Irish under pressure to retain Prestbury Cup at Cheltenham Festival

As the Cheltenham Festival gets ever nearer and the Antepost markets take shape it is looking increasingly likely that the Irish trained horses won’t have it all their own way this year.

Irish trained horses have dominated at Cheltenham in recent years with a record 19 of the 28 races won by the visitors in 2017 and another impressive haul of 17 last year which comfortably retained the Betbright sponsored Prestbury Cup for Ireland.

The majority of Irish trained winners have come from just two stables, Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott, with the pair accounting for 15 of the 17 total last year alone.

This time round Mullins expects his number of runners to be well down on last year. He ran 62 horses over the four days in 2018 while his numbers this time will be nearer 40.

Elliott’s number of runners at Cheltenham is growing year on year and he is likely to exceed last year’s tally of 32 as he looks to consolidate his position as the leading individual trainer at the Festival which he has won for the last two years.

The horse racing betting on the 28 races for this year’s Festival shows the British trained runners are to the fore in all bar a handful of races over the four days. The Irish trained horses can be expected to once again win races like the Cross Country Chase with Tiger Roll and Benie Des Dieux is odds-on to retain her Mares Hurdle crown. The Champion Bumper, Ryanair Chase and the two Juvenile Hurdle contests are also most likely to be won by Irish trained runners but outside of those races the Irish have a fight on their hands.

British trainer Nicky Henderson in particular looks to have a strong team of in-form runners heading to Cheltenham this year with the likes of the British banker Altior in the Champion Chase, Buveur D’air in the Champion Hurdle and others such as OK Corral, Champ and Santini heading the betting for their respective targets.

Besides Henderson a rejuvenated Paul Nicholls string is winning all before them on the UK domestic front and there are strong vibes that the man who was leading trainer at the Festival five times in the early 2000s is expecting a big week this time around.

Ireland’s odds to retain the Prestbury Cup have been on the slide in recent weeks and they are now available at 8/11 with the British trainers a best price of 7/4, it is 7/1 for a tie.