The Cheltenham Festival is undoubtedly the focal point of Britain and Ireland's jump racing season. The event's curtain-raiser is the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, an exciting two-mile speed test featuring the best up-and-coming horses from Ireland and Britain. Mullins has won this race six times, and Shiskin scored for Henderson (his fourth race win) in 2019. The race is already generating a lot of hype and debate as to the Cheltenham Festival opener. This article will examine some contenders to watch when the action goes down. Here are some of the leading contenders for Cheltenham Festival 2022.

  • Jonbon

Ardent horse racing fans will be eager to see whether Jonbon will finally ditch the tag of full-brother to Douvan. The joint most expensive point-to-pointer to ever sell at auction will certainly achieve this with a win at the Cheltenham Festival in March, but he is already not far away after great races at Ascot and Newbury. Jonbon's Ascot race was particularly impressive as he finished the race in fine fashion to confirm his status as one of the horses to keep an eye on at Cheltenham. His task is no easy one since there is a lot of pressure on him to live up to his hefty £570,000 price tag. However, he is doing well so far, securing four victories in four starts.

His recent Haydock victory wasn't the most impressive, but he finished very quickly nonetheless. What's more, he has a lot of experience adapting to less than ideal circumstances in his two initial hurdle wins. Also, Jonbon has emerged the victor on good to soft and soft ground and when going left-handed. However, it is critical to note that he was below five lengths ahead of Might I at Haydock compared to his stablemate Constitution Hill who beat Might I by 14 lengths. Also, Jonboy tends to become warm and over race. 

  • Dysart Dynamo

Dysart Dynamo is also one of the top contenders to watch out for at Cheltenham. This horse has looked quite fast and slick over hurdles so far in his two starts at Punchestown and Cork, winning both races by 19 lengths and looking very impressive and jumping well. Also, he is trained by the legendary Willie Mullins, winner of five of the last five Supreme Novices' Hurdle. Also, the Irish raider's dominance in the recent Grade 2 Moscow Flyer gives him a huge chance at success since winners of this event often go on to shine at Cheltenham.

However, all of Dysart Dynamo's wins have come by going right-handed. Also, he is yet to run on any ground worse than soft, but this does not appear to be something that will be an issue at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival. He has 3:1 odds of winning the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, so you can place your Cheltenham Festival bet on him to hopefully earn some good money.

  • Constitution Hill

Constitution Hill, Jonbon's stable companion, is undoubtedly the first horse many punters will pick to win the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. Nicky Henderson's Constitution Hill was pretty impressive in the Grade One Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown. His finish at Sandown is undoubtedly a great indicator of his ability to prevail at Cheltenham. He is widely known for his excellent turn of foot that has helped him win races with a few strides. What's more, Constitution Hill has won on good to soft and heavy ground alike, so he is ground-versatile. However, he is less experienced than his main rivals, and the Supreme Novices' Hurdle will be his first time going left-handed.

  • Sir Gerhard

Last year, Sir Gerhard won the Champion Bumper, so he is a top contender at Cheltenham because he has a great winning course form. Also, his past races suggest that he won't struggle with stamina, and his speed around last year's Champion Bumper's bend proves that he is fast enough as well. Furthermore, Sir Gerhard has won on various types of ground, from soft to heavy to good to soft. However, history is not on Ser Gerhard's side since only one Champion Bumper winner has gone on to prevail in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle since 1992. Also, his imperfections were brought to light when Kilcruit beat him at Punchestown last April despite struggling over hurdles in the early stages.

  • Kilcruit

Kilcruit heads into the Supreme Novices' Hurdle with the most experience, having triumphed in three out of five bumpers. He is strong, has a lot of stamina, and has competed in Cheltenham and on various ground types several times. Additionally, Kilcruit proved his chances of winning at Cheltenham by emerging victorious in the recent Punchestown maiden. However, he only won at Punchestown after losing twice at short odds on his first two tries over hurdles, damaging his reputation significantly. In addition, the horses he defeated at the Punchestown maiden appeared to be of poor quality, so he will face stiff opposition in this race. Finally, he was beaten by his Stablemate Sir Gerhard in the 2021 Champion Bumper.

  • Mighty Potter

Mighty Potter can prevail at Cheltenham due to his recent win at Leopardstown over Christmas. Also, he has won on yielding to soft and soft ground, so ground will likely not be a problem for him. Furthermore, Might Potter has a lot of stamina and will undoubtedly finish very strongly. However, his turn of foot is weak compared to Dysart Dynamo and Constitution Hill. Also, he will need to jump better since his jumping has been imperfect at times.

Scroll to top