Cheltenham Festival 2023: Who are the leading players in the Champion Bumper?
By Tom Collins
Champion Bumper Odds20 February 2023
Florida Pearl, Cue Card, Champagne Fever and Envoi Allen feature among the list of former Champion Bumper winners, yet this Cheltenham Festival race often proves remarkably difficult to predict.
Trends will tell you to follow Willie Mullins. The Irish trainer has saddled 12 winners of this race since 1996, but it’s often hard to rank his powerful and well-regarded battalion given the majority will have run just once or twice in their careers prior to their seasonal target down in Gloucestershire.
Betting in the Champion Bumper tends to be pretty tough, but this year’s renewal might lack the depth of recent runnings and two horses catch my eye from a value perspective. Here’s a look at the 2023 protagonists.
A Dream To Share
Form: 111
Trainer: John Kiely
Owner: JP McManus
Current price: 7.6
County Waterford trainer John Kiely may not be fighting with the amount of ammunition as Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott, but he’s no stranger to success at the top level in bumpers. In fact, his first career Grade 1 winner came in a national hunt flat race at Punchestown back in 2000 courtesy of Liss A Paoraigh, a race he also won nine years later with a horse called Sweeps Hill.
There are comparisons to be made between the latter-named runner and Kiely’s entry in this year’s Champion Bumper, A Dream To Share. Both are bred to race on the level and both donned JP McManus’ silks, although the latter is yet to wear the green and gold! A Dream To Share sparkled at the Dublin Racing Festival when last seen, relishes good ground and looks a major player at Cheltenham.
Better Days Ahead
Form: 21
Trainer: Gordon Elliott
Owner: Bective Stud
Current price: 17
Gordon Elliott and Bective Stud have splashed the cash at the sales over the last five years in a bid to find horses capable of winning Grade 1 bumpers and novice hurdles. However, the trainer/owner combination has hit the crossbar in this race with their two representatives in recent times (Queens Brook finished third in 2019 and American Mike took second last year).
They will be hoping that Better Days Ahead makes it third-time lucky, and they have plenty of reasons for optimism after he beat Chapeau De Soleil (more about him shortly!) last time out at Fairyhouse. This expensive £350,000 purchase boasts a nice change of gear, but there’s a good chance that he wants further than two miles already and could be tapped for a bit of toe. Milan’s progeny are 0/9 in this race.
Chapeau De Soleil
Form: 2
Trainer: Willie Mullins
Owner: Mrs S Ricci
Current price: 14
It wouldn’t be the jumps season without a hyped-up prospect from the Willie Mullins yard. Normally they are touted for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, but this year it was a ‘bumper machine’ called Chapeau De Soleil.
This son of 2007 Irish Derby winner Soldier Of Fortune hacked up in a Stowlin point-to-point back in May (form not worked out) for Colin Bowe, before heading to Mullins’ Closutton base and being sent off 4/6 on rules debut in December. He appeared outpaced and green at a crucial stage that day, but ran home powerfully for second and will undoubtedly improve for the experience. Chapeau De Soleil has plenty to find on figures but shouldn’t be written off at a double-figure price.
Dysart Enos
Form: 11
Trainer: Fergal O’Brien
Owner: The Good Stock Syndicate
Current price: 16
In an edition likely to be dominated by Irish challengers, the hopes of the home contingent could lie with Fergal O’Brien’s Dysart Enos. Following a rampant display to win by eight-and-a-half lengths on debut at Ludlow in November, this five-year-old produced a last-to-first performance to deny the highly-touted Queens Gamble in a Listed event at Market Rasen earlier this month.
Dysart Enos clearly has a lot of talent and mares have won two of the last six renewals of the Champion Bumper. However, her peak Racing Post Rating is just 112 and, although she will receive weight from the boys, she needs to drastically improve to hit the required mark in the mid-to-high 130s.
Fun Fun Fun
Form: 11
Trainer: Willie Mullins
Owner: Simon Munir and Isaac Souede
Current price: 9
The first of two high-profile entries for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, Fun Fun Fun hacked up on rules debut at Sligo against inferior opposition before returning off a near five-month layoff to retain her unbeaten record with another visually impressive win.
Her latest Leopardstown success proved that she is capable of mixing it at the top level and Willie Mullins won that Grade 2 bumper with subsequent Champion Bumper winner Relegate back in 2018, so she has gone down a well-trodden path. However, much like the aforementioned Dysart Enos, she will need to take a big leap forward to beat the boys based on RPRs.
It’s For Me
Form: 1
Trainer: Willie Mullins
Owner: Simon Munir and Isaac Souede
Current price: 5.1
Here is your ante-post favourite for the Champion Bumper. Point-to-point form isn’t overly important when it comes to analysing Champion Bumper prospects, but It’s For Me’s ten-length thrashing of subsequent Grade 2 winner Rock My Way has to be noted. As for his sole rules performance, scintillating might be the best word to describe it.
It’s For Me was sent off at prohibitive odds against admittedly weak opposition at Navan in January, but couldn’t have done much more than win by 10 lengths on the bridle in a good time. At this stage it’s impossible to know where his ceiling is and he will look to become Willie Mullins’ 13th winner of the race. Despite obviously holding live claims, the value has been sucked out of his price.
Slade Steel
Form: 1
Trainer: Henry De Bromhead
Owner: Robcour
Current price: 18
Henry De Bromhead and Robcour wouldn’t have too many horses ready to run in a Champion Bumper, so the presence of Slade Steel among the entries is noteworthy. This store purchase doesn’t have a glittering pedigree, huge price tag or breathless victory to his name like others, but I liked how he eroded a two-length deficit within a couple of strides on his first start for connections.
Runner-up Captain Cody won next time, so the form has some substance, though he will evidently need to improve to contest the finish at Cheltenham. It might be inexperience that holds him back rather than ability.