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Allaho and away
Allaho: has been rated 178 by Timeform for his Ryanair Chase win, it is the highest mark given to a Festival winner since Altior’s 2018 Champion Chase
Tony McFadden of Timeform reviews The Festival – there were some stand-out performances given deserved high ratings, and all were from Irish-trained runners
THE RYANAIR CHASE has looked as though it was going to be one of the most competitive contests of the week, but Allaho proved in a league of his own, running his rivals ragged and delivering one of the best performances seen at the Cheltenham Festival in recent years.
The son of No Risk At All earned a Timeform rating of 178 for his 12l defeat of Fakir D’Oudairies, which is the highest figure posted at the Festival since Altior ran to a mark of 179 when winning his first Champion Chase in 2018.
For further context, it’s worth considering that Timeform’s benchmark for a top-class performance is a rating of 165 and Allaho exceeded that by almost a stone.
On Timeform’s figures, Allaho is now the third highest-rated horse ever trained by Willie Mullins, behind only Douvan (182) and Vautour (180).
Allaho, under star of the week Rachael Blackmore, had some high-quality rivals toiling from a long way out, and it is notable that more than half of the 11-runner field were pulled up having been unable to maintain the blistering gallop.
It is to Allaho’s credit that he still posted an exceptional time, despite going faster than ideal early on, and he is fully deserving of his new status as the highest-rated horse in training on Timeform’s figures.
He took that title from stablemate Chacun Pour Soi (176), who had been the standout performer in the 2m division and looked set to finally deliver Mullins an elusive Champion Chase title when perfectly delivered by Paul Townend at the second last. However, he found less than had looked likely and had to settle for third behind Put The Kettle On (160), who had been 8l behind him at Leopardstown.
It was Chacun Pour Soi’s first race at Cheltenham and it looked like a classic case of failing to get up the hill. Put The Kettle On, in contrast, relishes the stiff finish and battled gamely to add to her victory in the Arkle at last year’s meeting.
Put The Kettle On (Stowaway) achieved the lowest rating for a Champion Chase winner since Voy Por Ustedes in 2007, though it’s worth remembering that it’s difficult for mares to post significant figures due to the 7lb weight allowance they receive.
UNBEATEN STABLEMATE Honeysuckle (Sulamani), for example, is rated 165p – the ‘p’ indicating she may yet do even better – and that figure is good but not exceptional for a Champion Hurdle winner.
However, no Champion Hurdle winner this century has run to a rating of 172, highlighting how difficult it is going to be for anything to successfully give her 7lb. It might be a while before her unbeaten sequence, which stands at 11, is finally snapped.
Those mares are both trained by Henry de Bromhead, who completed a historic treble when Minella Indo (Beat Hollow) led home stablemate A Plus Tard in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Frodon set a sound gallop which provided the sort of examination of jumping and stamina you would hope to see in a Gold Cup. The front trio – completed by dual winner Al Boum Photo, who was beaten on merit – pulled a long way clear of the remainder and Minella Indo’s rating of 175 is the best for a Gold Cup winner since Don Cossack ran to a figure of 181 in 2016.
It was also of similar merit to the performances produced by Bobs Worth and Long Run (both 176), who were two of the better winners in the past decade. Champ was a huge disappointment, pulled up in the early stages after jumping poorly, but it’s worth noting that he beat Minella Indo and Allaho in last season’s RSA Chase, so is worth another chance given the strength of that form.
Champ’s trainer Nicky Henderson enjoyed better times with Shishkin (Sholokhov), whose easy success in the Sporting Life Arkle earned him a rating of 171P.
That is the highest awarded to a novice chaser this season – in what is an exceptional crop – and it will be fascinating to see how high he can go. The benchmarks to watch out for are the peak ratings set by stablemates Altior (180) and Sprinter Sacre (192). He is already a short-priced favourite for next season’s Champion Chase, though Mullins has also suggested Allaho could drop back in trip. A clash between the pair is an exciting prospect.
On the same afternoon that Allaho blitzed his rivals, the Yeats gelding Flooring Porter (164) also delivered a dominant display from the front in the Stayers’ Hurdle. He had been beaten in handicap company earlier in the season, but has progressed rapidly and his three-and-a-quarter-length success identifies him as the best Stayers’ Hurdle winner since Thistlecrack in 2016.
The novice hurdle division is headed by Appreciate It (160p), whose 24l victory in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle was the best performance in the race since Altior beat a stellar field in 2016.
The son of Jeremy is a pound ahead of Ballymore winner Bob Olinger (Sholokhov), whose smooth success was the secondbest performance in that race this century, behind only Simonsig’s effort in 2012. Both are excellent prospects for novice chasing next season.
