THERE were no subsequent Cheltenham Festival winners to emerge from the track’s Festival Trials Day in 2022, but there was much more to cheer about from the meeting 12 months ago and it might be a similar story this weekend.

Stage Star went from winning the Timeform Novices’ Handicap Chase (12.40) off a mark of 142 to upsetting Mighty Potter in the Turners Novices’ Chase, Delta Work improved considerably from his third in the rescheduled Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase to capture the main event in March, while Energumene left his defeat in the refixed Clarence House Chase behind when earning Queen Mother Champion Chase honours on his next appearance.

Even those who are beaten on this card tended to show up well at the four-day highlight in March.

Fugitif, second in the Paddy Power Cheltenham Countdown Podcast Handicap Chase (1.15), filled the same position as an 11/1 shot in the Magners Plate Handicap Chase at the Festival, Dashel Drasher claimed second in the McCoy Contractors Cleeve Hurdle (3.35) prior to his three-quarter-length second in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, while Paddy Power Cotswold Chase (1.50) third and fourth, Noble Yeats and Protektorat, ran well to be fourth and fifth in the Gold Cup behind Galopin Des Champs.

Even Camprond (12th in a handicap hurdle) came from this card to finish a close third in the Coral Cup at 20/1, the same race in which subsequent Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle fourth Might I finished second in on this card.

Schedule switch

With that handicap no longer on the schedule and the Grade 2 Unibet Hurdle (3.00), registered as the International Hurdle, a new addition to today’s meeting, this card is well worth paying attention to.

There are several smart Irish challengers in the Cotswolds too, the shortest-priced of which is last season’s Triumph Hurdle heroine Lossiemouth, who makes her reappearance in the old International.

In fact, it promises to be a properly informative afternoon in terms of the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle picture in Britain, with the top three in the market all testing their credentials. Lossiemouth is currently no bigger than 9/4 at the top of the betting for her Festival target, while Gala Marceau (6/1) and Ashroe Diamond (7/1) line up in the Grade 2 SBK Yorkshire Rose Mares’ Hurdle (2.05) at Doncaster.

Patrick Mullins, assistant to his father Willie, believes Lossiemouth has strong claims in her Cheltenham assignment, and there was an interesting development regarding the dual Grade 1 winner on Friday morning.

The British Horseracing Authority were prompted to issue a notice that Lossiemouth’s original weight of 11st 3lb was in fact incorrect due to a penalty calculation error. The race conditions mean she should only carry 11st and will race off her correct weight now.

Festival aim

“Willie wanted to work backwards from Cheltenham with these five-year-old mares, [Lossiemouth and Gala Marceau] - he didn’t want to over-race them,” said Patrick Mullins.

“Lossiemouth has been in training all year and has got lots of hard graft under her belt. We’d be expecting a very big run.”

Savills Chase third Capodanno is the Closutton team’s only other runner on the card at Cheltenham in the Grade 2 Cotswold Chase, taking on quality rivals Stay Away Fay, The Real Whacker, Ahoy Senor, Royale Pagaille and Datsalrightgino.

Mullins added: “Capodanno is treated nicely by the race conditions. He’s a class horse. Last season was a bit of a mess for him, he got held up a few times. I thought it was a great run from him at Leopardstown behind Galopin Des Champs. We’re expecting him to be bang there too.”