BE FEST PREPARED

Seven dark horses to consider with Cheltenham just seven weeks away

- BY BRIAN FLANAGAN

THERE are just seven weeks to the Cheltenham Festival and the excitement is mounting.

New Year's Day saw the crowds return to the Cotswolds and the expectation is that this year’s Festival will be more like what we're accustomed to after a few recent years where attendances were down.

A number of races look wide open, the Gold Cup is currently 6-1 the field, and the perceived resurgence of the English team should mean there's healthy competition for some of the bigger races of the week.

Willie Mullins has been leading trainer 12 times since 2011 and that’s unlikely to change but his dominance has been under threat at home this season with Gordon Elliott surging clear in the trainers’ championship and it'll be fascinating to see if that also transfers to Cheltenham.

We've selected seven dark horses who could potentially light up the Festival at big odds in seven weeks time.

Ballyfad (Supreme Novices’ Hurdle - Tuesday, March 10)

LOOKED slow and a three-mile chaser in the making in his bumper wins but at Leopardstown on St Stephen's Day he produced a superb performance to dismantle a high-class maiden hurdle field.