Is there any better way of bringing in the New Year than enjoying a whole days racing action at Cheltenham Racecourse - the home of The Festival?
Here is the schedule of races on what should be another informative afternoon of Festival clues:
What Happened Last Year?
- Aso got 2019 off to a winning start for Charlie Deutsch and Venetia Williams in what is now the Grade 3 Paddy Power Handicap Chase. Aso then went on to run very well in the Ryanair Chase at The Festival.
- Beware The Bear scored for Jeremiah McGrath and Nicky Henderson OBE in the newly named Markel Insurance Handicap Chase, beating Shanroe Santos and Perfect Candidate in the process. Two and a half months later Beware The Bear went on to win the Grade 3 Ultima Chase at The Festival.
Significant Trends
The New Year's Day fixture at Cheltenham has proved a springboard for numerous horses after it was created in its current format in 2005.
Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Denman and Bobs Worth both won over hurdles at the fixture during their novice campaigns.
Denman scored in the rearranged Challow Novices' Hurdle, which had been moved from Newbury, in 2006, while Bobs Worth took what is now the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle in 2011.
Big Buck's started his 18-race winning streak over hurdles in the 2009 running of the Paddy Power 68 Sleeps To Cheltenham Handicap Hurdle.
Trained by Paul Nicholls OBE and owned by Andy Stewart, Big Buck's Cheltenham Festival record included four successive Stayers' Hurdle triumphs – a feat that won’t easily be repeated.
The hugely talented mare Annie Power registered a comfortable victory over Zarkandar in the Dornan Engineering Hurdle on New Year's Day 2014.
Her 15 career wins from 17 starts were headlined by her memorable success in the 2016 Champion Hurdle, the first mare to do so since Flakey Dove in 1994.
The New One's second victory under Rules came in the 2012 version of the concluding race on the card, the EBF Stallions & Cheltenham Pony Club NH Flat Race.
The Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained runner clocked up 17 wins over hurdles, including a record-equalling three successes in the International Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Lostintranslation and Defi Du Seuil finished first and second in the Grade 2 Dipper Novices' Chase on New Year's Day last year.
Both horses have established themselves as two of Britain's top chasers, with Defi Du Seuil winning the JLT Novices' Chase at The Festival and this season's Tingle Creek Chase.
Lostintranslation also went on to take Grade 1 honours, picking up both Aintree's Betway Mildmay Novices' Chase and the Betfair Chase at Haydock Park.
Let’s take an early look at the horses that have been entered up for January 1st:
12:15pm - Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (Listed)
Redford Road is a course and distance winner and is likely to go off the favourite after a superb start to his 2019/20 season. A narrow win over Champagne Well here in December should see the six-year-old spot on for another bold bid.
Aintree scorer Imperial Alcazar should also be on the premises, whilst the Skelton brothers team up again with the useful French recruit, Protektorat.
12:50pm - Markel Insurance Handicap Chase
Cogry is somewhat of a standing dish at Prestbury Park but he will have to defy top weight if he is to register his fifth course win.
The veteran performer Carole’s Destrier either wins or gets pulled up as of late and his form figures suggest a big run is on the cards.
Singlefarmpayment is something of an enigma at this track and he will probably arrive late on the scene, full of running, and disgruntled punters will tell you the rest of the story.
1:25pm - Dipper Novices' Chase
Barry Geraghty said he was looking forward the most to riding Champ over the Christmas holiday period and it is easy to understand why.
After switching to the bigger obstacles, the JP McManus-owned eight-year-old has scored back-to-back wins at Newbury, but this will be his biggest test to date.
The Sue Smith-trained Midnight Shadow won the Relkeel Hurdle on this card last year and has taken to the chasing game well. He could pose the biggest threat to the odds-on favourite.
2:00pm - Paddy Power Handicap Chase
Kalashnikov will be hoping to brush off a dose of seconditus with victory in this New Year’s Day feature. Sent off the favourite for both his starts this season, he’s had to play second fiddle to both Forest Bihan and Oldgrangewood so far.
Cepage ran with credit here in the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup and should well again whilst Mister Whitaker makes his seasonal debut after collecting the Silver Trophy here back in April.
2:35pm - Cheltenham Handicap Hurdle
Skandiburg looked like a horse to follow this season when scooting up in the Pertemps Hurdle at Aintree in November.
Beware The Bear enjoys it here whilst Nicky Henderson’s other runner Might Bite returns to hurdling for the first time since 2015 after seemingly falling out of love with chasing.
3:10pm - Relkeel Hurdle
After taking the Haldon Gold Cup and running with credit in the Tingle Creek, Janika returns to the hurdling sphere and will be a tough but to crack in this contest.
Emitom was far from disgraced when running to three lengths behind Champ at Aintree last April and rates as the most obvious danger to the favourite.
The fortunate David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle winner, Roksana, is sure to be in the shake up too.
3:45pm - Pony Club NH Flat Race
Naturally there are plenty of unknowns in this finale but there has to be some value lurking in the field somewhere.
Tom Lacey’s Quick Draw was well fancied at Aintree and will certainly know his job whilst Alan King knows how to ready one on debut and he saddles Harrowby.
Alex Hales’ stable has been running into form in recent weeks and Adstantes is worth a cautionary look in the betting.
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You can find all our Cheltenham New Year’s Day horse racing betting odds on the 888sport website.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Mark Humphrey / AP Photo*
