Festival countdown: how last year's favourites fared

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All on his own: Douvan is much the best in the Supreme

PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

By Lewis Porteous 4:49PM 19 JAN 2016

WITH eight weeks to go until the greatest show on turf, we take a look back at who was favourite for the Cheltenham Festival’s Grade 1 races at this stage last year and how they fared come the big day.

Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
An easy win in the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle meant with eight weeks to go the Willie Mullins-trained Douvan was already the 5-2 favourite to follow in the footsteps of stablemates Champagne Fever and Vautour in the meeting opener. He duly obliged, going off the 2-1 favourite on the day and winning by four and a half lengths.

This year’s favourite: Min, 13-8 with Paddy Power and Betway

Racing Post Arkle
A fall at Thurles on his chase debut was swiftly forgotten when Un De Sceaux opened his chase account at Fairyhouse over Christmas and at this time last year he was already 9-4 for the Arkle. A 15-length win at Leopardstown was to follow before he made it three in a row in the Arkle as the 4-6 favourite, making all for a six-length verdict over God’s Own.

This year’s favourite: Douvan, 4-6 with Ladbrokes, Coral, William Hill and Betway

Stan James Champion Hurdle
He was already known as the machine and Faugheen had a stranglehold on the Champion Hurdle market by this stage in 2015 as a 5-4 shot following an eight-length romp in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton. Faugheen headed straight to the festival from there and, as the 4-5 favourite, jumped out and made all to take his unbeaten record under rules to nine.

This year’s favourite: Faugheen, 8-13 with Paddy Power and William Hill

Annie Power falls at the last with the Mares’ Hurdle at her mercy

PICTURE: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

OLBG Mares’ Hurdle
The darling of Irish racing, Annie Power, was still on the sidelines at this stage last year but such was her superiority in this division she was already 5-4 favourite. Come Cheltenham in March, her first run in ten months, Annie Power was odds-on favourite at 1-2 as she attempted to make it a clean sweep of the opening four races of the festival for Willie Mullins.

Majestically she swept into the lead two out and had four lengths in hand on the approach to the last. With bookmakers looking down the barrel of multi-million pound payout on the Mulins four-timer, the unthinkable saved them, as Annie Power went for one final mighty leap but came up short and crashed to the turf. Mullins still completed the four-timer with Glens Melody but it was not the result a stunned Cheltenham audience had envisaged.

This year’s favourite: Annie Power, 4-5 generally

Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle
There was no outstanding candidate for the Neptune at the corresponding stage last year, with bookmakers going 10-1 the field, headed by Grade 1 Challow Hurdle winner Parlour Games.

A top-level success in the Deloitte, and the success enjoyed by Mullins on day one, meant Nichols Canyon went off the 7-2 favourite on the day, with Parlour Games a 13-2 chance, but neither had the armoury to down the Dermot Weld-trained Windsor Park, with Parlour Games runner-up and Nichols Canyon finishing third.

This year’s favourite: Bellshill, 7-2 generally

RSA Chase
Kings Palace sat top of the staying novice chase ranks and was the 5-1 favourite with Cheltenham on the horizon. His reputation was based on a high-class novice hurdle season and two comfortable wins in novice chases at Cheltenham but by the festival he had been replaced by Don Poli, who won by six lengths as the 13-8 favourite. Kings Palace finished sixth at 4-1.

This year’s favourite: No More Heroes, 3-1 BoyleSports, Ladbrokes, Betfair

Sam Twiston-Davies and Dodging Bullets land the Champion Chase

PICTURE: Getty Images

Betway Champion Chase
Just days before he returned to action for the first time in more than a year, the brilliant 2013 champion Sprinter Sacre was incredibly a 2-1 favourite to regain his crown with eight weeks to go. Despite having a host of questions to answer and uncertainty surrounding his wellbeing, the memory of the ‘old’ Sprinter Sacre was proving too great to forget.

While he eventually made a solid comeback to finish second to Dodging Bullets in the Clarence House Chase, he looked a shadow of his former self in the Champion Chase and was pulled-up before the last as 9-4 favourite. Dodging Bullets was crowned the new champion.

This year’s favourite: Un De Sceaux, 7-4 SkyBet, Betway

Weatherbys Champion Bumper
The Willie Mullins-trained Fairyhouse winner Au Quart De Tour topped the betting at 8-1. A sustained gamble on the day meant Moon Racer was clear 9-2 favourite at the off and the money was well placed as he came clear in the closing stages. Au Quart De Tour, a 25-1 shot, weakened to finish 13^th.

This year’s favourite: Aspen Colorado 12-1 SkyBet, BoyleSports, Stan James & William Hill

JLT Novices’ Chase
It seems a huge price now, but at the eight-week marker last season Vautour had been beaten out of sight by Clarcam over Christmas and the previous year’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle was 4-1 for the JLT.

His price contracted when he won the Grade 2 Killiney Novice Chase at Leopardstown and he was sent off the 6-4 favourite. Producing one of the performances of the week, Vautour powered 15 lengths clear of Apache Stronghold, looking every inch a champion.

This year’s favourite: Killultagh Vic, 7-2 generally

Uxizandre and Tony McCoy make all the running in the Ryanair Chase

PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Ryanair Chase
Off the back of his 2014 success, and having run admirably stepping up in trip, Dynaste was 5-1 favourite. As it turned out, he never made it to Cheltenham and Don Cossack, backed into 5-2 for the big day, came up short in third as the greatest jockey of all time, Sir Anthony McCoy, signed off with an emotional success on Uxizandre.

This year’s favourite: Vautour, 7-4 Betway

World Hurdle
Having downed Annie Power the previous season, More Of That was a 7-2 favourite to win back-to-back runnings of the World Hurdle.More Of That never made it to the festival, with Saphir Du Rheu, who returned to hurdles with victory on Trials Day, sent off the 5-1 market leader in March. He ultimately came up short by three and a quarter lengths to Cole Harden.

This year’s favourite: Thistlecrack, 9-4 generally

JCB Triumph Hurdle
It can be dangerous playing in the ante-post market for the Triumph Hurdle prior to the Adonis Hurdle at Kempton in February, but anyone who backed Peace And Co after his stunning 19-length win at Doncaster in December was sitting pretty. By mid-January he was a 3-1 shot and, come post time in March, was the 2-1 market leader. Despite pulling hard in rain-softened ground, he proved he was the best of his generation by beating stablemate Top Notch by a neck.

This year’s favourite: Ivanovich Gorbatov, 3-1 generally

Martello Tower (yellow silks) battles to success in the Albert Bartlett

PICTURE: Getty Images

Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle
Already favourite for the RSA this year, No More Heroes headed the Albert Bartlett market at this time last year at 6-1. With the rain teeming down at the festival, No More Heroes remained 6-1 as the Mullins bandwagon rolled onto Black Hercules, who headed the market on the day at 5-2. Both had to give way to a gritty performance from Martello Tower, with No More Heroes a close third and Black Hercules a well-beaten seventh.

This year’s favourite: Barters Hill, 5-1 Ladbrokes

Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup
Despite having never shown his best form at Cheltenham, Silviniaco Conti looked the outstanding candidate for last year’s Gold Cup after wins in the Betfair Chase and King George and was a 3-1 favourite for the Gold Cup with eight weeks to go. He remained solid at that price through February and March and headed the betting at the same odds on the day.

Seemingly travelling well, he could not match the relentless gallop of Coneygree from four out and by the time the pace setter had become the first novice to win the Gold Cup since Captain Christy in 1974, Silviniaco Conti had faded into seventh.

This year’s favourite: Djakadam, 4-1 Betway

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