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Key races for Horses aimed at the Festival

BigChaang

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I have been taking a look back through the last 5 years results in the Arkle Chase , And without trying to Preach to
the Converted , ( plenty of much more knowledgeable than me here ), I thought it could be useful to highlight
some of these races and possibly add more for this and especially other races .
So for the Irish horses .... seems to be a Beginners chase - Irish stallion farms chs at navan in Nov..
Racing post nov chase at Leopardstown in Dec, and the Frank ward solicitors arkle nov chase , also at
Leopardstown in Feb. .
British horses appear to have more options , ... Starlight nov chase at Kempton in Nov..
Arkle trophy trial at Cheltenham in Nov.., Henry VIII nov chase at Sandown in Dec..
Wayward lad nov chase at Kempton in Dec.., Clarence house chase at Ascot in Jan..
Game spirit chase at Newbury in Feb..
I would like to look into other races , But feel free to add more key races for any of the
Festival Races to the thread.
 
Interesting post, BC.

My input, for what it's worth, is that the Irish route described is basically the Willie Mullins route. He tends to go slower with his winter horses than some and I think you'll find that the likes of Jessie and Gordon are open to starting a little earlier. There's a beginners chase at Punchestown in mid to late October which leads to the Craddockstown at the same venue in November. Sizing John went that route on his way to Leopardstown at Christmas. That meeting and the February Festival are the obvious targets for the G1 horses.
The picture has become slightly more complicated in Ireland in recent years in that chasers who lost their maiden tag after a certain date last season (31st Jan?) are allowed to contest novice chases until (and I think including) the first weekend in December so it's possible that horses who won't be able to run in the Arkle will look to mop up some of the early season graded races like the Craddockstown or the Drinmore.
 
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Well spotted Archie ., that was actually Footpads route last/this year for the Irish and Altior's route for the english.
But I noticed looking through the previous results , a lot of the horses followed the same or similar
route , I did note the Craddockstown for one of the runners,.
 
Like this thread.
There’s a nov chase in Ireland that usually clashes with Paddy Power day (or whatever it’s called now), I remember Champagne Fever and (I’m sure) Valseur Lido winning in recent years, could be a 2m 2f event so might also attract stayers as an introduction to fences...
 
2m4f beginners at Punchestown, Isty, won last year by Monalee. Previous winners do indeed include Champagne Fever, Valseur Lido and Outlander.
 
I suspect the new Dublin frstival will change some traditional routes for the Irish horses
 
Rather than a key Race , I'd say it's worth noting that the Winter Festival at Fairyhouse .
1st and 2nd December this year , Is a key meeting .
Last years meeting produced no less than 7 cheltenham winners and placed
horses , including Rathvinden , Presenting Percy and Mall dini .
 
I suspect the new Dublin frstival will change some traditional routes for the Irish horses

The form of that meeting at the festival was suuuuuuuuper strong this year. Looking at the winners and places from Dublin is pretty mad - Samcro, Monalee, Relegate, Footpad, Min, Farclas
 
Some Dates for the Diary . - Sun 18th Nov - Punchestown - Morgiana hurdle.
- Sat 24th Nov - Ascot - Coral hurdle.
- Wed 26th Dec - Kempton - William hill hurdle.
- Sat 29th Dec - Leopardstown - Ryanair hurdle.
- Sat 2nd Feb - Leopardstown - Irish champion hurdle.
If your looking for Champion Hurdle Clues ... Faugheen ran in all of these at some time.