Elliott's Cheltenham Hand: Progressive Ballyfad, Fresh Skylight…

Published on March 5th, 2026

Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , Lisa O'Neill has revealed that there will be a decision to be made on where Ballyfad turns up, earmarks Western Fold for the Brown Advisory and her tips for both the Champion Chase and the Ryanair Chase.

O'Neill has praised the competitive nature of Irish Racing, reveals that Gordon Elliot t has some top young horses coming through and highlights one in particular for the Champion Bumper.

Elsewhere she gives her thoughts on the Stayers Hurdle , T he Fred Winter and the stables Albert Bartlett entries with one hotly tipped to go close.

Ballyfad

Ballyfad has an entry in both the Turners and the Supreme . Skylight Hustle and Road Exile are there as well. I can't get away from Ballyfad's form, I think that's quite strong. Talk The Talk just beat him at Leopardstown the last day when he looked like he nearly had the run of the race.

He's improved and progressed all the way through the season, so I've no doubt that he can actually step forward again and run a big race. Skylight Hustle was very impressive at Leopardstown at Christmas, and we haven't seen him since then, so he's in great form at home. He goes there a fresh horse. Road Exile possibly takes his chance there as well.

Western Fold A Contender

Western Fold is a horse I quite like. He's probably a horse we all underestimated through the season. He's done nothing but prove us wrong, from winning a Mayo National to winning the Galway Plate , to running in open Grade 1 company at Down Royal. He then ran a cracker in the Grade 1 Novice Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival on ground that was probably softer than ideal. He's not a big horse, but he has a lot of grit and determination, and I think I could see him run a big race at a nice enough price. He's a nice type.

I think Connor King is sending Oscar's Brother over there now as well, so that probably shakes it up a little bit as well. He [ King ] was a really good rider in his day when he rode on the Flat. He was tactically very aware, knew his job, knew what he was doing back then, and he's certainly showing that in the training ranks as well.

Champion Chase: Found A Fifty

I’m not sure if Found A Fifty is definitely going or not. The decision has yet to be made there. He's probably a horse that maybe doesn't have the class of some of the rest of them. But on the day if he shows up, he could run a cracker and pick up some prize money.

Ryanair Chase

I’m not sure if either Better Days Ahead or Firefox are going to line up there just yet. Gordon's going to make a decision later on. Firefox has an entry in the Gold Cup as well. He has the option of going there as well.

There's every chance that Better Days Ahead might stay at home, but obviously, that's the decision that's yet to be made.

"Competitive" Irish Racing

That is why you enjoy the season here from the time it kicks off. Every Maiden Hurdle , every Beginner's Chase , you're bumping into top quality sorts, you're bumping into Grade 1 company in these Beginner's Chases , and they're taking each other on. That's racing, that's competition, and that's what you need.

Gordon's Young Ammunition

That's what you're always looking for, that longevity with those good horses. There's plenty of young stock in Gordon’s at the moment, and you're hoping that as they progress and as the seasons progress and the years progress, they'll be able to hold their own in the senior ranks at the top level and be those Gold Cup horses, be those Champion Chase horses, be those championship horses overall really.

He's plenty of young ammunition there at the moment, and the dream is for them to continue on an upward trajectory and be able to hold their own at that level.

Champion Bumper Shout

He's got a nice hand in the Bumper this year. A horse that's really caught my eye is Keep Him Company. He won in Leopardstown back at Christmas time. He is a horse that probably races a little bit behind the bridle, but just stays and stays and sees it out really well.

Probably his best furlong was his final furlong at Leopardstown the last time we seen him. He's a strong stayer, and stayers win Champion Bumpers , so I'd be excited to see him. He's probably a horse that is going to be a big, big player.

Stayers Favourite vs Young Gun

Teahupoo has been there, done that, and just got nabbed in it last year. He's a rock-solid horse. You can't knock him. Every day he goes out there, he tries his hardest. I thought he was really impressive and probably put in one of his best performances at Leopardstown at Christmas. He pulled well clear of the rest of the field in really impressive fashion. He goes there with a big chance. That’s very obvious!

Honesty Policy is probably the young pretender. He's a horse with a lot of class. He only goes there with one run under his belt this season. That was in the Long Walk Hurdle , where he probably raced a little bit fresh early on. I thought there was plenty to like about what we've seen of him. And he's definitely got a bit of class, and he'll have a big say at the business end of things.

Mange Tout

Mange Tout could possibly take her chance in that. She's got the option of going to the Fred Winter as well.

Narciso Has , who I thought was one of the bankers of the meeting, has dropped out, so that shakes it up a little bit, and she's every right to take her chance there. Mange Tout is a really nice type, and I don't think she was too disgraced the last day. I think she did herself justice behind Narciso Has at Leopardstown .

She's not the biggest, so obviously if she was to run in the Fred Winter , she’d carry top weight.

Albert Bartlett Contenders

Gordon has got plenty here. Kazansky and Jalon D’oudairies are in. Jalon was an impressive winner at Naas the last time. He's a horse who ran extremely well to be placed in a Champion Bumper a few years ago. He’s missed a bit of time through injury, and then it's probably taken a while for the penny to drop and for him to click over hurdles. But he clicked very impressively at Naas .