Cheltenham Gold Cup, Ryanair Chase and Champion Chase: which star names have been entered?

Galopin Des Champs's hugely impressive return to form may have frightened away some of the opposition in this year's Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

He bounced back from a below-par reappearance to rout his rivals in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown last week, after which his odds for a repeat Gold Cup success were cut to a best-priced 11-8 favourite. He is now the general 11-10 market leader.

And when entries closed for the Cheltenham Festival showpiece on Tuesday it had attracted just 20 horses, down from 27 in 2023 which had been the lowest number in the previous dozen years.

The Willie Mullins-trained chaser is among nine Irish-based horses put in a race the country has won in each of the last five years and seven of the last eight.

They include King George VI Chase winner Hewick and Fastorslow, who had Galopin Des Champs back in third place when winning the John Durkan Chase at Punchestown.

Entries are up for the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, with 19 horses put in the 2m championship compared to just 14 last year.

Those engaged include market leaders El Fabiolo and Jonbon, who are due to take each other on in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot on January 20.

El Fabiolo, a best-priced 10-11 favourite, and Jonbon have also been put in the Ryanair Chase. They are among 32 horses entered for the 2m4½f contest, up from 27 last year.

2024 Cheltenham Festival: big-race entries

Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase (March 13)

Total entries: 19
The key horses: El Fabiolo, Jonbon
Ante-post favourite: El Fabiolo (10-11f, generally)

Ryanair Chase (March 14)

Total entries: 32
The key horses: Allaho, Stage Star
Ante-post favourite: Allaho (5-2f, Coral and Ladbrokes)

Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (March 15)

Total entries: 20
The key horses: Galopin Des Champs, Fastorslow, Hewick, Bravemansgame
Ante-post favourite: Galopin Des Champs (11-10f, generally)

Long-range shout: 'He is open to so much improvement'

By Harry Wilson, tipster

L'Homme Presse
Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (March 15)
Ante-post odds: 20-1

L'Homme Presse is being underestimated in the Gold Cup market, largely down to the fact we haven't seen him since he unseated Charlie Deutsch when 9-4 favourite for the 2022 King George VI Chase at Kempton, but he had 773 days off before winning on his stable debut for Venetia Williams in 2021 and has scored two times after 200-plus-day breaks since, so he clearly has no problem going fresh.

He won the Dipper, Scilly Isles and Brown Advisory in his novice chase campaign in 2021-22 before defying a mark of 164 in the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle that November when producing a Racing Post Rating of 175, the same figure to which Bravemansgame ran when second in last season's Gold Cup.

Williams has given him plenty of time to recover from the injury he sustained at Kempton and given his penchant for left-handed tracks, it looks the right move to have skipped this season's King George in favour of the Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield. He is open to so much improvement and I'd very much doubt the 20-1 available for the Cheltenham Festival showpiece will still be available come the end of the month.