The festive period is one of the busiest times of the jumps racing schedule, with major meetings taking place at the likes of Kempton Park, Leopardstown, Newbury, and Cheltenham—providing plenty of opportunities to bet on horse racing.
National Hunt enthusiasts were keeping a keen eye on all the action, looking for key pointers ahead of the prestigious Cheltenham Festival—and plenty were on offer, with the ante-post markets shifting almost every day between Christmas and the New Year.
With that said, let’s take a look at some of the major talking points from the action-packed racing over the festive period.
The return of Constitution Hill
All eyes were on Kempton’s traditional Boxing Day card, as jump racing’s star Constitution Hill returned to the track in the Christmas Hurdle for the first time in a year.
Many pundits and fans alike were reserved, given his lengthy layoff from illness and the fact he had to give the classy Lossiemouth the seven-pound mare’s allowance.
However, Constitution Hill proved his doubters wrong with a typically dominant display—fending off Willie Mullins’ charge by over two lengths to claim his third Christmas Hurdle.
Grade 1 hat-trick for Joseph O’Brien
Dual-purpose handler Joseph O’Brien might only have roughly 20 jumpers at his Owning Hill yard in County Kilkenny, but that doesn’t stop him from being one of Ireland’s top National Hunt trainers.
The son of legendary flat trainer Aidan O’Brien proved his credentials over Christmas as well, with a lucrative Grade 1 treble that included two wins at Leopardstown and a landmark win at Kempton.
Banbridge recorded a victory in the festive highlight, the King George VI Chase, to kick things off before Solness and Home By The Lee followed up at the top level to make it three Grade 1 wins in as many days.
Galopin Des Champs on course for Gold Cup three-peat?
Galopin Des Champs went into this season on the hunt for a historic third successive Cheltenham Gold Cup, but his chances appeared to take a bit of a hit when he could fare no better than third on his reappearance in the Punchestown Chase.
His younger stablemate, Fact To File, confirmed his class in open company with an impressive victory and threw his hat in the ring for the Gold Cup that day.
However, the JP McManus-owned seven-year-old was no match for the dual Gold Cup winner in the Savills Chase—finishing over seven lengths behind Galopin Des Champs, who restored favouritism for the Festival feature.
Exciting novices set the standard for the future
With an array of high-quality novice contests over Christmas and New Year, there were ample opportunities for younger horses to prove their mettle—and several standout horses excited pundits and fans alike.
Harry Redknapp’s The Jukebox Man was a notable winner of the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase, Sir Gino made a dominant start to his career over fences with an impressive victory over Ballyburn, while Romeo Coolio looks like an option for the Supreme after winning the Future Champions.
The novice who really stole the headlines, though, was The New Lion. Trained by Dan Skelton, the six-year-old took his unblemished record over hurdles to three with a ready win in the Challow and has since been snapped up by McManus.
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