15/03/2022, 04:52 17:30 - Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Standard Open NH Flat Race) (Grade 1) | Cheltenham Festival | At The Races

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15th - 18th March

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17:30 Cheltenham 16 Mar 2022 View Racecard

7 Weatherbys Champion Bumper
Standard Open NH Flat Race | Grade 1 | GBB Race | Class 1 | 4YO to 6YO

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Winner £45,560 - 22 declared to run
2m 87y
Good to soft-soft in places

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Last year’s race

Winner: Sir Gerhard
Jockey: Rachael Blackmore
Trainer: W P Mullins
Owner: Cheveley Park Stud
Age: 6 Weight: 11st 5lb
Starting Price: 85/40
Season Form Figures: 11
Previous Best: 1st - Betvictor Flash Cashback 'future Champions' Flat Race (Listed), Navan
(December 2020)

By Paul Jones

The race is limited to horses aged between four and six unlike the Grade 1 equivalent race at
Punchestown which is also restricted to amateur riders.

Willie Mullins is chasing a twelfth win in the race following his 1-2 in 2021, another 1-2 in 2020 and a
1-2-3 in 2018. That said, Sir Gerhard only moved to his stables around two weeks before the race
last season after Gordon Elliott had done all the main ground work meaning that he has prepared
three of the last six winners.

Of Mullins’s 11 winners, it is worth taking on board that nine of those were five-year-olds with only
Missed That and Sir Gerhard being aged six. His main hope last season, was the six-year-old Kilcruit
who was beaten into second. With the four-year-old, Mercurey, looking like he may not travel over,
Mullins’s ‘big three’ this season of Facile Vega, Redemption Day and James’s Gate are all aged five.

Patrick Mullins gets first choice on his father’s runners in this race but his record of picking the
right one at Cheltenham can only be described as patchy at best winning it just twice though and
the stable’s shortest-priced runner in six of the last seven years did not fare best of their runners
whereas the market has been a far better indicator as to their pecking order in the novice hurdles.

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Gordon Elliott’s big contender this season is American Mike. Like the same stable’s Envoi Allen and
Sir Gerhard, he won the Listed Bumper at Navan in December and they both went on to win the
Champion Bumper. Elliott likes to aim his best bumper horse at that race and also won it with the
future Gold Cup winner, Don Cossack. He is unraced since that victory so will be taking the Sir
Gerhard route in arriving here fresh whereas Envoi Allen won again in between at Leopardstown.

Willie Mullins’s shortest-priced runner in six of the last seven years did not fare best of his

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runners

Respect bumper form at the prestigious four-day Leopardstown Christmas Meeting (Facile Vega
and Redemption Day both impressed at that festival) as it has featured seven Champion Bumper
winners, though three of those were beaten at that fixture. More significant now is that since the
Dublin Racing Festival came to be four years ago, it has provided two winners and two seconds in
the Champion Bumper.

Relegate won the mares’ bumper at Leopardstown the previous month before recording a 25/1
surprise here and Envoi Allen won the Grade 2 for colts and geldings, won this season in
devastating fashion by Facile Vega. The two previous winners of that race, Appreciate It and
Kilcruit, started favourite here off the back of their impressive wins but were beaten into second.

Although bumpers are all about potential, it is worth noting that six of the last 19 winners were top
rated by BHA (if including a mares’ allowance), including three of last seven. One of those was
Fayonagh who became the third successful mare and then Relegate made it four wins for mares in
2018 from very limited representation down the years. Elle Est Belle was third for mares last year.
Official bumper ratings are not usually published but an exception is made for this race as they are
used for the elimination process in the event of over 24 overnight declarations for balloting-out
purposes.

Given the Mullins near domination of the Champion Bumper, the score is 22-7 in favour of the Irish,
despite being responsible for around one third of the runners. It is bizarre that when one nation
wins the race, they generally dominate the placings as well. The Irish had the 1-2-3 three seasons
ago (or more to the point Willie Mullins did) and the 1-2-3-4-5-6 in 2014 and the Brits did likewise in
2003 plus the 1-2-3-4 in 2015. On five of the six occasions when the home team won they also
supplied the runner-up.

The Pipe stable have won it twice down the years, Liberman for Martin and Moon Racer for David
but it’s hard to see where a strong British-trained contender is coming from this season.

The last 18 winners all won on their previous start. In fact, only two of the 29 winners were beaten
last time out, though last-time-out winners make up the lion’s share of the field these days. Once
we have out last-time-out winner, do we then focus on unbeaten horses or doesn’t it really matter
if our fancy had been beaten earlier in their career? In terms of winners, the score is 15-14 to the
unbeaten horses in bumpers.

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Eleven of the last 19 winners had run in at least three bumpers and, during that same period of
time, seven winners were rested having won before the New Year. A total of 23 of the 29 runnings
have gone the way of Irish-bred horses.

In finishing second last season Kilcruit became the eleventh runner-up to have started favourite
so, whatever you fancy, it may be worth thinking about adding an interest on your fancy to beat
the favourite in a forecast. That said, as many as ten second-favourites have been successful so it

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has not been all doom and gloom for punters, far from it with 20 of the 29 winners sent off in the
first six in the betting. The two biggest shocks were ironically recorded by two of the race’s best
ever winners as Monsignor (50/1) and Cue Card (40/1) who went on to win at the Festival again.

At a glance summary

POSITIVES NEGATIVES

The BHA top-rated horse Beaten last time out

Trained by Willie Mullins or Gordon Elliott Outside the first six in the betting
(who needs Sherlock Holmes?)
Once-raced (except if trained by Willie
Mares Mullins)

Ran at the Leopardstown Christmas French-bred

Meeting

Won at the Dublin Racing Festival

Won the Listed Bumper at Navan in

December

Irish-breds

Not run this calendar year

For more betting and trends analysis visit Paul Jones Horseracing.

Latest odds from Stats Guides

Tuesday 15 March
Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Standard Open
NH Flat Race) (Grade 1) (GBB Race) Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1)
Sporting Life Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices' Chase
No. Horse Odds
(Grade 1)
FACILE VEGA (IRE) (39) Ultima Handicap Chase (Grade 3)
7 J Mr P W Mullins T W P Mullins 6/4
Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Grade
1)
AMERICAN MIKE (IRE) (88)
2 J Mr J J Codd T G Elliott 5/2 Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle (Registered As The
David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle) (Grade 1)
REDEMPTION DAY (78)
16
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16 J P Townend T W P Mullins 6/1 Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Registered As
The Fred Winter) (Grade 3)
JAMES'S GATE (IRE) (31) National Hunt Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys'
10 J S F O'Keeffe T W P Mullins 16/1 Novices' Chase (Grade 2) (GBB Race)

MADMANSGAME (22) Wednesday 16 March

12 J D E Mullins T W P Mullins 25/1
Ballymore Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1) (Registered As
VIVA DEVITO (IRE) (97) The Baring Bingham)
20 25/1

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J Mr Derek O'Connor T W P Mullins Brown Advisory Novices' Chase (Grade 1)
(Registered As The Broadway Novices' Chase)
OUR JESTER (52)
15 J Nico de Boinville T H Morrison 28/1 Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3)
Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1)
View full racecard Glenfarclas Chase (Cross Country Chase)
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup
Handicap Chase (Grade 3)
Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Standard Open
NH Flat Race) (Grade 1)

Thursday 17 March

Turners Novices' Chase (Grade 1) (registered As The

Golden Miller)
Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3)
Ryanair Chase (Registered As The Festival Trophy)
(Grade 1)
Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle (Grade 1)
Paddy Power Plate Handicap Chase (Grade 3)
Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle (Grade 2)
(Registered As The Dawn Run Mares' Novices'
Hurdle)
Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap
Chase (Sponsored By The JRL Group)

Friday 18 March

Jcb Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1)

McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle (Grade
3)
Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1)
(Registered As The Spa Novices' Hurdle)
Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (Grade 1)
St. James's Place Festival Challenge Cup Open
Hunters' Chase
Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase (Registered As The
Liberthine Mares' Chase) (Grade 2)
Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle

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Previous winners
Year Going Ran Winner Draw Age Weight OR Form Last Trainer (Distance) Jockey SP Time
run

2021 Good to 14 Sir Gerhard 6 11 5 - 1-11 89 W P Mullins Rachael 85/ 3:55.48

Soft days Blackmore 40

2020 Soft 23 Ferny Hollow 5 11 5 - 1-221 18 W P Mullins Paul Townend 11/ 1 4:06.06
days

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2019 Soft 14 Envoi Allen 5 11 5 - 1-111 39 G Elliott Mr Jamie Codd 2/ 1 3:55.90
days

2018 Soft 23 Relegate 5 10 12 - 11 38 W P Mullins Ms K Walsh 25/ 1 4:04.10

days

2017 Good to 22 Fayonagh 6 10 12 - 811 39 G Elliott Mr Jamie Codd 7/ 1 3:51.10

Soft days

2016 Good 23 Ballyandy 5 11 5 - 1121 32 N Twiston-Davies (1 Sam Twiston- 5/ 1 3:48.20

days miles) Davies

2015 Good 23 Moon Racer 6 11 5 - 1-1 144 D Pipe (100 miles) Tom 9/ 2 3:49.50
days Scudamore

2014 Good 22 Silver 6 11 5 - 32-1 74 D K Weld R P McNamara 16/ 1 3:43.80

Concorde days

2013 Good to 23 Briar Hill 5 11 5 - P11 69 W P Mullins Ruby Walsh 25/ 1 3:55.00
Soft days

2012 Good 20 Champagne 5 11 5 - 121 52 W P Mullins Mr Patrick 16/ 1 3:47.50

Fever days Mullins

2011 Good 24 Cheltenian 5 11 5 - 21 33 P Hobbs (90 miles) Richard 14/ 1 3:51.70

days Johnson

2010 Good 24 Cue Card 4 10 12 - 1 51 C Tizzard (83 miles) J Tizzard 40/ 1 3:48.60
days

2009 Good to 24 Dunguib 6 11 5 - 2-11 87 P Fenton B O'Connell 9/ 2 3:56.80

Soft days

2008 Good to 23 Cousin Vinny 5 11 5 - 1 22 W P Mullins Mr Patrick 12/ 1 4:01.30

Soft days Mullins

2007 Good to 24 Cork All Star 5 11 5 - 111 122 J Harrington B J Geraghty 11/ 2 3:49.90
Soft days

2006 Good 24 Hairy Molly 6 11 5 - 2131 17 Joseph Crowley Paul Carberry 33/ 1 3:46.70
days

2005 Good 24 Missed That 6 11 5 - 011 39 W P Mullins Ruby Walsh 7/ 2 3:52.70

days

2004 Good 24 Total 5 10 12 - 311 79 T Cooper Jim Culloty 7/ 1 3:48.20

Enjoyment days

2003 Good 25 Liberman 5 11 6 - 21-12 115 M Pipe (100 miles) A P McCoy 2/ 1 3:52.20
days

2002 Good to 23 Pizarro 5 11 6 - 1-1 17 E J O'Grady Jamie Spencer 14/ 1 3:57.90

Soft days

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15/03/2022, 04:52 17:30 - Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Standard Open NH Flat Race) (Grade 1) | Cheltenham Festival | At The Races & S…

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