THERE is a reasonable chance you’ll see a Cheltenham Festival winner this weekend. If you do, it’ll probably be a novice hurdler.

It could be in the Unibet Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle (2.20) today. Constitution Hill won this race last year before spread-eagling the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and that was only a few years after Summerville Boy led Kalashnikov home before doing the exact same in the Festival curtain opener two months later.

Of course there is Facile Vega lying in wait, but he perhaps doesn’t look as infallible as he did prior to Christmas and with the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle also coming up, he could have some legitimate rivals in the market.

If the Tolworth is to produce one, it’s likely to be Authorised Speed, fifth to Facile Vega in the Champion Bumper last term, and already looking a smart novice hurdler with two wins from two starts.

Gary Moore’s five-year-old is taking the Constitution Hill route, having taken the Brian Giles Memorial Novice Hurdle at this course in December, where he was much too good for his rivals despite some untidy jumps late on.

He has a good story as well, as Moore outlined his big motivation to win this Grade 1 for owner Pat Gallagher this week. Gallagher provided the trainer with the use of his helicopter to visit his son Josh at Aintree University Hospital during his recovery from injury following a fall at Haydock.

The main rivals to the likely favourite are the Noel Fehily Racing Syndicate-owned Tahmuras and Henry de Bromhead’s Arctic Bresil, who will provide good context to the race as an Irish maiden hurdle winner - Donn McClean provides more context to his chance on page 60.

Lawlor’s

It seems even more likely we might see a Cheltenham winner in tomorrow’s Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle (2.20). It has provided the springboard to Ballymore Novice Hurdle success for both Bob Olinger and Envoi Allen in recent years, and even before the race was upgraded to Grade 1 level, it was a much respected trial with the likes of Next Destination, Rule The World, Monksland and Venalmar all going on to hit the frame in the two-mile-five-furlong Grade 1 at the Festival.

The race looks set to be very informative, mostly due to the inclusion of Irish Point and Champ Kiely, who represent the Royal Bond form (finished second and fourth). Even with that Grade 1 form in the book, the market heavily favours impressive Navan scorer Grangeclare West for Willie Mullins. The Cheveley Park-owned six-year-old cost all of £430,000 at auction but this will be just his third start on the track in just over a year and a half.

Monksfield Novice Hurdle winner Dawn Rising is another interesting contender, as is Inothewayurthinkin, a half brother to his trainer Gavin Cromwell’s smart Ilikethewayurthinkin.

Hermes Allen sets the standard for the Ballymore after his Challow Hurdle win last weekend but it seems more likely than not he will be usurped in the market tomorrow afternoon.

IT seems like the Veteran’s Chase series is just going from strength to strength in Britain and it’s great to see the £100,000 final (3.00) hold a maximum field of 18 today at Sandown.

One of the most popular runners in a race full of popular runners is undoubtedly Snow Leopardess, the white mare who is as tough as they come and received a flurry of public support when sent off as short as 10/1 for the Grand National last April.

She struggled there, perhaps the quicker going not suiting, but she should get her preferred softer ground today.

Her trainer Charlie Longsdon won this race with the 13-year-old Pete The Feat in 2017 and is hoping plenty of rain will fall on Sandown to make this three-mile contest as attritional as possible.

He said: “We’re looking forward to it and the more rain the better.

“It is a very, very strong race and an 18-runner field, but she seems to like the attritional going and, with the rain forecast for Saturday, hopefully that will come and we’ll be happy. It will slow the rest of them down.

“We’ve had some luck in the race in the past and we’ve had some great times with old Pete The Fete and Loose Chips, but the race is a lot stronger now. I’m looking forward to it and with the rain around hopefully she can run well.”

The race was won 12 months ago by Evan Williams’s Prime Venture, who returns off the same mark to defend his crown and was trading as clear favourite for the race last night.

“He’s been a great horse, he’s been placed in Welsh Nationals, he won this race last year and he’s been a very good fun horse, a smashing horse,” Williams said.

“It’s nice to get back there (Sandown) and we think it’s a great initiative, so it’s great to be having a nice horse running in the race for some good prize money. It’s a race we like to try to support and it’s very popular.”