sport news CHELTENHAM SPECIAL: Scudamore, Johnson and Kelly reveal who they think will ... trends now

There's just a few days to go before the equine superstars from both sides of the Irish Sea do battle at the Cheltenham Festival.

There is no doubt the balance of power has very much been with the raiding party in recent years - a theory which came into sharp focus in 2021, when 23 of the 28 races went to Ireland.

The home team did make a better fist of it last season with 10 victories, but Willie Mullins managed that tally on his own and it is certainly not out of the question the most successful trainer in Festival history could reach double figures once more.

In truth, it is hard to see anything other than another victory for the 'away' side in the annual Anglo-Irish turf war - but with Nicky Henderson seemingly as strong as ever and Paul Nicholls assembling his most powerful squad for a while, there is hope Britain can avoid another landslide loss in the Cotswolds

Racing Correspondent Marcus Townend brought together Peter Scudamore, the eight-time champion jockey, Richard Johnson, a four-time champion, and history-making female rider Lizzie Kelly, who between them won 38 Cheltenham Festival races, to discover who they think will be making the Festival headlines. 

MARCUS TOWNEND: The British are outnumbered and look to be outgunned by the Irish over the four days so the home team has a lot invested in Nicky Henderson’s Champion Hurdle odds-on favourite Constitution Hill. Can anything beat him?

RICHARD JOHNSON: I don’t think so. If you had to guarantee a winner at the meeting it would be him. He doesn’t mind making the running and if they go fast he can take a lead. He jumps well and his form is incredible.

LIZZIE KELLY: That’s the key. He is incredibly talented but he is versatile. From the other jockeys’ point of view, there is not much they can do to make him struggle.

PETER SCUDAMORE: That’s a fair point but the intensity of the races at the Festival is different from anywhere else. It worries me that he was won his two races this season so easily. I can’t see it being easy in the Champion Hurdle against opponents like the Willie Mullins-trained State Man. I think Constitution Hill will win and the British will have a better meeting than some think but I wouldn’t want to be taking stupid short odds about him.

MT: Richard and Scu, you have both ridden Champion Hurdle winners. People are saying Constitution Hill could be one of the greats, are they right?

PS: He has the potential to be but he has to prove it. Come back to me when he has won three Champion Hurdles and tell me he is an all-time great. If was having a bet in the race, I Like To Move It at 16-1 is the each-way bet.

RJ: There does look a fairly big gap between Constitution Hill and the rest and nothing has been good enough to give him a really hard race. He has beaten stablemate and 2020 Champion Hurdle winner Epatante easily this season and you ask yourself just how good is he? For me, it is a race to savour rather than bet in.

MT: The Queen Mother Champion Chase is the feature of day two. Willie Mullins-trained Energumene won it last year having been beaten in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot. He was beaten again in this season’s Clarence House so can he successfully bounce back again?

LK: Energumene deserves to be favourite. This season’s Clarence House was a case of a horse who was not expected to win, in Gary Moore-trained Editeur Du Gite being allowed to do what he wanted in front as Energumene and his biggest rival, Edwardstone, watched each other.

Niall Houlihan, Editeur du Gite’s jockey, gave his mount the perfect ride. He kicked off the home turn and both Energumene, who walked through the second last and did well not to fall, and runner-up Edwardstone had to run their race to just get to him. But I didn’t come away from the race thinking the wider picture had changed.

RJ: You’re right, Niall got it spot on in that race on a horse which loves Cheltenham. It wasn’t a fluke win and he will not be far away again. But I still think Energumene and Edwardstone are the main two, although that race showed us they are not as far in front of the rest as we may have thought.

Edwardstone impressed me when he won last year’s Arkle. It should be a faster, harder-run race and that will suit him. It’s two miles but you need to stay two-and-a-half miles. Edwardstone does that and excels off a fast pace. Energumene is very good but last year’s Champion Chase fell apart a bit when Shishkin was pulled up and there is more depth in this season’s race.

PS: Tom Cannon had to make up a lot of ground quickly in the Clarence House on Edwardstone and that used up a lot of energy. I agree with Richard about needing to stay.

LK: Gentleman Du Mee is also an interesting one here. He is a front-runner, which will affect how easy it is for Niall to ride a controlling race on Editeur Du Gite. He won well at Leopardstown on his last run. I am hoping Danny Mullins rides him again because they get on very well. He could be a fly in the ointment.

MT: Shishkin bounced back to form with a win in last month’s Ascot Chase. Will he win the Ryanair Chase on day three?

PS: Nicky Henderson deserves a lot of credit for getting him back to form after he was pulled up at Cheltenham last season when a rare bone condition was blamed, then running fairly flat in the Tingle Creek in December. He’s then had a small procedure to aid his breathing. He was magnificent at Ascot. He is another banker bet for the meeting now.

RJ: With Allaho, the winner for the last two years, out of the race, I don’t think the second favourite Blue Lord and third favourite Fury Road are in his class. Shishkin’s jumping was immaculate at Ascot.

He has always looked like a horse who would step up in trip at some point and if he gets to Cheltenham in the same form I don’t think there is a horse in the Ryanair which can give him anything to worry about. We wanted to see he retained his enthusiasm and that Ascot run showed he

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