Cheltenham Festival Market Movers - 30/12/21

Fil Dor is now unbeaten in 3 runs over hurdles since joining the Gordon Elliott stable, winning by 16 lengths at a canter at Down Royal on hurdles debut before readily landing the Grade Three Fairyhouse Bar One Juvenile Hurdle in a likeable fashion.

The son of Doctor Dino took another step up on Boxing day and looked to have improved vastly once more, winning again, this time at Grade Two level, and lengthening what was a mere 1.5 length victory over Lunar Power at Fairyhouse, to a now 7 length margin when the pair faced off again at Leopardstown.

It's hard to knock the progressive nature of Fil Dor and he has naturally seen his price of 4/1 for the festivals Triumph Hurdle now cut into being as short as 5/2 to make him the current standing favourite for the contest.

Already a well fancied favourite for next years Arkle Chase, that didn't stop antepost punters from piling in further to cut the already short 3/1 price for Willie Mullins' Ferny Hollow into a mere 7/4 for Cheltenham festival spoils.

Despite racing keenly in the early stages of the Grade One Racing Post Novice Chase at Leopardstown on Sunday, the son of Westerner showed a real engine to make all from the front that day and demonstrated a willing toughness when hard pressed by his closest market rival on the run in to the line.

A £300,000 purchase, Ferny Hollow has been well fancied for the Arkle ever since his 2020 Champion Bumper victory, beating the likes of Appreciate It and Third Time Lucki; he has remained unbeaten ever since that win, is 3 from 3 over obstacles, and now 2 from 2 over fences and a Grade One scorer.

It's hard to dampen his claims.

Klassical Dream made it 2 from 2 over the 3 mile trip at Leopardstown for Willie Mullins, landing the Grade One Dornan Engineering Christmas Hurdle on the back of an 8 month layoff.

A 3-time Grade One winner over 2 miles, Klassical Dream was a highly impressive 9-length winner of the Punchestown Champion Stayers Hurdle when last seen on his final run of last season, his first attempt at this new trip.

The son of Dream Well started quickly on his return to string out his field of rivals and was happy to take a breath, allow for a reduced lead before 3 out to load up again, before stretching clear once more to keep on strongly in the run in.

He's entitled to come on plenty for that comeback run, can continue to progress over his new trip, and this classy type looks like he'll take all the beating come March given he is 1 from 1 at Cheltenham.

He duly saw his price of 9/2 cut into 11/4 for the festival on the back of that returning win.

It was hard not to be massively impressed by the way Galopin Des Champs took to chasing first time out at Leopardstown, winning his beginners chase by an unchallenged 22 length margin with a fine round of jumping.

The son of Timos won the Martin Pipe at the Cheltenham festival in March and was subsequently a deserving Grade One winner over hurdles in the Irish Mirror Novice Hurdle at Punchestown on his final run of last season by an easy 12 lengths.

Willie Mullins' gelding was always bought with the intention of becoming a world-class chaser and his latest win has marked the first steps into fulfilling that potential.

It's difficult to oppose shrewd punters who were happy to pile into his previous price of 11/2 for the Brown Advisory; that value is now nothing but a distant memory given his performance has caused a huge cut into a mere 6/4 to land the affair.