Cheltenham Festival Day 4 Selections
Day 4 of the Cheltenham Festival is always one of the highlights of the week, with the action culminating in the Gold Cup, the most prestigious race in National Hunt racing. It’s a card packed with competitive handicaps, exciting novice contests and, of course, championship races that can define a horse’s career. As always, there are plenty of strong contenders across the card, but these are the horses I’m siding with in each of the main races on the final day.
Triumph Hurdle
Selection: Selma De Vary
It’s a shame that Narciso Has hasn’t made the festival due to a setback, as he looked like he would have been a very interesting contender for this race. However, I’m more than happy to side with the horse who chased him home last time out at Leopardstown, and that is Selma De Vary. On that occasion she finished a good second, and the performance looked even better when you consider she made a slight mistake at the final hurdle. Had she jumped that last obstacle cleanly, she would almost certainly have finished much closer to the winner and might even have made things very interesting late on.
That run suggested there is still plenty more to come from her, and she looks the type who could take another step forward here at Cheltenham. Importantly, she is the ride of Paul Townend for Willie Mullins, which immediately catches the eye in a race like this. The pair have an exceptional record at the festival and particularly in races for juveniles.She also runs in the famous colours of Rich Ricci, a set of silks that have already enjoyed plenty of success in this race in recent years. Ricci has previously won the Triumph Hurdle with top-class juveniles such as Lossiemouth and Vauban, both of whom went on to confirm themselves as very high-class performers after landing this contest.
From a trainer perspective, Willie Mullins has completely dominated this race in recent times. He has won the last four runnings and five of the last six, which is a remarkable statistic for such a competitive Grade 1 event. When a trainer has that sort of record, it often pays to keep things simple and follow the pattern rather than overthink things.With that in mind, Selma De Vary looks like a very solid contender. She has already shown strong form against one of the leading juveniles of the season and, if she improves again and tidies up her jumping at the last, she could easily be right in the mix at the finish.
County Hurdle
Selection: Murcia
I was a little disappointed to see Paul Townend choose to ride Karbau instead of Murcia, as she had already been my pick for this race after her run at the Dublin Racing Festival. That performance really caught the eye and suggested she might be well handicapped coming into a race like the County Hurdle. At Leopardstown she was ridden by Townend and was kept very wide throughout the race, which is never ideal, especially on the heavy ground they encountered that day. Despite racing away from the main pack and covering plenty of extra ground, she still managed to stay on strongly and finish fourth. Given the circumstances of the run, it was actually a very good effort and suggested that she had more to offer.
She lines up here off a mark of 142, which could prove to be very workable if she improves even slightly on that Leopardstown performance. The race is also one that her connections know very well. Willie Mullins won the County Hurdle last season with Kargese, showing once again that he is more than capable of targeting this competitive handicap successfully.
While it would have been a positive to see Paul Townend keep the ride, Danny Mullins takes over in the saddle and he is more than capable in big festival handicaps. In fact, Danny has already got one over on Paul this week in these famous Ricci colours when riding Kargese to victory in the Arkle, which shows he is more than capable of delivering in these big moments.
Ground conditions could play a role in this race. If the rain doesn’t get too deep into the ground and it avoids becoming very testing, I think Murcia has a strong chance of being right there turning for home. She was a Grade 1 winning juvenile earlier in her career, which shows the level of ability she possesses. Even if she might appear to be the second string on paper for Willie Mullins, horses in that position from this yard often run huge races at the festival. If things fall into place and she gets a bit of luck in running, there is no reason why she cannot go very close.
Mares’ Chase
Selection: Panic Attack
The Skelton team have landed some very nice touches this season and this mare looks like another example of their excellent placement and training. Panic Attack has been improving all the time and her progression over the past year has been really impressive. She announced herself as a serious staying mare when landing both the Paddy Power Gold Cup and the Coral Gold Cup earlier in the season. Those performances suggested she was developing into a high-class staying chaser and each run seems to show further improvement.To be honest, she is progressing so well that you could have easily made a case for her lining up in something like the Gold Cup or even the Ryanair. If she had appeared in either of those races, it wouldn’t have looked completely out of place given the level of form she has been producing. Instead, connections have chosen to come back and take on her own sex in the Mares’ Chase, which looks like a very sensible move. Against mares she could have a real class edge, and the trip is clearly well within her range given how strongly she has been finishing her races this season.
Cheltenham form is always important during the festival, and Panic Attack already has that in her favour. She clearly handles the track well, which is a big positive when it comes to a race that will likely be run at a strong pace from the start. If she turns up in the same form she has shown in her big handicap wins earlier in the season, I think she will take a lot of beating here.
Albert Bartlett
Selection: Doctor Steinberg
Doctor Steinberg has looked like the best staying novice hurdler throughout the season and comes into this race with a perfect record over hurdles so far, having won all three of his starts. One of the most impressive parts of his form came at Naas where he demolished Thedeviluno in convincing fashion. That form has already received a boost with the runner-up coming out and winning since, which adds further strength to what was already a very good performance. He then stepped up again at the Dublin Racing Festival when winning a Grade 1 contest in extremely impressive style. On that occasion he travelled strongly throughout the race and looked full of running, eventually winning on the bridle while still appearing to have plenty left in the tank. It was the performance of a horse with a huge engine and one who looks tailor-made for a race like the Albert Bartlett.
Earlier in the season he also won on his debut over hurdles at Galway, which showed that he is capable of handling slightly better ground as well. That versatility could prove important depending on how much rain gets into the ground before this race. If conditions don’t become extremely testing, I don’t see the ground being any issue for him at all. In fact, he looks like the type of horse who will simply keep galloping regardless of the conditions. As the mount of Paul Townend in this race, he immediately commands a lot of respect. Given his unbeaten record, the strength of his form and the way he travels through his races, he looks to have a huge chance of landing this staying novice contest.
Cheltenham Gold Cup
Selection: Gaelic Warrior
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the race everyone builds towards throughout the entire week, and this year’s renewal looks another fascinating contest. My selection for the big race is Gaelic Warrior. He won the Arkle here on soft ground back in March 2024, showing just how well he handles the unique test that Cheltenham provides. That victory confirmed him as one of the most exciting chasers around at the time. Following that success he stepped up in trip for the Grade 1 Bowl at Aintree over 3m1f, and that distance looked right up his street. On good-to-soft ground he produced a strong performance to win that race, proving that he had both the stamina and class required for top staying contests.
This season he has continued to run very well at the highest level. One of his best performances came in the King George where he finished third in a tight finish behind some top-class rivals. It was a race where very little separated the first few horses and his run confirmed he belongs right among the elite staying chasers. Last time out he finished a five-length second in the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown under Patrick Mullins. That was another very solid run and showed that his form remains right where it needs to be heading into the biggest race of the season.
One slight concern is that he can sometimes be difficult to settle in his races, which could be an issue given that the Gold Cup is such a demanding stamina test. However, he now gets the best possible pilot back in the saddle with Paul Townend taking over the ride. If Townend can help him settle into a rhythm early on and he jumps as well as he is capable of, then his stamina should come into play late in the race. Provided everything goes smoothly, I think he will be right there in contention as they climb the hill towards the finish. If he settles, jumps well and produces the level of performance he has shown in his best runs, Gaelic Warrior could have a huge say in the outcome of this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Cheltenham Festival Day 4 Selections
All prices are BetMGM
1:20 Selma De Vary 7/2
2:00 Murcia 9/1
2:40 Panic Attack 5/2
3:20 Doctor Steinberg 3/1
4:00 Gaelic Warrior 3/1
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