00:01
Cheltenham
Odds correct as of 9:51am 29th Jan
It’s not been a good season for the Champion Hurdle so far, as we’ve lost two ante-post favourites through injury already this season. Now the Cheltenham showpiece is there for the taking and we’re left with one outstanding candidate.
We’re in a position where the current ante-post favourite is a rock-solid performer at Grade 1 level and viable challengers are few and far between. With that in mind, we’re going to take a closer look at the horse in question. Take a look at our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Lossiemouth isn’t even a two-mile specialist but the Willie Mullins-trained mare could be hard to beat if lining up in the Champion Hurdle. She has won two Grade 1 races over the trip in Ireland this season and that form makes her the obvious choice.
Cheltenham has been good to her over the years too and she’s unbeaten in four starts at the track. That includes three Cheltenham Festival successes; the Triumph Hurdle and back-to-back Mares’ Hurdle wins. The ultra-consistent seven-year-old has won 13 of her 16 starts, nine of which were Grade 1s.
There are multiple options open to her, including a potential Mares’ Hurdle hat-trick bid, but it’s surely now or never with regards to the Champion Hurdle. She’ll probably never get a better opportunity and it must be incredibly tempting for connections.
Constitution Hill has the ability to win this easily but his jumping has fallen to pieces and it remains to be seen if he’s the same horse. Young pretender The New Lion won the Unibet Hurdle at Cheltenham last weekend but he wasn’t very impressive against some weak opposition.
Mullins’ star mare is very difficult to oppose with that in mind, despite slight concerns with regards to the trip, and it’s hard to find a reliable and viable contender to oppose her.
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