Cheltenham Festival Focus: Bolster the hand with Three Stripe Life in Browns

• Daryl breaks down the Christmas action

• Has a second punt in the Brown Advisory at 10/1

• Wants more from Lossiemouth to justify her price

---

Weekly review!

We start back on December 18th at Thurles, where Albert Bartlett sixth Ramillies scored at 6/4 on his chase debut/ seasonal return over three miles. He beat stablemate Tenzing, who had run a close third to Geri Colombe previously at Fairyhouse and had a fitness edge on his rival. The market was against the eventual winner, but he quickened up smartly to win with a bit in hand.

His jumping was very assured, and he provided a near-perfect round. He fell short of the required level over hurdles, and he will face much stiffer tests when again going up in grade, but this was a positive start. Willie Mullins has always thought a good deal of him, but connections were deciding whether to trade him in before this. I suspect they will persevere now he has a chase win under his belt, but his 12/1 for the Brown Advisory at the festival with Betfair looks skinny. Tenzing, on the other hand, could provide a bit of value in the National Hunt Chase at 25/1. He will relish the longer trip and has improved significantly for the switch to fences.

Jockey Davy Russel bowed out on winner Liberty Dance on the same card as she won with any amount in hand in the Listed Mares Novice Hurdle. She is now 2-3 over hurdles, but her RPR of just 129 needs significant improvement to land the Mares Novice Hurdle, for which she is 8/1.

I am only keen on one of the Irish Mares Novices at the moment, and this form wouldn't even compare. No others have shown anything out of the ordinary.

At Punchestown on Monday, December 19th, Itswhatunitesus ran out a ready winner of the Rated Novices Hurdle to record back-to-back victories in this sphere.

However, while it was visually impressive, it was very slowly run, and he was able to dictate a steady early pace and was well-positioned to strike. He is a 33/1 chance for the Supreme Novice Hurdle - he has no chance.

Gold Cup awaits relentless Galopin Des Champs

Galopin Des Champs returned to action with a facile 2m4f victory at Punchestown last Monday and bolstered his claims for Gold Cup glory in March, for which he was cut into 7/4.

It was an effortless display, and once he warmed to his task and got into a jumping rhythm from five out, he was a joy to watch. He came home around 15 lengths faster than Appreciate It, who won his chasing debut over 2m and he won eased down.

He is very hard to knock, and it was much more noticeable how relaxed he was in this contest compared to his chase runs last term. A free-going sort as a Novice - that seems to have been ironed out and will give him every chance of getting the gruelling 3m2f Gold Cup trip. Simply superb.

Appreciate It made his eagerly anticipated chase debut in the proceeding race and was another Willie Mullins horse to come home eased down. He was given a very easy lead, and seemingly only one horse in the field wanted to give him a race which was the eventual runner-up Top Bandit.

He jumped well in the main, slightly left at a handful of fences, but my overall impression was that his jumping is too slow for an Arkle. He was a Novice who was thought of as one that could easily go up in distance, so I would be leaning towards the Turners for him. He is 5/1 for the Arkle and 10/1 for the Turners Chase.

Journey With Me scalped Flame Bearer at Naas on Tuesday, December 20th, but the winner continues to look laboured, and the latter will fall short over fences. Journey With Me is now 25/1 for the Turners and 16/1 for the Brown Advisory - he probably won't be good enough for either.

Inthepocket won the Grade 2 Novice Hurdle on the card over 2m4f, which has been a good pointer to the festival over the years. Ginto - a subsequent ill-fated favourite for the Albert Bartlett - won this race last year, while, Next Destination, Bellshill, and Death Duty have all had favourites chances in March.

Inthepocket looks as though the Ballymore 2m5f distance is probably as far as he wants to go at this time, and he is a 12/1 chance. He only does enough when hitting the front, but the way he travels through his contest suggests he has a touch of class. Still, he is not the most straightforward.

El Fabiolo didn't set the world alight, but improvement is forthcoming

Willie Mullins' El Fabiolo made his chase debut at Fairyhouse on Wednesday, December 21st. While his jumping left a little to be desired, he won in no more than a common canter eased down by 19 lengths over a good yardstick in Colonel Mustard.

He was forced to make all of his own running, which is not ideal, and a strongly run contest where he can get a good tow into the race is when we will see the best of him. He got in very close to the fourth, and his jockey did well to sit tight, but I like it when a horse makes a mistake, they learn plenty from it, and it can expose their engine.

This wasn't the case here, though, as he relentlessly galloped on. He has a very high cruising speed, and the time was pretty good (22 lengths faster than the following handicap chase won by the 120-rated Big Debates), in fact, he was quicker than any other 2m race on the card, including the bumper. That's to be taken with a pinch of salt, but it was a debut full of promise.

I still need more from Lossiemouth!

Boxing Day offered plenty of Cheltenham Festival clues. We start in Ireland, where High Definition won his hurdle debut in a very good time compared to the following Maiden Hurdle contest.

His overall time was around 25 lengths faster than Dark Raven, so he may give the impression that he is treading water, but it was a positive start for new connections. He was green at one or two but is entitled to improve a good deal for the outing.

Interestingly, he was also around 18 lengths quicker than Lossiemouth in the Grade 2 Frank Knight, and High Definition is now 20/1 for the Supreme Novice Hurdle.

Lossiemouth has again won really well, and she has been cut into 6/4 for the Triumph Hurdle. The race she won here has seen a clutch of fancied Triumph Hurdle hopes in the past, including Fil Dor last term. Still, she hasn't been impressive on the clock in any of her three starts.

If you were to take both her and High Definition's races from the second hurdle (first omitted in both races) and play them side by side they crossed the line in unison. She was well positioned, and she was entitled to win this race on the bare form in France, so again, the price cut looks a little premature.

Saint Roi put out the light of Fil Dor in the Grade 1 Racing Post Novice Chase as he reversed debut form with his younger rival on two pounds better terms. That race saw Hollow Games lack the pace of a truly run 2m contest, and his jumping certainly needs work.

All in all, none of these should be up to troubling the current leaders in the Arkle market, although this clutch could run their own race on a supporting undercard.

Gerri Colombe won well enough over what was a trip on the short side in the 2m3f Faugheen Novices Chase, and he was spoken of as a National Hunt Chase type by connections after the race rather than the Brown Advisory.

It's interesting because connections have Chemical Energy seemingly for that race, but I suspect the ground will dictate where he runs, so hold those bets. He is a strong stayer and must have a chance in either of the two above-mentioned races. He is a 5/1 favourite for the Brown Advisory and 12/1 for the National Hunt Chase. I am still keen to wait.

Thyme Hill bounces back on Boxing Day

At Kempton, Thyme Hill put us right back in the game with a much-improved performance to win the Kauto Star and reversed the form with McFabulous in no uncertain terms. A 15-length winner, he looked like a much happier horse at this venue when getting a good drag into the race.

Connections have finally admitted that he is a better horse when fresh, and he will now go directly to the festival. He has an each-way in the Brown Advisory, for which he is now an 8/1 chance especially given his outstanding record at Prestbury Park.

Constitution Hill effortlessly won the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle over Epatante and clocked an RPR of 170 - that's the highest in the race in the last ten years and 1lb higher than Faugheen when he was at his brilliant best. He looks unbeatable.

Bravemansgame was impeccable in the King George, and comments after the race suggest the Gold Cup could now be the target for which he is 7/1 second favourite. Kauto Star in 2008/2009, I believe, was the last horse to do the King George - Gold Cup double for none other than Paul Nicholls.

Still, I think once the dust settles, he may be more tempted to opt for the Ryanair, especially if the ground is testing and he is now 4/1 for that contest. So we are still in with a chance of a runner...

Not even Santa poses the magic of Mullins

We move on to the second day at Leopardstown on Monday, December 27th, and Dysart Dynamo really impressed me. He was his usually free-going self on this first start over fences and had little to beat (his other rivals were clearly looking for handicap ratings).

Still, he jumped effortlessly and at speed and the moment you were waiting for him to make a mistake, he cleared his obstacles with ease. There's little chance of him going anywhere other than the Arkle in March, and his 5/1 price tag is more than fair on the back of this effort, and you could argue he should be closer in the market to Jonbon. He strode home under no pressure to win by 27 lengths.

This is no more than for information purposes, as I have outlined that I do really like Dysart Dynamo. Still, he was 37 lengths slower than Blue Lord's emphatic Grade 1 win, which followed. While it's easy to say "he only hacked around", it's still vital information that needs to be documented. These two particular races I like to compare every year!

He will almost certainly be off in front in March as he was in the Supreme Novice Hurdle, and we could be set for a repeat burn-up, although connections of Jonbon may prove wiser this time around. The way this Arkle is shaping up, it could easily suit El Fabiolo.

Blue Lord was simply electric in the Grade 1 Reward Club Chase in the following race. It was a coming of age from him and a performance we had been waiting to see. This was a clear career best, and he hit the line very hard. This is a typical performance of an improving model, and he is a very fair 6/1 for the Champion Chase.

Facile Vega much improved at Leopardstown

Facile Vega came in for some criticism on Twitter for his Leopardstown victory over stablemate Il Etait Temps, but this was a much-improved effort on his Fairyhouse Maiden Hurdle win. He took in his first Grade 1 victory by making almost all of the running, but it was his jumping that looked far more like the finished article here.

He is a powerful traveller and is always in the hands of his jockey, and his best work came at the finish here as he powered away. There's little doubt he is a very, very good horse.

In terms of time, he recorded a circuit time nine lengths faster than the impressive handicap winner Winter Fog (136 - more like 149), and the time from two out to the finish was on par with that one.

The handicap winner was well fancied last year to win the Pertemps Final at the Cheltenham Festival over 3m but today dropped markedly in distance to 2m and quickened away in the style of a graded performer.

It's hard to know what to make of this comparison on that basis, in all honesty, but both races were far quicker than the 3yo Maiden winner in the opening contest. He will be very hard to beat if heading to the Supreme Novice and is now even money with Betfair.

The horse to take out of the race for me was Ashroe Diamond, who could only manage third but made up considerable ground from the rear of the field from the second last to the line and looks like a fast-improving mare.

There won't be many horses that arrive at the Mares Novice Hurdle 5/1 with the depth of form she has shown. She was an excellent third in the Royal Bond to Marine National and, in my book, has now bumped into the two best Novice Hurdlers were are likely to see, and she has not been disgraced at all.

She sets a lofty standard, and while there is an air of Grangee from last year about her, I think she is a better horse. She has improved with each outing, and she sets the standard for the Irish in this division. However, Nicky Henderson's Luccia looks the one to beat!

As Blue Lord lays down his Champion Chase claims, Edwardstone fluffed his lines with an uncharacteristic unseat at Kempton. The Betfair Sportsbook left him at 5/2 for the Champion Chase, and his record remains untarnished on this evidence.

Back Three Stripe Life for the Brown Advisory

I was waiting to see if Gordon Elliott would enter Three Stripe Life in the Neville Hotel Novice Chase at Leopardstown this Xmas. It's a race he has a tremendous recent record in, and it has seen the likes of Fury Road and Delta Work from the yard subsequently head to the Brown Advisory.

He has been declared (runs Thursday), and I am extremely interested in his stepping up to 3m for the first time. He is fitted with a tongue tie for the first time, which could, along with the trip, bring out further improvement.

He stayed on strongly in last year's Ballymore Novice Hurdle, and on breeding, this looks like a natural step. He was no match for the speedy Sir Gerhard, but he improved all year and made a very encouraging start over fences on debut at Naas with an effortless victory.

He really caught the eye travelling powerfully at Fairyhouse in the Drinmore won by stablemate Mighty Potter before a mistake saw his rider's saddle slip, and he was pulled up.

That's easily forgiven and easily the strongest Novice Chase of the season thus far. A good performance tomorrow, along with Thyme Hill, will put us in a good position in this race. He is currently 10/1 top price with Betfair, and that could be all but gone shortly.