British Stables Aiming to Topple Ireland’s Finest at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival has been dominated by horses from Ireland in recent years, leaving British trainers scratching their heads about how they can reverse the trend.

A quick look at the ante-post markets for the 2024 edition of the meeting next March highlights the difficulties British trainers face against their Irish counterparts.

Of the 20 races which have been priced up by horse racing betting sites, the market in 16 of them is currently topped by Irish-trained runners.

Despite this, several British trainers will head to the four-day event with genuine hopes of upsetting the odds against the Irish raiders and delivering a winning return to punters who keep the faith.

David Pipe

Wordsworth was a classy performer on the flat when trainer by Aidan O’Brien and looks to be the type of horse who could pick up a nice prize at the Cheltenham Festival.

The son of Galileo finished second in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot and the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp, and also secured third place in the Irish Derby.

After being purchased by Professor Caroline Tisdale, the horse joined David Pipe’s stable on the Devon border before making an impressive hurdling debut at Bangor.

Wordsworth has impressed in schooling over obstacles and could become a force to be reckoned with over longer distances this season.

Paul Nicholls

Having enjoyed plenty of success at Cheltenham in the past, Paul Nicholls will undoubtedly have several fancied runners at the meeting next March.

He gave a positive shout-out to Rubaud during a recent stable tour, and that confidence has been justified with the horse rattling off two impressive victories this season.

The five-year-old had little difficulty winning the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton on his most recent outing and looks well worth following during the current campaign.

Nicholls claimed the horse will make a ‘superb chaser’ and could head over larger obstacles this season. Whichever route he heads down, he is one to watch.

Dan Skelton

West Balboa was campaigned lightly by Dan Skelton last season, with the mare winning the Lanzarote Hurdle at Kempton and a big handicap at Aintree from her three outings.

She returned to action at the latter track earlier this month and swept to an effortless victory, sparking talk about loftier targets later in the season.

Skelton has suggested West Balboa could be in the same bracket as Roksana, who won the Grade 1 Mares’ Hurdle at the Festival in 2019.

He has shown plenty of patience with the talented mare and this may well be rewarded when the Festival is staged at Cheltenham next March.

Nicky Henderson

Nicky Henderson has trained 73 Cheltenham Festival winners during his career and will head to the 2024 meeting with several fancied runners in his armoury.

His Constitution Hill is a banker bet to make it back-to back victories in the Champion Hurdle, but his extremely skinny betting odds will not make punters rich.

Jonbon is another lively Cheltenham contender for Henderson, and he could be the value bet to lower the colours of the Willie Mullins-trained El Fabiolo in the Champion Chase.

He produced an impressive round of jumping when winning on his seasonal reappearance at the same track this month and looks set to enjoy a productive campaign.