THERE will be some major shake-ups in the Cheltenham Festival antepost markets this weekend.
Willie Mullins, in particular, it set to unleash a number of his big guns at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown.
PASir Gino is the favourite for the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham[/caption]
There will no doubt be some movers and shakers in the Triumph Hurdle betting after Saturday’s Grade 1 Juvenile Hurdle.
But no matter what the Irish do they will have to go some to displace Nicky Henderson’s exciting youngster Sir Gino.
According the racing boffins at Timeform, he produced the best performance by a juvenile this season when winning the Finesse Hurdle on Cheltenham Trials Day and earning a Timeform rating of 143p from 132p in the process.
That means he is now 5lb clear of his nearest rival in the division, Nurburgring (138), and 7lb clear of Storm Heart (136p), who is due to line up in Saturday’s Grade 1 at Leopardstown.
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A steady pace prevented Sir Gino from clocking a notable timefigure – which is a measurement of a horse’s performance on the clock – but his strength up the run-in impressed analysts.
Timeform’s Graeme North said: “I don’t doubt Sir Gino is a top-notch juvenile and will take all the beating in the Triumph itself.
“As at Kempton, he wasn’t flashy on overall times, posting a relatively ordinary 118 timefigure in a steadily-run race.
“But his acceleration from the last was exceptional, covering that distance to the line half a second faster than the 2023 Triumph winner Lossiemouth managed later on the card despite carrying 5lb more.
“The keen-as-usual Burdett Road, a Royal Ascot winner and now deposed Triumph favourite, had no answer to his turn of speed and I found his action on the run-in rather unlikeable.”
Sir Gino heads the betting for the Triumph at 11-8, with Mullins’ Storm Heart next best at 7-1.
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