Cheltenham 2026: 25/1 Doctor can supply Supreme remedy

Christmas is just around the corner and the greatest gift I could receive would be Willie Mullins to unleash a novice hurdler right at the top of my nice list.

He's the latest addition to my antepost book for Cheltenham 2026 - but not for the race the markets suggest is his most-likely destination. For now.

Pens at the ready... it's time for another game of Willie Mullins bingo.

The hype is, finally, starting to build for DOCTOR DU MESNIL - a Closutton inmate I've been talking up for a while now.

Mullins' five-year-old son of Doctor Dino made a serious impression in a Cork bumper in April, bolting up by 11 lengths under minimal pressure from pilot Jody Townend.

And he didn't beat trees, either. The runner-up Thedeviluno, in receipt of seven pounds and a further 13 lengths clear of the rest of the field, has proven himself to be a useful operator in his own right - as recently as last weekend when second to Doctor Steinberg in a Grade 2 at Navan.

His maiden hurdle victory over Skylight Hustle (a subsequent 21L winner bound for Grade 1 company at Christmas) and The Passing Wife (an eye-catching third in the Royal Bond at Fairyhouse last month) at Gowran Park is strong form too.

After Doctor Du Mesnil's victory in Mallow, Townend said: "He's going to be a good horse. He picked up in two strides and I knew I had them covered. If he can get off the ground at all over a jump, I'd say he will be a very good horse."

I concur - and clearly his trainer does too, for he singled the gelding out as one to follow this season in last month's stale tour with the Racing Post.

Full discretion, he also mentioned the Turners as a potential target - hence the fact he's 8/1 for the 2m5f contest. However, I think such comments are to be taken with a pinch of salt. Kopek Des Bordes was 'one for the staying division' around this time last year. Until he wasn't.

I'm not saying he can't, or won't, end up in that race, but I don't think he should be three times the price for the Supreme considering his potential route to the Cheltenham Festival in March.

At this stage, it's long odds-on he'll make his debut over hurdles during the Christmas period. The only option for him beforehand is a maiden at Thurles on December 20, and I'd be very surprised if he turned up there.

I'm betting it'll be the two-miler for five-year-olds and above at Leopardstown on Boxing Day - or St Stephen's Day for you Irish readers. Here's my thinking...

Champion Bumper heroine Bambino Fever is entered up at Naas on Monday. Fou De Toi and Leader D'allier are four-year-olds. Le Divin Enfant is bound for the Grade 1 on the 27th. Sortudo and possibly Saint Baco, too. Love Me Tender and Davy Crockett are already Graded winners. Heldam and Kanzler are bumper horses. Copacabana needs further. That leaves Doctor Du Mesnil as the obvious candidate.

I've never really bought into the idea that he's an obvious stayer, either. His bumper was over 2m3f, but it was a typical crawl-turned-sprint and he didn't look short of gears to me. What do you think?

If I'm right and he obliges in what's certain to be a warm affair on the 26th, it won't be long before the Grade 1 over the same trip at the Dublin Racing Festival is mentioned - and 25/1 for the Festival curtain-raiser will be a distant memory. That's the theory anyway...

There's a lot of water to go under the bridge, but I think there's a strong case for chancing the Supreme at current prices.

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