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Question: What do See You Then, Tourist Attraction and Flagship Uberalles all have in common? Answer: They each share the distinction of being a first winner at the Cheltenham Festival for their respective trainers, namely Nicky Henderson, Willie Mullins and Paul Nicholls.
Thirty-two years on from the first of See You Then’s three victories in the Champion Hurdle, and Henderson is now the most prolific trainer in the history of the Festival, with 55 winners having embarked on the road to Cheltenham glory from Seven Barrows. The Champion Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle and Gold Cup have also been annexed in that time and, overall, the trainer has now won 21 of the 28 races to be run at the meeting in 2017.
Few victories will have been more important to Henderson than that first Champion Hurdle in 1985, though, and you need only ask those trainers yet to make the breakthrough how much a first Festival winner would mean. We've picked out five that might be found biting their nails nervously on the Cheltenham lawn this year.
Charlie Longsdon has been involved with plenty of Cheltenham winners, having worked as assistant trainer to Nicky Henderson for several years. However, since starting out on his own in 2006, Longsdon has had 52 runners at the Festival without success and Pendra's third behind Present View in the 2014 novices' handicap chase is the closest he has come.
Longsdon's best chance of a winner at this year's Festival would appear to be Our Kaempfer (145+).He finished fifth in the Pertemps last year and showed himself to be an even better chaser when getting off the mark in a Kempton handicap last time. Longsdon is seemingly leening towards running him in the RSA on the back of that effort, but Our Kaempfer remains potentially very well-treated despite a 10 lb hike in the weights, and would appear to hold better claims in the Ultima than if taking on genuine Grade 1 opposition in the RSA (13 lb to find with Might Bite on Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings).
The ride AP McCoy gave Wichita Lineman to win the three-mile handicap chase in 2009 is rightly remembered as one of the greatest in the history of the Festival, but it is difficult not to feel sorry for the connections of Maljimar, who saw a first victory at Cheltenham snatched away in the shadows of the post. Overall, trainer Nick Williams has now had 36 runners at the meeting without a winner, but will be hoping to put that right in 2017.
Williams looks set to have his second Gold Cup runner in the shape of Tea For Two (164), but that horse's best form to date has come on flat, right-handed tracks. Course form can be crucial at Cheltenham and Coo Star Sivola (134) is of more interest in the Martin Pipe, having finished third in the Fred Winter last year. He has shown improved form over two and a half miles this season and looks sure to run well from a mark just 6 lb higher than when placed at the meeting in 2016, with a BHA rating of 138 likely to see him sneak in towards the bottom of the weights.
Gordon Richards saddled five winners at the Cheltenham Festival and there have been few more popular victories at the meeting than that of his One Man in the 1998 Champion Chase. Success at Cheltenham has eluded son Nicky since taking over the licence later that year, and seconds for Faasel (2005 Triumph) and Monet's Garden (2006 Arkle) remain his best results at the fixture from 33 runners.
The trainer will try and go one better this time round with Baywing (142+) in the National Hunt Chase. He was a four-time winner over hurdles in 2015/16 and showed the benefit of his chasing debut with a dominant success in the Towton Novices' Chase at Wetherby last time. Baywing has done most of his racing to date on an easy surface, but he should relish the step up to four miles on the evidence of that latest victory and could easily run a lot better than odds of 25/1 suggest.
The plight of jumps racing in the north has been a topic of much debate in recent years and the victory of the Tim Easterby-trained Hawk High in the 2014 Fred Winter is the only one from the region in the last four years. Brian Ellison trains just down the road from Easterby in Norton and will be hoping he can make his presence felt at the 2017 Festival, with no joy from his 30 runners at the meeting to date.
Altior casts a large shadow over the market for the Arkle, but Forest Bihan (147p) is one of the most exciting prospects in Ellison's yard and is well worth his place in the field following a decisive success in the Lightning Novices' Chase at Doncaster. He remains open to more improvement and could reward each-way support at a general 20/1. Meanwhile, Nietzsche (126) remains potentially well-treated from a mark just 7 lb higher than when successful at Catterick last time and looks the type to be suited by a well-run race in the Fred Winter.
Ben Pauling is the newest addition to the training ranks in this list, having only sent out his first runner at the Festival in 2014. He has tasted defeat at the meeting on six further occasions since, including with last year's Albert Bartlett fourth, Barters Hill. Barters Hill will not be among Pauling's squad this time round, having suffered a serious tendon injury earlier this season, but the trainer will still be well-represented as he attempts to get off the mark.
Willoughby Court (146p) was an authoritative winner of the Leamington Novices' Hurdle at Warwick in January and runner-up Gayebury gave the form a significant boost at the weekend. Pauling's charge is certainly worth a second look in one of the novice events at the Festival (entered in both the Neptune and the Albert Bartlett), a comment that also applies to High Bridge (142p) in the Supreme. Last year's Champion Bumper sixth is unbeaten in three starts over hurdles and is likely to be travelling better than most as they turn in for what looks an open renewal of the race.
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