It's not too late! Why there's still time to fit in a prep run before Cheltenham

With British racing restarting less than a month before the Cheltenham Festival, some trainers will be questioning whether the best time for a final pre-festival run has slipped by during the equine flu crisis.

In days of old it used to be commonplace to have your festival prep towards the end of this month, with Kempton's big February meeting a veritable hotbed for finding Cheltenham winners in the 1990s.

These days more horses are kept fresh for the festival but plenty of horses have still gone on to success at Cheltenham having had a run less a month before their big day. Matt Butler investigates

2018

Coo Star Sivola, Presenting Percy, Delta Work, Pacha Du Polder, Blow By Blow

Five horses ran within four weeks of their festival success last year, including current Gold Cup favourite Presenting Percy. The Pat Kelly-trained runner, the only one of the five to win a Grade 1 at Cheltenham, finished second in the Red Mills Chase 25 days before routing the opposition in the RSA Chase.

A recent run clearly didn’t leave a mark on the likes of Coo Star Sivola (Ultima), Pacha Du Polder (Foxhunter) and Delta Work (Pertemps), who all had to scrap up the famous hill to win by a neck or less.

Presenting Percy: has won at the last two Cheltenham Festivals after a relatively late prep runCredit: Michael Steele (Getty Images)

2017
Labaik, Apple’s Jade, Tully East, Supasundae, Flying Tiger, Presenting Percy, Road To Respect, Domesday Book, Champagne Classic

Nine horses achieved the feat in 2017, although perhaps it is unfair to count enigmatic Supreme victor Labaik, as he simply jogged home 100 lengths behind at Naas after almost refusing to race at the start.

Seven of the nine were trained in Ireland, with only Presenting Percy winning his prep race at Fairyhouse. He would go on to win the Pertemps, a race where six of the last seven winners ran in the preceding 28 days.

2016
Annie Power, Minella Rocco, Ballyalton, Mall Dini, Cause Of Causes

Annie Power’s excellent Champion Hurdle triumph came 27 days after a leisurely prep race against two rivals at Punchestown. Punjabi is the only other horse in the past decade to win the Champion Hurdle with a similarly short break.

Minella Rocco (National Hunt Chase) and Ballyalton (Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase) both competed in the Reynoldstown Novices’ Chase, a race scheduled to take place at Ascot on Saturday. They are the most recent Cheltenham Festival winners to come from the card at the Berkshire track.

2015
Qualando, Call The Cops, Wicklow Brave

This was the worst year in the last decade for Cheltenham winners off a recent run. Only three managed to build on a relatively late outing, although connections of Wicklow Brave were rewarded for being particularly bold.

The Willie Mullins-trained dual purpose star was sent on a bonus hunt but the plan seemed to go wrong fast as he was pulled-up in the Imperial Cup at Sandown. However, the then six-year-old bounced out fine and impressed six days later when winning the County Hurdle by eight lengths.

Annie Power: won the Champion Hurdle 27 days after a prep race at PunchestownCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

2014
Holywell, Present View, O’Faolains Boy, Hawk High, Tammys Hill, Don Poli

Sometimes protecting a handicap mark can be cited as a reason not to run a horse too near the festival, but four of the six defied a recent run to win competitive festival handicaps – and three of them won their previous race.

Present View may have been hit by an 11lb rise for a Kempton victory in late February, but it proved crucial as it pushed his handicap mark up enough to squeeze into the closing handicap on day one.

Cheltenham Festival prep races: the numbers (2009-2018)

70 Cheltenham Festival winners that ran in previous 28 days
12 Most winners to achieve the feat at one festival (2012)
8 Nicky Henderson-trained winners that ran in previous 28 days
7 Pertemps winners that ran in previous 28 days
0 Gold Cup winners that ran in previous 28 days

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