Triumph Hurdle Preview - Festival Focus

Ell of a Chance - Tiger Roll can go close in the Triumph for Gordon Elliot

The Triumph was one of the first Cheltenham races I took an ante-post view in this year and after a rather lacklustre effort at Doncaster last time out it looked as though the 16/1 I took about Royal Irish Hussar hadn’t been as shrewd as I thought at the time.

Guitar Pete’s subsequent exploits though have resurrected some shred of hope that Nicky Henderson’s former Ballydoyle inmate can still factor in the final reckoning of Friday’s opening race.

It wasn’t so much the horses that beat him that day that was so off-putting, as Broughton currently sits fourth in the betting for the festival juvenile contest and was an above average flat performer for Mark Johnston while winner Fox Norton also looks a decent sort, but the visual of Royal Irish Hussar’s effort.

He looked all at sea on the run-in and there really weren’t any excuses to be made. You have to just forgive and forget that run, if like me, you’ve already backed him for the Triumph and thankfully Guitar Pete has significantly boosted both his, and in the process, Broughton’s form.

Cheltenham 2014 Ante-Post – Triumph Hurdle

What's All The Huss About? - Royal Irish Hussar looks a good bet for the Triumph

My regular Festival Focus pieces for all the big races at the Cheltenham Festival will begin in the New Year, but between now and then if any decent looking bets appeal to me I’m keen to get them up and on.

It’s one of the most difficult weeks of the year to find a winner (Sprinter Sacre aside) so the stronger your ante-post portfolio is finding just one winner might be enough to nearly cover your week.

The Triumph Hurdle is a notoriously difficult race to take a long range view in with many of the likely participants not even appearing on a race course until the weeks leading up to the festival – last season Our Conor whilst having run earlier in the season didn’t really announce his arrival on the juvenile hurdling scene until 9th February.

That said, we’re not even in to December yet but I think I may have found one that will certainly go close in the Triumph this year if not take all the beating.

Nicky Henderson’s ex-Aidan O’Brien inmate Royal Irish Hussar is unbeaten over timber and couldn’t really have been more impressive in notching the last two of those three wins.

The latter victory was in the Triumph Hurdle Trial at Cheltenham and he has already proven he can come up the hill strongly albeit in a lesser race.

He can currently be backed at 16/1 with one bookie, with others having him in at 8/1 which obviously is good value. The concern is it is Ladbrokes that have him at the big price and they famously have an ear to Coolmore which would seem to suggest that for whatever they aren’t convinced by this son of Galileo, yet.

I am though and on Timeform figures he’s already put up a rating good enough to have made the frame in last year’s Triumph.

Another strong effort in his next run and you’d think Royal Irish Hussar would be single figures across the board, so now is the time to back him before the magic sign follow suit and cut him for the final day opener.

Recommendation:

0.5pt e/w Royal Irish Hussar @ 16/1 (Ladbrokes)