With all roads leading to the Cheltenham Festival in March, the ante-post picture is starting to take shape as form lines begin to build.
The Irish have dominated proceedings in recent years, winning all but one of the last nine renewals of the Prestbury Cup, as the 2019 edition ended in a 14-14 tie with Great Britain.
The hosts were notably humiliated in 2021, when losing 23-5 to their rivals, and while they have clawed it back in recent years, the gap still remains large—with Ireland winning 18-9 last year.
With Nicky Henderson’s yard at full fitness and Dan Skelton growing in strength each passing season, Britain are looking healthier in the horse race betting markets and potentially has an opportunity to make things a bit closer in March.
That said, let’s take a look at four horses who carry the weight of expectation from British racing fans and pundits alike.
Constitution Hill – Champion Hurdle
A huge miss for the Brits last year, those who had tickets to the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival were devastated when it was confirmed that Constitution Hill was ruled out of the Champion Hurdle with illness.
The unbeaten hurdler would have almost certainly added to the host’s tally on the defense of his Grade 1 title, but the day one feature instead went to the Willie Mullins-trained State Man, who edged out Gordon Elliott’s Irish Point.
There were fears that Constitution Hill may never race again. However, he returned to the track for the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day and looked like he was never away when comfortably holding off Lossiemouth.
Jonbon – Queen Mother Champion Chase
Another horse struck off by Henderson’s stable virus last season, Jonbon missed out on a golden opportunity to win his first Cheltenham Festival content in last year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase.
The nine-year-old was set to go up against his old rival El Fabiola, who was pulled up after just five fences—which blew the day two feature race wide open, and Jonbon could have potentially capitalized.
The JP McManus-owned horse did beat El Fabiola at Sandown the following month, and with three wins under his belt in as many outings this season, he has a massive chance of landing the Champion Chase in March.
The New Lion – Turners Novices’ Hurdle
While he’s now Irish-owned, having been snapped up by billionaire JP McManus after his third-straight win over hurdles in the Challow Novices’ Hurdle, The New Lion would still go down as a British winner if he lands the Turners Novices’ Hurdle for the Skeltons.
The six-year-old has been one of the most impressive youngsters this season, building on his sole bumper win at Market Rasen last April with victories at Chepstow and Newbury before heading back to the Berkshire course for the prestigious Challow over the festive period.
The New Lion won that Grade 1 without even having to really go through the gears under Harry Skelton, so he could even have more to offer at the Cheltenham Festival in March.