FEATURE FESTIVAL TRIALS DAY
the showpiece than the Grade Two Cotswold Chase, which is seen as one of the key pointers for the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup. Run over an extended three miles and one furlong, the contest is about a furlong short of what any contender can expect here in March, but like the Gold Cup, it is run on the New Course. Three horses have completed the Cotswold Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup double since its inception in 1980 – Little Owl (1981), Master Oats (1995) and Looks Like Trouble (2000). Several have come close to emulating that trio since the millennium – none more so than Santini, who got within a neck of Al Boum Photo in 2020 – and it’s impossible to say just how close we came in last year’s renewal, seeing as the Lucinda Russell-trained Ahoy Senor was still travelling well in front when falling at six from home in the blue riband. Not only has the race served as a useful pointer towards the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup, it has also thrown up other future Festival winners, with the Paul Nicholls-trained Frodon claiming the 2019 edition just weeks before landing the Ryanair Chase. An added dimension to Festival Trials in 2024 is the Grade Two International Hurdle. Previously staged at Cheltenham in December, its new position in the calendar should help it serve as a better trial for the Unibet Champion Hurdle. It will be 21 years in 2024 since Rooster Booster won both races in one season.
Also on the card is the Grade Two Cleeve Hurdle, which also has an impressive list of previous winners. Run over three miles, the race has become a strong pointer for the Grade One Stayers’ Hurdle, with several horses winning both races in the same season. Inglis Drever won the race on his way to claiming a third Stayers’ Hurdle crown back in 2008, while the legendary Big Buck’s bookended his record tally of four Stayers’ Hurdle successes by winning this race on route in both 2009 and 2012 for Paul Nicholls. Thistlecrack was another who achieved the feat in 2016 as did Paisley Park in 2019, with Emma Lavelle’s gelding subsequently coming back to win both the 2020 and 2022 renewals of the Cleeve Hurdle. There was no double last season, but victory in last year’s contest for the Gabriel Leenders-trained Gold Tweet was significant, as he became the first French- trained winner of the Cleeve Hurdle. His three-length success was momentous as it encouraged not one but two French horses to head over and challenge for Stayers’ glory that March, with Hugo Merienne also bringing Henri Le Farceur across the Channel. The Cotswold Chase and Cleeve Hurdle might take star billing, but the supporting card is no back number, with both the Grade Two Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and Grade Two JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle being two other contests on the day that can have an important bearing on results at The Festival.
“The seven-race card offers a last chance for a dress rehearsal at Jump Racing HQ”
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