With just seven weeks until the Cheltenham Festival 2020, all eyes are turning towards those potential runners that are expected to shine at Prestbury Park with Magic Of Light attracting a lot of attention.
An unexpected runner-up in the Grand National last season, the Jessica Harrington trained mare is back on course for Aintree once again in 2020 and like last season, will be heading to Cheltenham as part of the prep. This time around however, it looks like the target will be the Mare's Hurdle as opposed to one of the lengthier chases. Last year she ran and finished seventh in the Ultima Handicap Chase.
In what is only a small deviation from her route to the Grand National 2020, Magic Of Light has already repeated least season's success in both Mare's Hurdles at Newbury and Ascot. Connections are eyeing up another potential in run in February and from there it is on to Cheltenham in March before a trip around the National fences in April.
With 36 entered into this year's Festival Mare's Hurdle, Magic Of Light will certainly face some tough opposition as she bids for even more seasonal glory. For all the best Cheltenham betting offers at the bookies offers head to their expert website.
Mare's Hurdle Contenders
Last year's winner Roksana is also entered and although she hasn't notched up any wins since she is still a formidable competitor from trainer Dan Skelton.
Also set to line-up are the Irish powerhouses Benie Des Dieux from Willie Mullins and Apple's Jade from Gordon Elliott. These two have gone toe-to-toe for years with Apple's Jade taking this race in 2017 before Benie Des Dieux stole her crown in 2018. All things considered, neither performed well in the 2019 Festival with Apple's Jade opting for the Champion Hurdle only to finish in sixth place with Ben Des Dieux a faller in the Mare's Hurdle.
But perhaps the main threat in the Mare's Hurdle lies closer to home in the form of Verdana Blue from trainer Nicky Henderson. One of the highest rated hurdlers entered this year, her OR of 160 overshadows the majority of the entries. The Scottish Champion Hurdle winner has only been seen once this season, at Kempton on Boxing Day.
It was a solid performance in the Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle but not enough to keep pace with her JP McManus owned stablemate, Epatante who took the honours. Will they meet again at the Cheltenham Festival? Both are entered into the Unibet Champion Hurdle however Verdana Blue is Henderson's only entry to the Mare's Hurdle so the plan may be to double their Festival chances and split the pair to give each a fighting chance in their respective races.
Mare's Hurdle Market
With ante post odds around the 16/1 mark, Magic Of Light is by no means the favourite going into this race. Her chances will depend entirely on her competition on the day but for now Benie Des Dieux leads the market and is already a short priced favourite on a general 6/4.
Honeysuckle isn't too far behind and it's easy to see why the Henry De Bromhead runner is causing such a stir. With six wins from six starts, her 100% win record is enviable going into the Cheltenham Festival.
No surprise to see Apple's Jade at the top of the betting market on a general 6/1 and with another opportunity to run at Cheltenham in the Festival Trials Day on January 25th, those odds may drop even further if she can maintain her winning ways.
So can Magic Of Light bring what is needed to win on March 10th 2020? She has the skill and form but whether or not she has what it takes to beat some of the greats remains to be seen.
