Five horses you cannot afford to miss as Cheltenham Trials Day takes centre stage

IT’S been a sleepy old January… but the jumps game is about to explode into life again this weekend.

Cheltenham hosts it’s traditional Trials Day card on Saturday, where potential Festival runners will try to book their ticket to the big meeting in March.

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Willie Mullins’ Lossiemouth makes her long-awaited return on Saturday[/caption]

There is a huge amount of proven Grade 1 quality on show at the home of jumps racing, plus some potential stars of the future. These are the horses you can’t afford to miss this weekend.

Burdett Road/Sir Gino (12.05 Triumph Hurdle Trial)

I’m sitting on the fence a little here, but considering both horses are unbeaten after two starts and are the first two in the betting for the Triumph in March, it is only right to give them both a shoutout.

Burdett Road – a winner on the Flat at Royal Ascot last summer – made a big impression when winning at Cheltenham back in November, and the form of that race has been boosted since.

Sir Gino had a big reputation heading to Kempton over Christmas and he made light work of his opponents, breezing clear to win by 14 lengths.

There is very little to choose between them and it wouldn’t be a surprise were they fighting out the finish this weekend and at the Festival in a little over six weeks’ time.

Stay Away Fay (1.50 Cotswold Chase)

Paul Nicholls has made the bold decision to run his top novice chaser Stay Away Fay against older rivals in the Cotswold Chase.

The race is traditionally a trial for the Gold Cup, and Nicholls has stressed he has no intention of running Stay Away Fay against Galopin Des Champs just yet.

But he reckons this is a good spot for his up-and-coming seven-year-old, who won the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham last season, ahead of the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Festival.

It will be one hell of an effort if he can beat Royale Pagaille, The Real Whacker and co on Saturday, but the world is his oyster.

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Stay Away Fay won the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham last year[/caption]

Lossiemouth (3.00 Unibet Hurdle)

It’s been a while since we last saw Willie Mullins’ classy mare – 273 days to be precise.

She was considered one of the bankers of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival and she didn’t let her backers down in the Mares’ Novice Hurdle.

Her trainer has taken his time with her since then and is eyeing the Mares’ Hurdle at the Festival, for which she is the 9-4 favourite.

And she is well-fancied to make the most of the good opening in the Unibet Hurdle, with Constitution Hill missing the race through illness.

Paisley Park (3.35 Cleeve Hurdle)

What can you say about dear old Paisley Park?

He might be a 12-year-old but he still retains all of his enthusiasm – and a good chunk of his ability.

He was agonisingly touched off by Crambo – a horse half his age – in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot just before Christmas.

He has won this race the last three years’ running and if he can repeat the level of his Long Walk form he could make it a record four wins in the Cleeve Hurdle.

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Paisley Park will try to win the Cleeve Hurdle for a fourth time[/caption]

Gidleigh Park (4.10 Classic Novices’ Hurdle)

There aren’t too many novice hurdlers trained in the UK who will get you out of your seat.

But Harry Fry’s Gidleigh Park is one of them, and he will try to keep his unbeaten record intact in the Classic Novices’ Hurdle on Saturday.

He was a hugely impressive winner of a decent novice hurdle at Newbury last month, and his usually restrained trainer has been purring about him.

This race is chock-full of potential stars – including Johnnywho and Isaac Des Obeaux – but Gidleigh Park could be the best of them. A victory here would see him leap up the betting for the Ballymore at Cheltenham in March.

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