16.02.2022 - The Cheltenham Festival is a meeting which sees the best jumps horses come together in the sport in their respective divisions. There are 28 races across the four days, and each of them has a great deal of importance.
Honeysuckle
After she prevailed in the Champion Hurdle in 2021, Honeysuckle established herself as a superstar in the sport. The talented mare remains unbeaten in 14 appearances under Rules and continues to impress with every appearance at a racecourse.
Honeysuckle is odds-on at -200 to defend her crown in the feature race on day one of the meeting. Those looking to back her can pick up a new customer offer for Cheltenham, with the chance to place a free bet on the premier hurdles contest in the sport.
Henry De Bromhead’s runner recently won the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown. She is the one they all have to beat again at Cheltenham, where she will be bidding to add to her impressive legacy in the sport.
Shishkin
The star of the 2m chase division is unquestionably Shishkin. He won the Arkle Trophy as a novice last season, and he has continued to impress in his second campaign as a chaser.
Nicky Henderson’s stable star is the hot favorite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase. He is set to meet the likes of Energumene, Chacun Pour Soi and Nube Negra, all strong challengers in the race. However, they may all have to fight it out for second place.
Shishkin won the Grade One Clarence House Chase on his latest outing. He was made to work hard for it by Energumene, but once again, he dug deep to extend his unbeaten record over fences to seven races.
Facile Vega
One of the horses who goes into the Cheltenham Festival this year with a huge reputation is Facile Vega. He looks to have an exciting future, and he will be try to add to his tally in the Champion Bumper.
Trainer Willie Mullins has won this contest 11 times. His latest entry has a great chance of extending that record. This horse could improve further next season in his novice hurdles campaign, but for now, he should be able to prove his class in a National Hunt Flat race at Cheltenham.
Allaho
The image of Allaho completely dominating the Ryanair Chase from the start to the finish of the contest was many people’s highlight of the 2021 Cheltenham Festival. The Irish horse returns to the same race at the upcoming meeting where a repeat performance is expected.
Mullins’ chaser has a 100% record this season going into the Ryanair Chase. Expect to see him make the running once again, and just like in 2021, he may not see another rival.
This year’s Cheltenham Festival takes place between 15-18 March and it will attract over 250,000 spectators across the four days.
