Cheltenham 2026: 12/1 and 33/1 entries to the antepost book

It wasn't such a merry Christmas for my Cheltenham 2026 antepost book. Doctor Du Mesnil fluffed his lines and if he is bound for the Festival, which is far from certain, it almost certainly won't be the Supreme. Majborough was beat, too, though he still has a chance - and Paul Townend has opted against riding Sortudo for the Grade 1 Ballymore Novices' Hurdle at Naas on Friday.

So, I'm starting the new year with a couple of entries - at 12/1 and 33/1 - that look to have sure targets, and claims, for March.

Henry de Bromhead has won two of the last five renewals of the Mares' Novices' Hurdle, and in ECHOING SILENCE I think he's got a good chance of making it three in six.

The six-year-old daughter of Doyen was a £410k purchase for prominent owner Kenny Alexander, of Honeysuckle fame, at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival sales, so naturally there was no shortage of disappointment when she finished fifth of 16, beaten 20 lengths, in a maiden hurdle at Navan that December.

However, she made amends in a bumper at Down Royal exactly 100 days later, before opening her account over hurdles on this season's reappearance at Cork in November.

She gave weight and a six-length beating to Jonathan Sweeney's Divaboriva, who made fellow Mares' Novices' Hurdle hopeful Place De La Nation work for her victory at Thurles subsequently, and the rest of the field, including next-time-out winners Barra Run and Flashaway, were a further four-and-a-half lengths adrift.

That earned the selection a shot at Listed honours at Punchestown before Christmas, against five rivals including Switch From Diesel - a classy bumper horse (twice second to Bambino Fever, including in a Grade 1 at the Punchestown Festival) whose hurdling debut at Navan wasn't without promise.

Echoing Silence beat her by almost three lengths in County Kildare, at a time when De Bromhead's yard was completely out of form. Her performance should be marked up.

She's clearly blessed with untapped potential, and I found it very interesting that De Bromhead suggested going straight to Cheltenham in his post-race interview on account of the "big mare" being so straightforward.

The Knockeen handler is as good as any for getting one spot on for the Festival, so I wouldn't be at all worried about the layoff either.

Her absence could result in getting a bigger price nearer to March, which from an antepost perspective is of course a bit of a worry, but at the same time I don't see much to emerge in this division in the meantime and if anything fluffs its lines, her price could go the other way, so I'm getting her on the team now.

Is Final Demand the real deal? Winner of the Brown Advisory in March and possibly the Gold Cup 12 months later?

Maybe. Willie Mullins' seven-year-old looks a serious talent. He's won five of his six starts under rules, including three Grade 1s, by a combined 64 lengths.

However, I don't think it's unfair to suggest there's not much substance to his form - and that defeat in the Turners at last year's Cheltenham Festival is still fresh in the mind.

Connections were bullish. He travelled. He jumped. But ultimately, he was readily brushed aside by The New Lion and The Yellow Clay, by over four lengths.

My immediate thought was that he was simply outpaced, but over time, I've started to wonder if he didn't quite enjoy the famous hill. Or maybe that's just how good he is? Or was at the time, anyway.

For me, he's well worth taking on at even money for what could turn out to be a brilliant renewal of the Brown Advisory.

The one I can't get away from at a huge price is KAID D'AUTHIE, also for Willie Mullins.

The JP McManus-owned six-year-old makes strong appeal at 33/1 - especially in relation to the price of his stablemate Kitzbuhel (8/1).

Kaid d'Authie was just over a length behind the subsequent Kauto Star hero on debut at Punchestown, over an inadequate trip with Mark Walsh opting to ride another in the race, despite jumping to his left throughout.

He was the one to take out of the race for me, so I wasn't at all surprised to see him beat Wingmen by a widening 10 lengths at Fairyhouse on New Year's Day.

That's a similar level of form - backed up by the Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 155 - to those further up the betting for the Brown Advisory, including Final Demand.

Kaid d'Authie has always been held in the highest regard by Willie Mullins, and I think he's starting to show why. He's only six and is completely unexposed over three miles, so there ought to be a lot more to come.

I suspect he's bound for the Dublin Racing Festival next - and hopefully he'll book his Cheltenham ticket in Dublin.

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