11:22AM, MAR 11 2021
All eyes will be on Envoi Allen as Cheveley Park s superstar bids to maintain his unbeaten record at Prestbury Park next week, with agent Tom Malone describing the son of Muhtathir as different class at the Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival preview online on Wednesday evening.
The seven-year-old, now trained by Henry de Bromhead following Gordon Elliott s suspension from training, won the 2019 Weatherbys Champion Bumper and last season s Ballymore Novices Hurdle.
A £400,000 purchase by Malone from Colin Bowe at the 2018 Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham February Sale, Malone was initially interested in buying Appreciate It [third that day] only to find that horse 11 lengths adrift of the dominant winner.
Ante-post market
The key storylines
In one of the clashes of the week, expect a new chasing star to be crowned. This could prove the coronation of Shishkin, with the Nicky Henderson-trained seven-year-old out to follow in the footsteps of Seven Barrows superstars Altior and Sprinter Sacre in lifting this star-studded prize.
As with his two former stablemates, it has been a quiet yet tried-and-tested route to Cheltenham this season with Shishkin. Last year s Supreme Novices Hurdle winner destroyed inferior opposition on his chase debut at Kempton and in two Grade 2s at that track and, most recently, Doncaster.
However, this is far from a one-horse race and two top-level winners also have solid claims for success.
The 2021 Cheltenham Festival: Your essential Paul Nicholls Stable Tour racingtv.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from racingtv.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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SEVEN NOVICE HURDLERS TO WATCH AT THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL
Article
28th January 2021
By Nick Seddon
The entries for the Grade One novice hurdle races at this year’s Cheltenham Festival were released on Wednesday afternoon, so we asked Nick Seddon to pick out seven contenders for your notebook.
Appreciate It (Willie Mullins)
Festival entries: Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle.
The vast majority of novices entered for the Cheltenham Festival will be handed more than one option and although that is the case for Appreciate It, he looks highly likely to take his chance in the curtain-raiser, the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
THE focus of the action tomorrow afternoon will be Ascot, where Politologue will go off a warm favourite for the feature Clarence House Chase at 3.35.
But with Defi Du Seuil having plenty to prove and Waiting Patiently better fresh, we could be in for a massive surprise.
First Flow certainly attracts the eye following his impressive win at the track last time out, but he will surely need to fence better in this higher grade so I am going to take a chance on FANION D’ESTRUVAL.
The Venetia Williams-trained youngster was set to successfully give 3lbs away to the classy Magic Saint at Cheltenham before pecking badly at the last obstacle, but by and large his fencing is sound.