2024 Cheltenham Champion Bumper Trends

The last 10 winners:

• Won last time out - that includes all bar four placed finishers
• If they had run at Cheltenham before, they had won
• Had finished in the first three on a left-handed track, nine had won
• Had won on a track described as 'galloping' or 'undulating'
• Had run in at least two bumpers, six were unbeaten
• We aged five or six; four-year-olds are 0/22 in the last 10 years

Nine of the last 10 winners:

• Last ran at least 32 days ago (exception Ferny Hollow, 18 days)
• Had never finished out of the first three (Fayonagh, 8th on debut)
• Had run on both left-handed and right-handed tracks (Facile Vega)

Eight of the last 10 winners:

• Had won at least two bumpers (exceptions Silver Concorde and Ferny Hollow)
• Were trained in Ireland, including the last seven. Horses trained in Ireland have won 23 of this race's 31 renewals.

How did the trends do last year?

The John Kiely-trained A Dream To Share had no negatives on trends, but the top picks, owing to their connections, were Better Days Ahead for Gordon Elliott and jockey Jamie Codd, and It's For Me for Willie Mullins. 

Each had been outstanding in their bumper wins on left-handed, testing tracks last time out, but on the day finished 16th and 5th.

Mullins' best finisher was second Fact To File, the 16/5 favourite who came into the race without a win last time out, as did his 80/1 4th Lecky Watson.

Who Fits The Trends Best In 2024?

Given the history of this race, it will probably pay to focus on the more prominent bumper performers from Ireland, or more specifically from the Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott stables.

Top of the list at this stage for Elliott is the unbeaten Jalon D'Oudairies, who has won twice on galloping, right-handed and left-handed tracks, most recently at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival. He fits the profile perfectly.

In terms of Mullins's hopes, Cheltenham Listed mares' bumper winner Baby Kate stands out, though she has not run since November. Mullins's Cantico is also noteworthy on trends, having finished third at Leopardstown's Christmas Festival on his bumper debut and followed up with a six-length win at Navan in February.

Also worth watching the Martin Brassil-trained Goldinthemountains, who beat Cantico in what is normally a good bumper at Leopardstown on December 26. It was a big improvement from his Punchestown festival debut fourth back in April.

The leading British-trained hope on trends is Let It Rain, a mare who has won twice by wide margins at Cheltenham for Dan Skelton, including against males in a Listed event at Ascot. She's also won on a sharp left-handed course.

Though four-year-olds are 0/22 in the last 10 years, and the race's last winner from that age group was Cue Card in 2010, two four-year-olds have finished second recently, so it could be worth noting Cheltenham Listed bumper winner Kel Du Large, who should be a big price for Jane Williams.

2023 Cheltenham Champion Bumper Result