Marten Julian’s Weekly Roundup 17 February 2025

As Cheltenham draws ever nearer the cycle of Preview nights swing into action and some are most definitely better than others.

There have been some notable insights. On one occasion Jamie Codd memorably revealed that Labaik had done eye-catching work at home in preparation for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, which he went on to win at 25/1, but that was back in 2017 and was a rare gem.

I do, though, strongly recommend that you find the time to watch the Cheltenham Preview presented on Irishracing.com, with Emma Nagle chairing a panel made up of JJ Slevin, Johnny Ward, Paddy Flood and Lisa O’Neill.

It takes something special these days for me to reach for my notepad, but I swiftly took pen to paper once this panel kicked into gear, with JJ Slevin notably revealing some insightful observations especially with respect to one of his best rides.

Lisa O’Neill is, of course, linked to Gordon Elliott’s yard while Paddy Flood and Johnny Ward spoke eloquently and with a lot of sense.

This was by far the best Cheltenham Preview I have seen and regardless of their results I came away with insights which would otherwise have passed me by.

I said a few weeks ago that there seems to be more life in the Cheltenham ante-post markets this year than in recent times but I sense that a few tasty vouchers on Sir Gino for the Arkle Trophy have now been binned.

Nicky Henderson revealed that those close to the hub at Seven Barrows had stepped in, when his price for the Arkle was 5/1, soon after the horse put in a sensational schooling session.

That was before the NRNB concession but I doubt that many, if any, would have cashed out or hedged on the exchanges when the horse went down to about 4/6.

We are fast approaching what I call the ‘danger zone’, when trainers fine tune their Cheltenham contenders with their final pieces of work. In the days of the Bulletin Book I used to dread the time when I signed it off to go to print, as it invariably heralded news of a big name withdrawal.

In years gone by there were stories of big hitters catching the first ferry back home on Tuesday evening if the Irish banker went down in the Supreme, and the opening day this year will set the tone for the week with three likely odds-on shots … Kopek Des Bordes, Majborough and Constitution Hill.

The only other odds-on chances at this time for the week are Jonbon and Galopin Des Champs. The accumulated odds on all five winning are about 12/1, which may look quite appealing at first glance, but as Annie Power graphically demonstrated ten years ago the bookmakers seem to have a special line to the Almighty when things get desperate.

We still don’t know whether Betterdaysahead and Lossiemouth will take on Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle. I gather that Gordon Elliott is keen for his mare to run but he is beholden to the wishes of his mercurial owner, who may prefer the easier option.

Messrs Mullins and Ricci want Lossiemouth to line up in the big one but are waiting to ensure the mare is in good health before committing.

I’ll be back next week with more thoughts.

Bye for now

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