Taking place over a mile and seven furlongs, the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Handicap Chase will be the penultimate race on day two of the Cheltenham Festival and arguably one of the most competitive.
This fixture will be another prime opportunity for all-time great trainer Willie Mullins to add another triumph to his already laundry list of accomplishments at Prestbury Park. And with that in mind, read on as we take a look at Mullins’ chances in the Challenge Cup Handicap Chase.
Dinoblue
Entering as the 7/1 favorite in the Cheltenham day 2 antepost odds, six-year-old Dinoblue has experienced a largely successful 2022/23 campaign that includes a win at Cork and two-second places at Cork and Naas, respectively.
Dinoblue’s strengths lie in her ability to start well – and when she couples that with fluent jumping – it traditionally breeds success for the French mare. She hasn’t proven to be a strong finisher in recent outings – therefore, if she can stay disciplined throughout the entirety of the race and be in the lead at last – it will give her the best chance of holding off the chasing pack.
Saint Roi
A more experienced thoroughbred than his stablemate Dinoblue, third favorite and 8/1 shot Saint Roi, has course and distance form that will hold him in good stead come race day. The French thoroughbred won at Prestbury Park in a Grade 3 hurdle three years ago – and while it was an impressive victory at the time – Mullins will be hoping his eight-year-old can wind back the clock to that performance as he has struggled since.
Subsequent to his triumph at the Festival in 2020, Saint Roi has only tasted success a further two times in 12 starts – but as previously mentioned – horses with the course and distance experience tend to do well in the Cotswolds – so write him off at your own risk.
Dads Lad
Similarly to Saint Roi, eight-year-old Dads Lad has course and distance form that includes a win at Cheltenham as recent as October of last year. Despite a less than stellar performance the last time we saw him, in which he finished ninth and 34 lengths off the leader – prior to that – Dads Lad was in a rich vein of form dating back to July of 2022. The Irish horse was active, running at Limerick, Galway, Killarney, Listowel, and Cheltenham before the aforementioned outing in October.
And he was nearly flawless in every one of those races except for a fifth-place finish at Listowel. He won the other four fixtures quite handily, and if he can find a worthwhile path late – don’t be surprised if he challenges some of the better-fancied horses late.
For those who fancy a smokey in the betting lines, Dads Lad is paying 14/1 with most operators.
While this race may not hold the same sort of prestige as that of the five feature races at the Festival, Mullins will be particularly motivated to win it given it has been one that has alluded his grasp – and you can’t say that about too many National Hunt fixtures.
