It was a day of action at Cheltenham and Fairyhouse offering a neat little microcosm of the winter game: dominant yards doing dominant‑yard things, a few upsets to keep the layers honest, and the familiar sight of Willie Mullins casually bending Irish graded races to his will.
Below is the full pundit breakdown, trainer by trainer, trend by trend, and with a little wink to the patterns that keep repeating themselves.
🏇 Cheltenham: Patterns in Precision
Cheltenham’s card delivered a blend of expected winners and eyebrow‑raisers, with several trainers showing why they remain fixtures at the top of the National Hunt ecosystem.
- Dan Skelton – Efficiency Mode Activated
Skelton’s team struck early through In The Age, who landed the Happy New Year Novices’ Hurdle at Catterick before the Cheltenham card got rolling Timeform. While not a Cheltenham strike, it set the tone for the day: Skelton’s novices are forward, fit, and running to mark.
At Cheltenham itself, his string maintained consistency across the card, reinforcing the stable’s winter rhythm.
- Donald McCain – The Value Sniper
McCain’s Inedit d’Amour popped up at 18/1 in the Maiden Hurdle Timeform—a classic McCain move: take a horse with a bit of French form, place it cleverly, and let the market underestimate it.
This wasn’t just a win; it was a reminder that McCain’s team is quietly excellent at exploiting openings in mid‑tier hurdles.
- The Cheltenham Landscape
Across the afternoon, the winning trainers shared a common thread:
- Horses were fit and forward, not needing the run.
- Jockey‑trainer partnerships were well‑established, with no experimental pairings.
- Winners tended to be prominent racers, handling the ground and tempo cleanly.
Cheltenham rewarded professionalism over flair, exactly the sort of day where the top yards quietly pad their seasonal totals.
🇮🇪 Fairyhouse: Mullins, Mullins, Mullins
If Cheltenham was a study in competitive balance, Fairyhouse was a masterclass in Irish hierarchy.
- Willie Mullins – The Inevitable Headline
The standout moment came courtesy of Dinoblue, who survived a dramatic last‑fence blunder to win the Grade 3 Mares Chase Southend Echo.
- Trainer: Willie Mullins
- Jockey: Mark Walsh
- Owner: JP McManus
- Margin: Seven lengths
- Drama: Enough to make Walsh briefly consider levitation
This was Mullins in microcosm:
- A short‑priced favourite
- A moment of chaos
- A recovery that still results in a comfortable win
Even when things go wrong, they go right.
- Gordon Elliott – The Runner‑Up Machine
Elliott’s Shecouldbeanything chased Dinoblue home Southend Echo, continuing a theme of the season: Elliott’s mares are running well, but Mullins’ mares are running better. It’s not a gulf, it’s a gravitational pull.
- The Fairyhouse Formula
The day’s results reinforced the Irish winter pattern:
- Mullins dominates graded races
- Elliott picks up the pieces and the place money
- Smaller yards need perfect conditions to land a blow
It’s a familiar script, but one that remains compelling because of the quality on show.
🔍 Trainer Trends: What Yesterday Tells Us
- Big Yards Are Peaking Early
Both Cheltenham and Fairyhouse showed that the major operations—Skelton, Mullins, McCain, Elliott, have their strings tuned and firing. No “needing the run” excuses here.
- Market Respect Matters
Short‑priced favourites generally justified their positions, with the exception of the occasional McCain‑style ambush.
- Mares Are Having a Moment
Dinoblue’s win wasn’t just a Mullins victory, it was another reminder of the depth in the mares’ division this season.
🧩 The Anatomy of Winning Trainers – Summary Table
🎤 Final Word: A Day That Reinforced the Hierarchy
Yesterday didn’t rewrite any narratives, but it sharpened them.
- Mullins remains the gravitational centre of Irish racing.
- Skelton and McCain continue to show that English yards can still out‑think the market.
- Elliott is consistent, competitive, and just one Mullins wobble away from a big run of wins.
It was a day of predictable excellence, occasional surprises, and the kind of trainer patterns that make winter racing such a rich study.
Silks and Shenanigans 