Weather could be pointing Banbridge towards Gold Cup tilt

A tantalising Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup bid for King George hero Banbridge appears “more likely at this stage”, with Joseph O’Brien continuing to keep a close eye on conditions ahead of the Cheltenham Festival.

Ronnie Bartlett’s nine-year-old relished a step up to three miles over fences at Kempton Park at Christmas, inflicting an agonising defeat on French raider Il Est Francais in the Boxing Day feature after a fine ride from Paul Townend.

A rematch with Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm’s chaser in either the Queen Mother Champion Chase or Ryanair Chase remains a possibility, with Banbridge holding an entry for all three feature chases at the Festival, but O’Brien is tentatively eyeing a shot at the blue riband if the sun continues to shine at Prestbury Park.

“I suppose the way the weather is looking at the moment it would suggest the Gold Cup is more likely at this stage,” said O’Brien.

“I do think there are a few showers potentially through the second half of the week so there’s no real update on the decision, but it is looking more positive that we could have a tilt at the Gold Cup.

“He’s preparing well for Cheltenham and his training has been very nice. The Gold Cup is a very special race and if we were to have a runner in it then it would be a special experience.”

Conditions in the Cotswolds on Tuesday afternoon were advertised as soft, good to soft in places on both the Old and New courses, but with temperatures rising, there is a real chance Banbridge could encounter his preferred going at the Festival for the first time since winning the Martin Pipe in 2022.

He is listed as the general 4-1 second-favourite in the Gold Cup market for the mammoth task of downing dual winner Galopin Des Champs, but O’Brien feels there are plenty of other dangers among the possible Gold Cup field to also consider.

The Owning Hill handler added: “He’s never raced against Galopin Des Champs before, but there are a lot more horses in there other than Banbridge that are in the mix for the race and we’re very realistic about what kind of race the Gold Cup is.”

Banbridge formed part of a thrilling Grade One treble for O’Brien over the Christmas perio,d with Solness and Home By The Lee both striking on home soil at Leopardstown to put the icing on the King George victory.

Both carry major hopes in their respective Cheltenham, with Solness proving his festive success was no fluke when adding to his big-race haul at the Dublin Racing Festival and now as short as 13-2 for the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase on day two.

Danny Mullins proved a more than able deputy to J J Slevin in Solness’ most recent triumph, but O’Brien is hopeful Slevin could return to the saddle at Cheltenham.

O’Brien continued: “I’m very much looking forward to the Champion Chase and he’s in good shape and preparing well also. A dryish forecast would be a positive for him and we’re looking forward to it.

“J J is a big part of the yard and it would be great if he could ride him. His retained owners (Simon Munir and Isaac Souede) have a couple of entries in there, so if he has to ride one of them then obviously Danny has got a great tune out of the horse this year as well.”