Why the Mares' Hurdle of 2012 is proving a key race at the Cheltenham Festival

Everyone is looking for the key races that could point to more than one winner at the Cheltenham Festival and one might be the maiden hurdle at Leopardstown's Christmas meeting in which the first three (Journey With Me, Minella Crooner and Kilcruit) are all single-figure odds for Grade 1 novice honours at the festival.

For a slight twist, the Mares' Hurdle from ten years ago might prove significant. In this case, it's about what some of the runners have gone on to produce in their breeding careers.

Way down the field in tenth place that day was Our Girl Salley, whose first foal Black Tears proved a much more formidable Cheltenham performer, winning last year's Mares' Hurdle after previously having finished a close second and fourth at the festival.