HELP! The Listowel Harvest Festival is supposed to signal the beginning of the jumps season, but it’s a bit crazy that the Cheltenham hype has begun already. Willie Mullins was quoted as saying that Wednesday’s novice hurdle winner Davy Crockett “jumps like a Champion Hurdler already”. Another tabloid headline on Wednesday went: “Willie Mullins could put down a huge Cheltenham marker”.Woah!

When we should be getting ready for the Arc meeting, British Champions Day and international races with European interest, it seems there is more chat about jumpers to follow, potential running plans and dark horses coming forth on all channels. It’s September!

While thoughts of what Constitution Hill, The New Lion and Brighterdaysahead may do at the Festival excite, getting into any Cheltenham ante-post wagers is surely a minefield at this stage.

Unlike the flat, there are so many options for horses, and a higher risk of injuries. A look back at 2025 should bring caution.

Of course you might find a few gems. Kopek Des Bordes was quoted at 25s for the Supreme, but also for the Gallagher Novices’, at this stage last year, and The New Lion was also at decent odds since he still had plenty to improve upon.

But Jasmin De Vaux topped the markets for two of the three Cheltenham novice hurdle markets and the 20s for the Albert Bartlett was still there at Christmas.

Early season odds

You can also find some ridiculous early season odds. Lossiemouth had a 20/1 quote for the Arkle at this time two years ago. Gaelic Warrior has never turned up where you expect him. Early favourite for the Stayers and the Brown Advisory Chase two years ago, he won the Arkle. Prominent for the Champion Chase and the Ryanair, he didn’t make it back this year and Ballyburn was a burn out for any early punters.

Want to take a chance on Matin Midi Et Soir (12/1) or Mange Tout (16/1) for the Triumph? Beware. Willy De Houelle was the early favourite last season, going off at 1/4 for his debut for Mullins at Fairyhouse in December and he ended up 40/1 when lining up for the Triumph.

You might get lucky, but there are so many options for horses. Anzadam is 16s for the Arkle. I’m tempted by the 20s for the Champion Hurdle. Many leading tipsters had Brighterdaysahead as their early top tip for the Mares Chase this time last season.

So, Heads Up, how strongly do you fancy that 12/1 Davy Crockett for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle?

Poniros and Jonjo O'Neill caused the surprise of the meeting in winning the JCB Triumph Hurdle at 1001/ \ Healy Racing

THERE was a mixed reception to the news last week that the BHA had taken action to prevent a repeat of the composition of the field in a Grade 1 race, as it had turned out for last year’s juvenile championship, the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham.

It was won by the Willie Mullins-trained Poniros at 100/1. The horse had not been seen in public since the previous September and had never jumped a hurdle in public.

The 17-runner field was made up of 11 runners from the Mullins stable, three had never run over hurdles and nine of them started at 33/1 or bigger.

You can say it’s ‘anti’ Willie Mullins, but Mullins is the only one with that number of horses to have 11 juveniles, regardless of their ability, in training. This is a championship race, most of his runners were not championship level horses.

It was not a scenario that should be pleasing to anyone, punter, other trainers or horse fans.

Suppose Nicky Henderson and/or James Owen also decided to run a few without having a run over hurdles before? It would be a bit of a farce on one of the biggest betting days of the year. Punters deserve more insight than is available from horses having never raced over hurdles.

Schooled

The other issue cited was that, with a horse not appearing over hurdles in public, it has to be taken on trust that it was sufficiently schooled.

Imagine if one ran out coming to the first, or fell at halfway and took down the favourite? There would be an outcry.

Willie Mullins said at the time in March, perhaps tongue in cheek: “We bought him in October, we just schooled him and then gave him a break. We thought we’d better drag him in from the field and get him ready for Cheltenham, so that’s what we did, but I didn’t expect any more than a nice run.”

The reality is, there is plenty of time to get a run into a horse from the flat. Ruby Walsh’s comment that it was ‘stopping good horses running in races’ is kind of missing the point. All races have conditions attached. It’s for the benefit of all.

It is a potential grey area, particularly with juveniles coming from France, leaving it to the handicapper to decide on whether they think a horse is rated high enough, but trainers should take no chances: run them.

It’s more than likely that a ‘one-run’ horse like Il Etait Temps, who had run well in a Grade 1, would be allowed run without any issues, and the season is long enough to get a run into a horse.

The final ‘complaint’ was that if most of the Mullins runners were absent last year, those who went off at 50s or bigger, it would have been a maximum 10-runner or fewer race.

As another solution to this, if very small fields prevailed, I could see no issue with losing the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap. We keep hearing the Festival is too diluted. Is a handicap curtailed to a shrinking section of National Hunt racing, four-year-olds, now needed?

It’s there 20 years now and nothing that has won it has done much since. Neither does it really give smaller trainers/owners a chance to win there since Paul Nicholls, Gordon Elliott and Joseph O’Brien are multiple winners, and mostly for the bigger owners too. It’s my ‘take a break’ Festival race and can be done without.