Four dark horses who could enhance their Cheltenham claims at the Dublin Racing Festival

The article was originally published on myracing.com 

The Dublin Racing Festival is swiftly approaching and hopefully there will be Cheltenham pointers aplenty. We've picked out four Cheltenham Festival dark horses that we could see at Leopardstown beforehand and who are well worth adding to your notebooks.

Zaynab

DRF entry: Gannon's City Recovery and Recycling Centre Juvenile Hurdle
Possible Cheltenham target: JCB Triumph Hurdle or the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle 

A number of horses have made themselves prime Cheltenham Festival candidates by running in this Grade 1 event and Zaynab could be one to watch if she lines up. Trained by Gordon Elliott, she won two of her four starts on the Flat, including a valuable handicap over a mile, and made a good impression when winning over hurdles. We don't know if the Fred Winter or Triumph Hurdle would be the target at this point but a big run would put her in the mix for both.

Zaynab13:50 Leopardstown

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Jky: Tnr: Gordon Elliott

Monty's Star

DRF entry: Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup
Possible Cheltenham target: Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup

Monty's Star may well have found 2m7f at Tramore a little on the sharp side last time and is likely to improve for the run too. He has a similar profile to Minella Indo and the Gold Cup at Cheltenham would surely be a suitable test. Galopin Des Champs and Fact To File will be tough nuts to crack but he could easily take third before heading to Cheltenham's showpiece.

Monty's Star15:30 Leopardstown

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Jky: Tnr: Henry De Bromhead

Stellar Story

DRF target: Ladbrokes Novice Chase
Possible Cheltenham target: Brown Advisory Novices' Chase, Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle or the National Hunt Chase

Albert Bartlett winner Stellar Story scored narrowly in a Grade 2 race at Punchestown on his chase debut but something was clearly amiss at Leopardstown over Christmas. The Brown Advisory and the National Hunt Chase could be under consideration and if he bounces back with a solid run at Leopardstown, it will be all systems go for Cheltenham.

Stellar Story13:10 Leopardstown

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Jky: Tnr: Gordon Elliott

Found A Fifty

DRF entry: Ladbrokes Dublin Chase
Possible Cheltenham target: BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase or the Ryanair Chase

Found A Fifty's below-par effort at Leopardstown last time out was excused by the vet, so it's easy to forgive that performance. The Gordon Elliott-trained eight-year-old would have an outside chance in both the Champion Chase and the Ryanair and may well have snuck under the radar this term. A two-time Grade 1 winner as a novice last season, he has the ability to make his presence felt.

Found A Fifty14:10 Leopardstown

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Jky: Tnr: Gordon Elliott

Read more:

In-form amateur jockey eyeing €100,000 Dublin Racing Festival prize with bumper star trained by his father 

Willie Mullins' full breakdown of his incredible Dublin Racing Festival team - including a juvenile 'who can go right to the top'  

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