Marten Julian’s Weekly Roundup 2 March 2026

Now that the dust has settled over the participation of Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle there has been more discussion about the week’s other races.

You can hear what people think in the selection of podcasts that are available on YouTube, although it’s disappointing that a few of the panellists appear to treat the occasion like a night out with the lads.

Others leave the impression that they are not disclosing information about horses or yards with which they are connected.

When I used to appear on the panel for Cartmel’s Cheltenham Preview evening I spent hours preparing a file with a page of notes on every race. I acknowledge that a touch of humour helps the evening along but some of it is puerile and of no relevance to the matter in hand.

As for Cheltenham itself, I have to say that next week’s meeting has the potential to be one of the most competitive for many a year. At the time of writing there are no odds-on favourites and still some uncertainty over the targets for key players.

The more serious backers are monitoring the Betfair markets to try and discern the likely targets for a few of the leading contenders. As always, Willie Mullins will wait until the last moment before deciding on the race for some of his horses.

I decided against previewing every race, as was the case in the days of the Bulletin Book. Instead Jodie, Ronan and I have each selected just six horses for the meeting that we hope should go well.

I have so far gone for two novice hurdlers and a long laid-out job for the Juvenile Handicap. I am well on the way to finding my other three. These nominations will appear in our Cheltenham Spotlight booklet.

It is only in the last couple of days that I have got a ‘feel’ for this year’s Cheltenham, and with the absence of any odds-on favourites this could be a very good year for punters.

Bye for now

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