Friday's Ballymore Novice Hurdle: Mullins and Elliott lock horns once again The recent cold weather has caused havoc in both Britain and Ireland and Naas’ Ballymore Novice Hurdle fixture was due to take place on Sunday. A frozen track led to its postponement and the card will now take place on Friday instead, with the Grade 1 Ballymore Novice Hurdle the main event. Run over 2m4f, this race is usually an excellent form pointer for Cheltenham and it has an illustrious roll of honour. A field of 10 has been declared for the 2026 running and our expert has assessed the main contenders. Mullins and Elliott lock horns once again Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott account for five of the 10 runners between them and it’s the Mullins-trained pair of Saint Baco and Sortudo who currently fill the first two spots in the betting. Paul Townend rides the former and he was a comfortable winner over shorter at Navan on stable debut. The runner-up has boosted the form by winning since and there should be more to come. It probably wasn’t any easy choice between the two rides but he’s made the logical choice. Sortudo ran in plenty of bumpers last year and he was impressive at Fairyhouse in April, although he could only manage seventh in the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival. He beat the useful Jalon d’Oudairies at Cork on hurdling debut and will appreciate the step up in trip. I’ll Sort That represents the Declan Queally yard and he’s progressing nicely over hurdles this term. This looks a lot tougher however and others are probably preferred. Lord Rouge is a Gordon Elliott-trained runner and he’s up in grade, after winning a maiden at Cork last month. Kovanis has a bit to prove after disappointing at Navan last time out but 50/1 is a massive price. Switch From Diesel was second in a Grade 1 bumper at Punchestown last term but she’s yet to win in two starts over hurdles and it’s hard to see her shedding the maiden tag at this level. Anthony Mullins’ Letos and Denis Hogan’s Frankie John also line up but they are likely to struggle in this grade, although the former brings some decent handicap form to the table. Classical Creek looks ready Gordon Elliott is absolutely flying this season and the winners continue to come. His best chance of success in this race is CLASSICAL CREEK, who made the perfect start to his career under rules with a bumper victory at Down Royal last season. He arrived off the back of a 10-length victory in a point-to-point at Tattersalls Farm and you would imagine he’s a chaser in the making. The six-year-old has plenty of size and scope and is likely to get better with more racing. An impressive winner over hurdles at Navan in November, he’s going to want further in time and provided he gets enough of a stamina test, a big run could well be on the cards. Fruit can bloom up in grade Henry de Bromhead was going through a lean patch but appears to have come out of the other side now. The Christmas period was much more fruitful for the yard and that definitely bodes well for the chances of FRUIT DE MER. He won a point-to-point by a wide margin before joining this stable and was first past the post in a Limerick bumper on his first start under rules. Very green that day, it’s no surprise that he learnt plenty from the experience and managed to win over hurdles on his next start. A stronger gallop in this race would probably benefit him too and the six-year-old is lightly raced, which means there’s loads of scope for improvement. Don’t let the big price put you off.
