By Irishracing.com
Three-time Cheltenham Festival-winning rider JJ Slevin will be hoping he can add to his tally in the Cotswolds in 2025.
Slevin, who holds a degree in journalism and has formed a fruitful partnership with his cousin Joseph O’Brien, was recently confirmed as retained jockey for the powerful Simon Munir and Isaac Souede ownership and will be spotted in the Double Green at Cheltenham 2025.
Here’s a look at some of the hopeful candidates Slevin will partner in his attempt to get on the scoresheet this year at Prestbury Park.
Banbridge
Slevin had to painfully watch on as Banbridge won the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, with Paul Townend in that plate while he was at Leopardstown, but he will be back on board the Joseph O’Brien-trained contender for the Gold Cup as Townend links up with two-time winner Galopin Des Champs.
The Ronnie Bartlett-owned Banbridge triumphed in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle at this Festival in 2022 and has won over fences around Cheltenham.
He stayed the three-miles in the King George without issue to pick off Il Est Francais and Slevin is eager for a crack at the Gold Cup kingpin. Check his current odds for the Gold Cup with the best betting sites.
“There’s a lot of galloping from the second-last to the line, and the fact that he’s able to win over two miles is massive because he should go through the race easier and jump quicker than your average three-miler,” he told RTE Sport.
“We should be landing there doing everything effortlessly and then he either stays or he doesn’t, at the end of the day.
“I think I’ve as good a chance as anyone of beating him at present, looking at the field for the Gold Cup.”
El Fabiolo
The 2023 Arkle winner could be the highest-profile horse Slevin partners in the Double Green of Munir and Souede at Cheltenham this year.
He went off as the 2/9 favourite in the Champion Chase a year ago but was far from fluent in his jumping and Paul Townend pulled him up after a mistake at the fifth.
He has raced only twice since, finishing second to Jonbon at Sandown last spring and then falling in the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown on his return from 281 days off in February.
He only got as far as the second fence that day, which is a worry as trainer Willie Mullins had offered the idea he would improve for the outing.
The Closutton chief has suggested a step up in trip for the Ryanair beckons and it wouldn’t be the first time a Mullins inmate has defied setbacks to thrive in that Grade 1 contest.
Jasmin De Vaux
Winner of the Champion Bumper last March, Jasmin De Vaux is another Double Green inmate with something to prove currently.
He won his maiden hurdle over 2m at Navan in December but has twice come up short since in Grade 1s at Naas and Leopardstown over 2m4f/2m6f.
He retains an entry in the Albert Bartlett over 3m on day four of the Festival in Cheltenham and that could be the race best suited to him, as his jumping hasn’t been an asset so far but returning to the scene of his biggest win could perk him up. Find the best odds for Jasmin De Vaux with the leading betting sites.
Home By The Lee
Stayers’ Hurdle contender Home By The Lee has a long-standing association with Slevin, one that has yielded a pair of Grade 1 wins around Leopardstown at their Christmas meeting in 2022 and 2024.
That latest six-length defeat of Bob Olinger was a reminder he can still be a classy operator in this division.
He will be having his fourth crack at the Stayers’ Hurdle on March 13th and he was third behind Teahupoo last spring. That Gordon Elliott inmate is the one to beat again but Home By The Lee is second favourite with the top betting sites to relieve him of the crown.
