Jamie Snowden is considering a return to hurdles for his eight-year-old Ga Law. After a rare subpar performance in the December Gold Cup at Cheltenham, Snowden believes there were valid reasons for Ga Law's below-par showing.

Having gone close in the Paddy Power Gold Cup in November, Snowden felt that the December Gold Cup came a bit too soon after a tough race, and the softer ground was not ideal. "It was a culmination of three things. He had a hard race in the Paddy Power, and it probably came a little bit too soon. He was carrying more weight, and the ground was softer than he likes," Snowden explained.

Snowden is now weighing his options for Ga Law, which could include stepping up into graded company or returning to hurdles for the Cleeve Hurdle. "We could look at the race he won last year back at Cheltenham on Trials Day, but the handicapper isn’t going to drop us that much, maybe a pound or two. The two horses who dominated on Saturday (Gemirande and Madara) are weighted much lower than us, so if they run, we’d still be giving them lumps of weight. We are where we are. We’re either stepping up into graded company or giving lumps of weight away in a handicap."

Ga Law has previously run over hurdles on soft ground, which he does not favor. Therefore, the Cleeve Hurdle on Trials Day presents an intriguing option. "The only two times we’ve run him over hurdles, it has been on soft ground, which he doesn’t enjoy, so other than going up in grade, the other option is the Cleeve."

McCoy Contractors Cleeve Hurdle 2024
£70,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus, 2m 7f 213y, Class 1
7 ran
Going: Good to Soft

Year Horse Owner Trainer Weight Jockey SP

1990 Beech Road Tony Geake Toby Balding 8-12-00 Richard Guest 1/3 f
1991 Crystal Spirit Paul Mellon Ian Balding 4-10-09 Jimmy Frost 4/1
1992 Abandoned
1993 Muse White Horse Racing Ltd David Elsworth 6-11-08 Paul Holley 11/4
1994 Flakey Dove John Price Richard Price 8-11-03 Richard Dunwoody 4/1 cf
1995 Mudahim K W Bell Chris Broad 9-11-08 Norman Williamson 13/2
1996 Abandoned
1997 Large Action Brian Stewart-Brown Oliver Sherwood 9-11-08 Jamie Osborne 8/15 f
1998 Mistinguett John Duggan Nigel Twiston-Davies 6-11-03 Carl Llewellyn 100/30
1999 Lady Rebecca Kinnersley Optimists Venetia Williams 7-11-03 Norman Williamson 6/4 f
2000 Lady Rebecca Kinnersley Optimists Venetia Williams 8-11-03 Norman Williamson Evens f
2001 Lady Rebecca Kinnersley Optimists Venetia Williams 9-11-03 Norman Williamson 7/1
2002 Kates Charm Norma Kelly Robert Alner 9-11-03 Mick Fitzgerald 3/1
2003 Classified David Johnson Martin Pipe 7-11-08 Tony McCoy 8/11 f
2004 Crystal D’Ainay Tony & Jeni Fisher Alan King 5-11-04 Jimmy McCarthy Evens f
2005 Patriarch Express A W Muir Sue Smith 8-11-00 Jim Culloty 8/1
2006 Fire Dragon Gay Smith Jonjo O’Neill 5-11-00 Tony McCoy 16/1
2007 Blazing Bailey Three Line Whip Alan King 5-11-00 Robert Thornton 14/1
2008 Inglis Drever Andrea & Graham Wylie Howard Johnson 9-11-08 Richard Johnson 11/8 f
2009 Big Buck’s The Stewart Family Paul Nicholls 6-11-00 Ruby Walsh 7/2
2010 Tidal Bay Andrea & Graham Wylie Howard Johnson 6-11-00 Brian Hughes 14/1
2011 Grands Crus Roger Stanley & Yvonne Reynolds III David Pipe 6-11-04 Tom Scudamore 2/1 f
2012 Big Buck’s The Stewart Family Paul Nicholls 9-11-08 Ruby Walsh 1/4 f
2013 Reve De Sivola Paul Duffy Diamond Partnership Nick Williams 8-11-08 Richard Johnson 15/8 f
2014 Knockara Beau Alistair Charlton George Charlton 11-11-00 Jan Faltejsek 66/1
2015 Saphir Du Rheu The Stewart Family Paul Nicholls 6-11-04 Sam Twiston-Davies 3/1
2016 Thistlecrack John & Heather Snook Colin Tizzard 8-11-08 Tom Scudamore 4/5f
2017 Unowhatimeanharry J P McManus Harry Fry 9-11-08 Barry Geraghty 10/11 f
2018 Agrapart The Gascoigne Brookes P’ship Nick Williams 7-11-06 Lizzie Kelly 9/1
2019 Paisley Park Andrew Gemmell Emma Lavelle 7-11-06 Aidan Coleman 100/30f
2020 Paisley Park Andrew Gemmell Emma Lavelle 8-11-06 Aidan Coleman 4/6f
2021 ABANDONED
2022 Paisley Park Andrew Gemmell Emma Lavelle 10 11-6 Aidan Coleman 5/1
2023 Gold Tweet Agv Karwin Stud, Gabriel Leenders Et Al Gabriel Leenders 6 11-2 Johnny Charron 14/1
2024 Noble Yeats Robert Waley-Cohen Emmet Mullins 9 11-2 Harry Cobden 3/1