Read our Grade One JCB Triumph Hurdle tips from Cheltenham Festival ante-post tipster Adam O’Brien below.
Run over 2 miles 1 furlong on the New Course at Cheltenham, is the main championship for juvenile, or 4-year-old hurdlers at the Cheltenham Festival.
Triumph Hurdle 2024 Tips
CIARAN: The market move on Lulamba before his debut was like I had never seen before. 33s, 20s, 10s, 5s 4/1 in what seemed like a blink of an eye. The horse hadn’t even set foot on a UK racecourse. He must have picked up Con Hill, Sir Gino and Jonbon and overtook Nicky in the Range Rover. Surely this was all hype. But then he gave 10 pounds and a beating to a half a million pounds Mondo Man who was rated 110 on the flat and did it as he liked. He is the worthy fav and for once, I don’t see much in Ireland to challenge. But East India Dock has looked impressive in 2 course starts and connections seem bullish about his chances. I got to this sentence ready to lay but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I have a gut feeling that this might be another special one for Hendo and the Donnellys. Verdict: Back Lulamba (7/4 with William Hill)ADAM: Lulamba was the talking horse for several weeks leading up to his UK debut at Ascot in January and his price for the Triumph Hurdle plummeted during that time. There wasn’t a day that went by whereby a bookmaker didn’t cut him by a point or more. He then backed up the hype by winning on debut and giving 10lb to smart flat type in Mondo Man. He shortened further for the Triumph and kept getting backed as if he’d won in March already. There is no denying the horse’s ability and hype but he’s short enough for a Triumph in which he has a serious rival. East India Dock has the form, and Cheltenham experience, and has boasted good time/rating figures on all his starts. He’s a real player and the difference in price between them is too big. The challenge from Ireland is surprisingly thin this year (they have won every Triumph bar 1 since 2016) so the race lacks huge depth, but there is still a danger in the recent DRF winner, Hello Neighbour. He seems to be the best of the Irish and is open to further improvement come March. It might be that Lulamba is the next Sir Gino, but like his stablemate, he has competition to win his race and at the price he’s a lay for me. Verdict: Back East India Dock (9/4 with Betfred)