Final Demand’s flawless debut over fences strengthens Mullins’ selection for Cheltenham

There was another winner for Dan Skelton on the final day of the November meeting at Cheltenham on Sunday, but at Navan he was also a reminder that his trainers’ title rivals, Willie Mullins’ immensely powerful team, are hardly out of first gear. Final Demand, one of the best novice hurdlers last season, made a flawless debut over the fences and suddenly Mullins’ selection for the Grade Ones at the festival here in March is starting to take shape.

The style and power of his 13-length defeat to Wingmen – also a useful novice hurdler last year – was such that he is now just 6-4 ahead of the Brown Advisory Novice Chase at the festival.

“He was so natural, wasn’t he?” Mullins said afterward. “He was jumping around the back and taking fences with him. When I got to the third last one I got a little worried that he was getting a little tired, and I thought Jack [Kennedy, on Wingmen] came a little closer. Once they got past the third to last, Paul just gave him a squeeze and a shake, and the next moment he started opening up again. His jumping was so natural, it was fantastic.”

The final day of the November meeting is almost a ‘family day’ at Cheltenham – there was even a mascot race to keep the crowd entertained – but there was a clear hint of quality in the way Joe Tizzard’s Alexei accelerated six lengths ahead of second to last in the card’s main event, the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle.

A number of consecutive Grade One winners, both over hurdles and fences, have won this race in the past and the German-bred Alexei was even quoted at 40-1 odds for next year’s Champion Hurdle after victory at Ascot earlier this month, although his trainer is taking it race by race.

“I thought this was the best I’d had it, but this was another step up,” Tizzard said. “I’m just enjoying what he’s doing right now. I don’t have a plan, the plan was these two and that’s where we are now.”