Ruth Jefferson to make speculative punt on Clondaw Caitlin at Cheltenham Festival

Owned by Drew and Ailsa Russell, the Yorkshire horse is among 27 entries for the two-and-a-half mile Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle in March.

And while there is a typically strong Irish contingent – Willie Mullins is responsible for eight potential runners – Jefferson says there’s nothing to lose with “a speculative entry” at this stage.

After all, Clondaw Caitlin was a dual winner at Wetherby towards the end of 2019 before extending the winning sequence to four races with victories in early 2020 at Newcastle and then a Grade Two hurdle at Kelso.

Quevega was a record-breaking six-time winner of the Mares' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival for trainer Willie Mullins.

The horse was then unlucky to suffer a suspected hairline stress fracture of the pelvis on her chasing debut at Cheltenham, but Malton-based Jefferson has been pleased with Clondaw Caitlin’s two runs this season.

And while she anticipates running Clondaw Caitlin over fences at Wetherby at the end of this month, she believes the mares’ hurdle at Cheltenham over two- and-a-half miles is a more realistic proposition than a steeplechase at the National Hunt Festival.

“We just thought that the race was looking a little more open this year than other years,” she told The Yorkshire Post.

“She won a Grade Two novice hurdle, and while things haven’t gone to plan since then, it would be silly not to be in the Cheltenham race if she came back to form.

“If you’re not in it, you can’t win it. It’s a little bit of a speculative entry – £150 and we don’t have to go any further – but I wouldn’t think that Willie Mullins will run all eight. In an open year, I thought it was worth a go.”

Thirteen of the 14 renewals of the Mares’ Hurdle have gone to Irish-trained runners, with the all-conquering Quevega a six-time winner for Mullins.

This is a year of transition for Jefferson whose Grade One-winning steeplechaser Waiting Patiently was switched by owner Richard Collins to Welsh trainer Christian Williams last summer.

And while six winners this season looks, on paper, to be a disappointing return, Jefferson stresses that there are “a lot of youngsters” amongst her 20-strong string of horses who just need more time to mature and develop physically on and off the racecourse.