Cheltenham 2025: Not long to go now, folks…

First and foremost, my thoughts are very much with Michael O'Sullivan's friends and family after his tragic passing at the weekend.

'Mikey', who sadly never recovered from injuries sustained in a fall at Thurles earlier this month, was not only a rising star of the weighing room but by all accounts a grade one human being also. May he rest in peace.

The Cheltenham Festival is exactly three weeks away and most of the build-up is done - but not all. Here's my review of the last week on the road to Cheltenham 2025.

Wendigo, who was runner-up to The New Lion in the Challow at Newbury over Christmas, remained on course for the Albert Bartlett with a straightforward victory at 1/11f at Wetherby on Wednesday. Jamie Snowden's six-year-old will go to Prestbury Park with a live chance, but I'm not particularly enthused about his odds of 14/1.

Later on the card in West Yorkshire, Dan Skelton unleashed highly-regarded juvenile Live Conti. He also obliged at very short odds to make easy work of a poor field and was installed at 20/1 for the Triumph Hurdle. He could be anything, but at this stage it's impossible to weigh him up against the likes of Lulamba, East India Dock and Hello Neighbour.

Twenty four hours later at Clonmel, we saw another Bartlett contender in Ballybow, who downed Willie Mullins' Ballygunner Castle in a Grade 3 novice hurdle over three miles. They crawled round County Tipperary and it turned into a sprint for home, so we didn't learn much, but Gordon Elliott's Flemensfirth gelding is improving with every run and very much on my radar for the Festival.

Jamie Snowden's Hollygrove Cha Cha won the G2 Jane Seymour Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Sandown on the same afternoon, holding on to deny That'll Do Moss. This race provided the winner of the Mares' Novices' at Cheltenham in 2022 and 2023 - including Snowden's You Wear It Well - but it's hard to imagine this year's heroine troubling the Irish. It's a race that can throw up a shock or two, mind. She's 25/1 if you fancy another.

The Lucinda Russell-trained Myretown has become a bit of a favourite of mine this season and it was great to see him bolt up by nearly 10 lengths at Kelso last Friday having fallen while travelling best in a competitive contest at Windsor's Winter Million Festival last month. I see he's been raised just four pounds to a mark of 127, which I'm adamant underestimates him. He's entered in the Ultima and I'm interested.

A busy Saturday began with James Owen's One Big Bang winning the Pertemps Qualifier at Haydock. He's now guaranteed a run in the Final and is 14/1 to win it. Fair.

At Ascot, The Changing Man got a bit of a freebie in the G2 Reynoldstown Novices' Chase as the odds-on favourite Jingko Blue unseated Nico de Boinville at the third fence and one of his two remaining rivals drastically underperformed. However, he's only been raised two pounds for his efforts and I couldn't put anyone off backing him for a Cheltenham handicap - probably the Ultima (10/1).

Victorrino also shortened, into 12/1, for that event as a result of winning the three-mile Premier Handicap just over an hour later - while Altobelli is likely heading to the Coral Cup (10/1) after his straightforward success in the 2m3f handicap hurdle. He's in the form of his life and again, I couldn't put anyone off.

Other Saturday winners who look bound for Cheltenham 2025 are Golden Ace (22/1 for the Champion Hurdle and 8/1 for the Mares' Hurdle) after her battling victory in the G2 Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton and Blue Lemons (25/1 for the Triumph Hurdle) who looks closely-matched with stablemate Charlus, who's five points shorter, after winning a maiden hurdle at Gowran Park.

Three weeks till the Festival? Not long to go now, folks...

*all Cheltenham 2025 antepost markets are now Non-Runner No Bet (NRNB)

Check out all of Betfred's Cheltenham Festival Odds on our main hub page over on betfred.com

Find more Cheltenham Tips here at Betfred Insights