Cheltenham Festival: Day Four 2023

On a day that saw Shishkin come unstuck (or, indeed, stuck), in soft ground, Envoi Allen came clear to give Henry de Bromhead a near-twentieth win at the Festival. This was another day for the Irish, and not for the French, as it turned out, with Gold Tweet beaten to second-last, and Henri Le Farceur pulled up in the Stayers (Flooring Porter ran a fine race, but was popped in fourth behind now controversy-ridden Dashel Drasher). Nor too was it a day for Captain Morgs (running for the yellow ties of the Albatross Club), as he was pushed back to second last in the Pertemps Final.

The final day of last year's Festival belonged squarely to Willie Mullins. Racking five races (three back-to-back) in 2022, with Gala Marceau, Lossiemouth, Sharjah and Galopin Des Champs, we could be left with a similar picture this year. Gala Marceau, however (who beat Lossiemouth in the Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown last month), faces Gust Of Wind in the Triumph Hurdle, a horse who's been running well of late.