SecondMette Mullins is well behind his uncle Willie in terms of the number of Festival winners he has trained, but he has hit a record high in the competition after Cobbetts Cross won the National Hunt Chase on Tuesday 14%, impressive.Opportunity to register for his first Grade 1 Festival Championship noble yeats (3.30)The 2022 National Series champions will line up for the Stayers’ Hurdle on Thursday.
Noble Yeats made just one start over hurdles in 2020-21 before moving to the novice chase the following season and ultimately enjoyed a 50-1 success at Aintree.
His record over fences also includes a consecutive fourth place finish behind Galopin Des Champs in last season’s Gold Cup, so a return to the smaller hurdles was a bit unexpected.
However, after a strong performance in January’s Cliff Hurdle victory over evergreen Paisley Park, there was clear room for improvement in Noble Yeats’ performance on Thursday, especially with testing conditions likely to favor him.
Cheltenham1.30 Novice chase at track’s December meeting, with Ginny’s Fate postponed gray dawn The three-quarter length is probably a key part of the form here. Gray Dawn lost 3 pounds and also made a serious mistake in the penultimate race, so Dan Skelton’s gelding had a clear chance of turning things around.
Cheltenham 2.10 Farooq Darren He spent a year-and-a-half on the sidelines in 2022 after falling in the Brown Advisory Novice Chase, when he still performed well and won that race at Leopardstown in December. Finished second when switching back to hurdles in qualifying. He is a second-tier jockey to Gordon Elliott but standout amateur rider Rob James is well worth his 7lbs and the nine-year-old should be given every chance to challenge for the top weight.
Cheltenham2.50 Things may be going against Bainbridge, whose best form has been on faster surfaces, and the star of the stage also has a question to answer after a disappointing performance last time out.This may work for Send Ellen Following his success 12 months ago and following a similar preparation, he arrives at the festival fresh.
quick guide
Greg Wood’s Thursday Tips
exhibit
hexham 1.10 Phantomofthepoints 1.50 Heritier De Sivola 2.30 Breeze Of Wind 3.10 Clovis Island3.50 Walk My Way 4.30 Cudgel 5.00 Melvich Bay
cheltenham 1.30 Gray Dawn(nb) 2.10 Farouk D’Alene 2.50 Envoi Allen 3.30 Noble Yeats 4.10 In Excelsis Deo 4.50 Jade · Jade De Grugy 5.30 Daily Gift
southwell 3.58 Stopnsearch 4.37 St. Louis Star 5.10 Rise Again 5.45 Sienna Breeze 6.15 Westmorian 6.45 Max Star 7.15 Bletchley Storm 7.45 Desert Master 8.15 Stallone
chelmsford 5.20 Conquering Force 6.00 Vicario 6.30 Thunder Flow 7.00 Alzak 7.30 Mick’s Soul 8.00 Kitty Foyle 8.30 Weird
Cheltenham4.10 Taking a step back to two and a half miles might be it. God in the Most High That need needs to be met after two very promising minimum trip runs here earlier this year.
Cheltenham4.50 The top four bets here are all unbeaten over hurdles. Jed de Grugi, She showed great footwork when she left her field last time out and will likely leave with her record intact.
Cheltenham5.30 daily gift He lifted just 7lb on his handicap debut last time, with convincing success but has climbed to the bottom of the weight class, which could give regular Irish points champion Jack Kendrick Make for an afternoon worth remembering.
