Sires To Shine
A few Sires to keep your eyes on at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival
No fewer than 170 distinct stallions had entrants at last year's Cheltenham Festival, rendering it exceedingly challenging for any single stallion to stand out, with merely 28 chances of victory across four days. Shantou, boasting more entrants than most (15) last year, was the solitary one to secure victory more than once, achieving a Gold Cup day brace with Stay Away Fay in the Albert Bartlett and Impervious in the Mares’ Chase. However, Walk In The Park, despite seemingly favourable odds with a Festival squad of 13, failed to win, though he did achieve a pair of second places with Facile Vega in the Supreme and Jonbon in the Arkle.
It was Jonbon’s sibling Douvan who clinched Walk In The Park's initial two Festival triumphs in the identical races – the Supreme in 2015 and the Arkle the following year – while thereafter, two more Willie Mullins-trained victors, Min (2020 Ryanair Chase) and Facile Vega (2022 Champion Bumper), have elevated Walk In The Park's tally of Festival victories to four to date. Yet, he appears to have a better shot than most at augmenting that total this year, given a Festival squad that seemingly possesses a greater breadth of quality than any other stallion’s.
Jonbon aims to achieve what Douvan and Min could not in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, and Facile Vega might return for a third Festival outing in one of the novice chases. Noteworthy runners from Walk In The Park in the graded races include Firefox (Supreme), Ashroe Diamond (Mares’ Hurdle), Gidleigh Park (one of the novice hurdles), Monty’s Star (Brown Advisory), and Limerick Lace (Mares’ Chase), whilst in the handicaps, Giovinco and Limerick Lace’s sibling Inothewayurthinkin present him with a couple of intriguing entries in the Ultima.
At last year’s Cheltenham Festival, a notable success came from Doctor Dino, whose offspring Jazzy Matty (a half-brother to Delta Work who is aiming for a third victory in the Cross Country Chase this year) clinched the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle. This victory doubled Doctor Dino’s overall Festival tally following State Man’s initial win in the 2022 County Hurdle. Although Doctor Dino’s squad this year doesn’t possess the same breadth of talent as Walk In The Park’s team, he has a couple of probable odds-on favourites up his sleeve. One such favourite is State Man, especially now that Constitution Hill is out of the running for the Champion Hurdle, leaving the path clear for last year’s second place.
Doctor Dino’s other notable performer from the previous Festival, Dinoblue, who secured second in the Grand Annual, stands a strong chance of improving to first this year in the Mares’ Chase. Like her stable companion State Man, she exemplifies the appealing quality of horses sired by Doctor Dino. Another notable horse from the Mullins stable is Sharjah, who has finished second in the Champion Hurdle twice and has options in novice chases at this year's Festival. Sceau Royal, a horse with a similar profile from Alan King’s stable, achieved third in one of his Champion Chase attempts.
Mullins is also preparing another of Doctor Dino’s promising Festival contenders, Jade de Grugy, who enters the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle with an unbeaten record on Thursday. Festival success runs in her lineage, as she descends from a half-sister to Gary Moore’s 2014 Queen Mother Champion Chase victor, Sire de Grugy.
In2023, the diverse origins of competitors underscored the event's openness to a range of pedigrees, a stark contrast to Flat racing. The participation of 170 distinct sires highlights this variety, demonstrating that having an unconventional or lesser-known lineage does not preclude success at Cheltenham, even at the highest levels. This was exemplified by Willie Mullins' champions, with progeny of French-based sires Denham Red and Timos achieving remarkable victories. Energumene, a son of Denham Red, clinched the Champion Chase title for the second time, while Galopin des Champs, representing Timos, triumphed in the Gold Cup. Notably, Galopin des Champs is both the sole Festival contender and the exclusive representative in Britain or Ireland for his sire, Timos, and is the favourite to defend his Gold Cup title.
This year, the 'unique' sire Martinborough is set to have a singular entrant at the Festival. His offspring, Majborough, emerges as a strong contender in the Triumph Hurdle, second only in favouritism to Sir Gino. This positioning makes him one of Willie Mullins' most promising prospects. Following Majborough's third-place finish in his initial race for Mullins at the Dublin Racing Festival, Mullins suggested that strategic adjustments could enhance the horse's performance, potentially challenging the favourite.
What distinguishes Martinborough is his Japanese heritage as a son of Deep Impact, combined with a successful racing career in Japan before his tenure as a stallion in France. This background presents the intriguing possibility of Deep Impact extending his influence to Cheltenham, a year after siring Derby winner Auguste Rodin. If successful, Majborough would not be the first from his lineage to triumph at the Festival, as his grandam was a half-sister to Majadou, the decisive victor of the 1999 Mildmay of Flete (currently known as the Plate), under the guidance of Martin Pipe and Tony McCoy.
