mile short of his optimal distance, so you can’t take too much away from his Stayers’ Hurdle hopes based on that.
However, Home By The Lee has chucked his hat in the ring for the Cheltenham day three feature race after landing the Grade 1 Savills Hurdle by six lengths from Bob Olinger—still stretching away from his nearest rival at the finish.
The Joseph O’Brien-trained horse was well held in third by Teahupoo in last year’s Stayers’ Hurdle but has been slashed to 10/1 from 16/1 following his win at Leopardstown and a better round of jumping in March could see him go closer than 12 months earlier.
