CONFIDENCE is rarely in short supply when it comes to Ireland’s Cheltenham raiders, but this year’s contingent carries a particularly solid look.

Few trainers know the Festival’s demands better than Henry de Bromhead, who has saddled a quarter-century of Festival winners including Sizing Europe, Honeysuckle, and Minella Indo to name just a few.

Joseph O’Brien is no stranger to the most prestigious racing festivals, with wins in the Melbourne Cup, Irish Derby and Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mares Turf, and Grade 1 contests over obstacles like the Irish Gold Cup, King George VI Chase and Arkle Novices’ Chase.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Mangan holds a particularly strong claim in the Gold Cup with stable star Spillane’s Tower, who he describes as “a very special horse”, as he bids to add Cheltenham’s blue riband race to his CV.

The Big Westerner

Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase/ Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase

“We’re probably leaning towards the novice I’d say but it’s nice to have options. We’ll see what way the ground is and what the opposition is like but I suppose ultimately you have to think for your horse.

“She was good at Fairyhouse. She ran really well, just Jimmy Du Seuil looked really good that day. Obviously he’s disappointed a bit since then but he jumped and did everything right that day and she ran really well and they were miles clear of the third. Then I thought she looked really good at Limerick and came right out of Mikey’s (O’Connor) hands a few times. She’s been really good.

“Hopefully she can go right to the top. She probably has a preference for softer ground would be the only thing, but we could still get that in plenty of places and she ran really well at Cheltenham last year on better ground. Whether it just cost her jumping the last I’m not sure.

“She seems to have the class to go any trip. She’s probably two and a half (miles) plus. She stayed definitely in the Albert Bartlett last year so I think three miles would be ideal for her.”

Koktail Divin

Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase

“He’ll probably have an entry in the novice handicap in case the ground came up soft but I’d say we’re leaning towards the Brown Advisory. You’d have to have a little question mark over him – he definitely got outstayed at Punchestown but I was putting that down to the heavier ground. We’ve always felt that he’s a horse that would prefer nicer ground.”

Bob Olinger

Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle

Recalling his victory in last year’s Stayers’ Hurdle, he said: “He was like the forgotten horse. I was at a preview night a couple of weeks before and I was looking at the betting. I got to 20/1 and I got a fright and started wondering if I’d actually entered him or not! Then I got to 66/1 and I said ‘oh my God, that’s the each-way bet of the week!’ I wasn’t saying he would win or anything but I couldn’t believe the price he was.

“He’s class and he always has been. Obviously we lost him for about a year, a year and a half, which was probably our fault, but it’s great to have him back.”

July Flower

Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase/ Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase

“She ran fine at Leopardstown, probably a little bit disappointing. Might have just been that the ground and that trip might have just put her out a little bit. She was winging fences and she seemed to tire there. I thought she was going to win turning in but she seemed to tire before the last.

“Looking at the Arkle now you’d be leaning towards the Mares’ Chase but we’ll keep an eye on the Arkle and just see. I thought she improved actually for the drop down in trip. Over two and half at Limerick I thought she was incredible that day. We’ll see. She’s obviously pretty adaptable and her form’s pretty good over any trip, it seems. I wouldn’t discount three miles in time but at Cheltenham it’s obviously two to two and a half miles.”

Heart Wood

Ryanair Chase/ Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup

“We have two entries so I hate committing fully but I’d say we’re like 85% for the Ryanair. I think we’ll go there and ride him a fraction more positive by the sounds of what Darragh (O’Keeffe) was saying. He’s hitting that age now so I’d say he’s definitely improved a little bit. I would hope he should run well.”

Workahead

Unibet Champion Hurdle/ William Hill County Hurdle

“He’s going to run in Gowran on Saturday in the Red Mills Hurdle and we’ve left him in (the Champion Hurdle) but I’d say he’ll more likely go for the County Hurdle.”

Quilixios

BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase

“He’s had a couple of setbacks through the year but he’s really good now. He actually worked today on the grass at a place we go to and he worked really well. So the next few days will tell a bit but if he comes out of that okay he’ll do one more strong piece of work and if that goes well, we’re there.

“He’s in great form, he runs well fresh and he could be exciting. He worked really well today. It’s a tough thing to do but it’s been done before but the next couple of weeks will tell.”

Captain Guinness

BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase

“He was disappointing last year to be honest. He just doesn’t seem himself. He seems better there now – certainly this time last year he started coming to himself but he’ll go to Naas on the 22nd and if he ran well in that then he could go but we’ll see. We’ve tweaked a few things with him and he definitely seems better now so we’ll just see how he goes at Naas.”

Monty’s Star

Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup

“He is in the Grand National and the Gold Cup and we’ll see. We are in discussion about it at the moment. The Maloneys love having their runners at Cheltenham and they think the Gold Cup looks an open race while another view would be he’s an out and out Grand National horse.

“He actually got kicked in the face by another horse last year unfortunately and I’m just not sure he ever really developed into what we thought he was going to be. When you look at his Brown Advisory run, he looked all over a Gold Cup horse. In fairness, the vets have worked really hard on him and we are definitely getting there but whether he will be as good as we thought he could be – I am not sure.”

Envoi Allen

Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup

“I think he has a chance, I really do. It’s sort of like Bob Olinger last year – you look at all the horses he has beaten and they are single figures and then you look at him and he’s some crazy price!

“I thought he was better than ever when he won on his comeback. People said it wasn’t a good race but you only have to look at the form since – if he stays that extra bit and don’t see why he won’t. I am kind of wondering why I haven’t run him in the Gold Cup for the past couple of years.”

King’s Bucks

Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle

“He has a similar profile to Minella Indo going into the Albert Bartlett in that he was is still a maiden but was third to No Drama This End at Cheltenham in November when he was still very green. He is a really nice horse.”

Talk The Talk

SkyBet Supreme Novices’/ Turners Novices’ Hurdle

“He’s really exciting. He’s done nothing wrong this year, he’s unlucky not to be four from four and he goes to Cheltenham as a real obvious contender as one of the top novices around at the moment.

“I think it would be fair to say we’re leaning towards the Supreme and that’s the race I’ve had in mind and it’s probably the right race for his progression and for him at this stage. I think it might be fair to say that the Turners might end up a little bit softer on paper but we’re paid to put him in the right spot and we think that’s probably the Supreme. The final call will be made late but I’d say that’s the best spot for him.

“We’ll probably take our time (at Cheltenham). He’s a horse that, at this stage of his life, that’s the right way to ride him. I’ve got no problem with him going further. I actually probably see him as a stayer in the long-term but I think we always keep our options open and we could have a change of heart late on, but I think the Supreme is the race we have in mind for him.

“He has kind of an aggressive nature and we feel that the tempo of the Supreme would suit him better. I know he’s won off a very slow pace at Leopardstown the last day but it’s fair to say that I was surprised that he was able to do that and I think the tempo of a Supreme, generally speaking might be run at a faster pace, would probably be more suitable for him.”

Solness

BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase/ Ryanair Chase

“I guess we could wait for Aintree and go slightly up in trip. He still has the option of Cheltenham and maybe Barry Connell might run scared of us! I’m only joking, but we’ll see how he is and see what the ground’s like. Then we’ll see if he goes to Cheltenham or wait for Aintree.

“He likes to dominate his races but it’s hard to do that at Cheltenham and I don’t think Majborough is going to let us do that any time soon so we might look to avoid him.

“You’d have to say that Marine Nationale has been regularly good at Cheltenham hasn’t he, and we’ve been generally pretty good at Leopardstown, so it’s horses for courses.”

Home By The Lee

Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle

“It was a good win the last time and gave weight to the horse that won at the weekend (Staffordshire Knot). On paper, it was as good as he’s ever been. Whether he can win the Stayers’ Hurdle, that might a stretch, but there’s no reason why he couldn’t run well again. He’s a great horse, he’s been a great horse for the owners and the yard and he can run his race again hopefully.”

Banbridge

Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup/ Ryanair Chase

“As well as the Gold Cup and the Ryanair he’s in at Aintree too. We’ve discussed it with Ronnie (Bartlett) and he’ll be left in all the races. It would be fair to say he’ll probably end up at Aintree. We will have a good look at the Ryanair and the Gold Cup but I’d say the ground would need to be particularly dry for him to run there.

“He won the Martin Pipe and he won a novice chase there (at Cheltenham) as well. I think the track is fine but he does want that better ground.”

Zeus Power

SkyBet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle/ Turners Novices’ Hurdle

“He probably will run in one of the novice hurdles, probably the Turners is more likely. We might run in Ireland this weekend and then decide but it would be the plan for him to go in one of the novices I’d imagine. He’d be more of an each-way chance but he’s a progressive horse.”

Contenders for the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle

“We’ll probably have three in it. Glen To Glen – he won in Cork. Then we have Dignam – he won in the summer – and then we’ll have a horse called Kizlyar who hasn’t won yet.

“Probably the three of them will run. It looks a good race and it’s hard to win. You need luck in running and the three of them are experienced horses who have plenty on them on the flat which is usually a help in that kind of race. They’ll all have an each-way chance.”

Spillane’s Tower

Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup

“He’s a very important horse for me. I’ve had good horses that were all handicappers but this is a graded horse who can compete at the top level no problem. He has kept improving. He won the two Grade 1s as a novice. To win one you think you’ll be lucky but you’ll never be that lucky to win two of them, so I was pretty happy that I had a good horse.

“I hope that Fact To File isn’t supplemented. He’d be a big problem if he is supplemented because he is a very good horse. He’s beaten us before in the John Durkan but ours wasn’t 100% fit that day. I’m not saying that Willie’s was 100% fit either, but I know the ground had been very tight up to the John Durkan and I couldn’t get the gallops into him that he required. That was Jack Kennedy’s first time riding him and he made Fact To File work hard to beat him. I wouldn’t be afraid of Fact To File.

“Galopin Des Champs – what a horse. He’s not getting any younger but he’s far from done, I’d say. I don’t worry about others. If I go to the big races I fancy my own and that’s it. They all have chances – they’re not running for the sake of running.”

“Ground is the big key to him. He will not run on tight ground. He has to have juice in the ground.

Number one, he’s a big horse and he jumps an incredible length and I just wouldn’t risk him on tight ground. Yielding (good to soft) would be fine. I would be hoping that the weather would stay the way it is.”