Has Wales ever held a stronger hand going into the Cheltenham Festival?
A stack of chances in many of the showpiece races – for Welsh owners, jockeys and trainers – could make it a hugely memorable four days in the Cotswolds.
Lorcan Williams stole the show on day one in 2025 when partnering Golden Ace to a shock win in the Champion Hurdle. The mare took advantage of the falls of Constitution Hill and State Man to run out a wide-margin winner at odds of 25-1.
Neither of those superstars will be in opposition this year, with Jeremy Scott’s admirable mare much shorter in the market as a result. Her trainer is confident of a bold show and Williams could easily find himself in the shake-up again.
Llancarfan trainer Evan Williams also has a couple fair chances. Libberty Hunter will be a lively outsider in either the Champion Chase or the Grand Annual, while Juby Ball – who could yet develop into a top-class performer – will not be without a chance if lining up in the Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap Chase.
And then there’s the Gold Cup itself, and a chance to end the long wait for a Welsh win.
Norton’s Coin was the last Welsh-trained winner back in 1990. He was sent off a 100-1 no-hoper, only to shock the racing world by beating a field which included Desert Orchid. And Sam Thomas, on the mighty Denman, was the last Welsh jockey to ride the winner.
But this year Ben Jones and Sean Bowen will both be riding market leaders.
Jones will be confident of adding the Gold Cup to the King George VI Chase he won at Kempton Park on Boxing Day on The Jukebox Man. The eight-year-old, trained by Ben Pauling and owned by Harry Redknapp, has been kept fresh for his big day in March.
They will be joined in the line-up by Haiti Couleurs, trained in Pembrokeshire by Rebecca Curtis and ridden by Bowen. In the last 12 months, Haiti Couleurs has won at the Festival and landed both Irish and Welsh Nationals. He tuned up for this by winning the Grade 2 Denman Chase at Newbury last month.
Curtis is no stranger to the Cheltenham Festival winner’s enclosure. But amazingly, champion jockey Bowen is still searching for his first Festival success.
His brother James will have a good book of rides next week. He was on the scoresheet at Doncaster on Saturday when Mighty Bandit took a valuable two-mile handicap chase by 17 lengths. He is one of the most progressive chasers in training and is beginning to justify Warren Greatrex’s faith after he spent £420,000 to buy him at auction two years ago.
Jones, meanwhile, (photographed) continued his excellent season by landing a hat-trick at Ffos Las on Sunday.
Uptown Dandy got the ball rolling by taking a maiden hurdle from the Curtis-trained favourite Inishcorker, while he followed up by winning a three-mile handicap hurdle on hot favourite Sparkling Duke and then taking the concluding bumper on board Mojito Lido.
But the ride of the day went to Richard Patrick. He rarely looked like prevailing on Arctic Conditions in a 2m3f chase, but managed to cajole one final effort out of his mount in the final 50 yards to collar Face d’Music and prevail by a short-head.
Evan Williams rarely leaves Ffos Las without a winner, and he duly obliged again when Francky Blue took a two-mile handicap hurdle in the hands of Conor Ring.
Our next meeting at Ffos Las is on Monday 16th March.
