WHAT do leading Cheltenham novice hurdle hopes Ballyburn, Tullyhill and Jeriko Du Reponet have in common?

Yes, the trio are all high-class youngsters with bright futures ahead of them, all under the tutelage of outstanding trainers and impressive graded winners this season, but there is an even stronger link between them.

Not only did the Cheltenham contenders each win a point-to-point on their respective debuts, but they all scored between the flags on debut for Wilson Dennison and Colin McKeever.

It is quite the achievement for any operation to have produced a horse with serious claims of Grade 1 success at the Cheltenham Festival, but delivering a trio of top candidates - who for much of the past month have been the top three contenders in the market for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle - is outstanding work.

“Harold Kirk actually mentioned it to me the other day that we had won point-to-points with the top three in the Supreme betting, which is obviously nice,” McKeever told The Irish Field.

“We had a very good day at Cheltenham [back in 2016] when Blaklion and Ballyandy, who we both had here before, won the RSA Chase and Champion Bumper on the same card. I like watching the horses we’ve had continue their careers, and you want them to succeed. Lots are sold for good money and you want to see them do what you hoped.”

Festival targets

The majority of discussions surrounding the Grade 1 novice hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival revolved around where Dublin Racing Festival winner Ballyburn will run at the meeting, with the star novice holding entries in both the Supreme and Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle.

Even before Mullins revealed on Thursday that the Gallagher [formerly the Ballymore] was his target, McKeever was expecting to see Tullyhill and Ballyburn kept apart.

“I’d have been expecting that Ballyburn might end up running in the longer race [the Gallagher] and that Willie could run Tullyhill in the Supreme. He’d hardly be running the two against each other. They’re both very good horses. It sounds like Nicky Henderson will probably run Jeriko Du Reponet [in the Supreme].”

Tullyhill won a point-to-point at Moira in October 2022 under Cormac Abernethy, while the same rider partnered Ballyburn to victory a fortnight later at Loughanmore.

Early potential

How early did it become apparent to McKeever that the pair of four-year-olds were high-class prospects?

“Ballyburn and Tullyhill were nearly telling us how good they were from the word go,” he said.

“As soon as we started doing work with them, you could see they were very smart. Jeriko Du Reponet is a year younger than the other two but was probably in at the same time as well. He would have been in as a three-year-old when they were four, and all three won first time out at four in their point-to-point.

“The day we sent Jeriko to Kirkistown for his point-to-point, I didn’t think there was a four-year-old alive who could have beaten him that day. He was going so well. He did win well on the day.

“Ballyburn is bred to stay, being by Flemensfirth. He’s a big, strong type who will be better when he goes chasing. He could finish up a Gold Cup horse in time.

“Tullyhill is one who I think will be better when he goes jumping fences. Maybe they’d make him think more than is the case with hurdles. The day he won his point-to-point, he made a mistake at the last but otherwise was fairly good to jump a fence through the whole race.”

On how the Mullins-trained pair compare, he added: “Ballyburn is a bigger, stronger horse. That’s not to say Tullyhill is small by any means, but Ballyburn was probably much bigger, bulkier and harder to get ready. It’s tough to compare them. I couldn’t tell you which one is the best of the two.”

Ryanair fancy

The premier novice hurdles are not the only races that McKeever will have a keen eye on. Ryanair Chase favourite Banbridge, trained by Joseph O’Brien, is another high-profile graduate in the mix, while fellow Grade 1 winner Ballyadam (Henry de Bromhead) could represent the operation in the Coral Cup.

“Banbridge is obviously a nice horse too,” McKeever said.

“I wouldn’t have thought he’d run unless the ground is on the better side so hopefully it works out for them, but he’s already won a Grade 1, and at Cheltenham before. He won well last time.

“Ballyadam is another who could be at Cheltenham this year. He won his point-to-point first time up at Portrush. He’s a fair horse too. He mightn’t be quite top class but I think he’ll get there, maybe over fences.”

Cheltenham Grade 1s are not decided on what youngsters show at an early age between the flags. However, if McKeever was asked which of his three graduates looked likeliest as four-year-olds to win a race like the Supreme, who would he put forward as the strongest candidate?

“I’d like Ballyburn [if all three were in the Supreme], but if not, Tullyhill looks the one.”