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Cheltenham Festival: Hard as nails East India Dock can strike in the Triumph Hurdle says Ruby Walsh

Ruby Walsh

Cheltenham Festival, Horse Racing Tips

7mo ago

*Paddy Power is now Non Runner Money Back for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. That means that if your selection does not line up in the race you back it in for any reason – you will now get your stake back. TC’s apply.

*Paddy also has the more traditional ante-post market where you will lose your stake if your selection doesn’t run in the race for whatever reason.

Paddy Power Media’s ‘From The Horse’s Mouth’ podcast ‘Cheltenham Countdown’ is back as host Tom Nugent picks the brains of the Cheltenham Festival’s winning-most jockey turned TV pundit Ruby Walsh and well-known journalist and broadcaster Rory Delargy for their best Cheltenham betting tips.

In the fourth episode of this year’s series, the gang have looked at the Triumph Hurdle ahead of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.

RUBY WALSH

They didn’t go that quick in the Juvenile Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival. Obviously Sainte Lucie ran too free, she gave herself no chance, but watching the race, the place to be was towards the front.

Yet the first four in running ended up the last four and the four that raced at the back – ended up at the front. It was a strange watch.

Hello Neighbour settled better than he did at Christmas time, jumped really well and while he’s a 14-furlong winner on the Flat, he had the pace to win over 10 furlongs. He stays 2m, yet he has speed too and he jumps really well.

I’d imagine the gallop that East India Dock or something else will go in the Triumph Hurdle would really suit Hello Neighbour. Still, four of them went by the winning post with four lengths between them, first to fourth.

They’re either four really good ones or they’re all not great. You’d love one to have just gone away from the rest. Hello Neighbour was the best on the day but you’d love him to just put a couple of lengths between himself and the rest of the pack.

Then you’d have said: ‘Yeah, bring him to take on East India Dock and Lulamba at Cheltenham’, but the fact that he only went and won by three parts of a length kind of makes me question the form.

The major players

Lulamba was very good when he beat Mondo Man at Ascot on debut despite giving him a good chunk of weight.

Mondo Man is a 111-rated Flat horse and he’s better in that code than Hello Neighbour or Galileo Dame, who are rated 97 or 96. That’s probably irrelevant when it comes jumping hurdles, but when you’re trying to get a level on the standard that these can potentially run to, that’s what you’re at.

I had my doubts about East India Dock walking around the ring on Trials day at Cheltenham in January. I was looking at him, thinking he was a handy little bit of a horse who looked a picture. But he’s as hard as nails, he jumps like a buck and gets the trip really well.

When it gets down to it, when they cross the road heading up to the last hurdle in the Triumph is that really long run on the New Course. When it gets down to who’s got the guts for this, I’d like to be on East India Dock.

*Paddy also has the more traditional ante-post market where you will lose your stake if your selection doesn’t run in the race for whatever reason.