The Betway ambassador and champion jockey discusses his three rides on the opening day at Cheltenham, headlined by Lossiemouth in Tuesday's feature race, the Champion Hurdle.
It’s nearly time for all the talking to stop, and as jockeys, all you want is to get down to the start in the Supreme, the tape to go up, and to hear that signature Cheltenham roar. The days and weeks leading up to this are nervy times for trainers, owners and jockeys, so we’ll just be glad to have hopefully made it there in one piece, and we’re heading there full of hope for another successful week for the team.
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (13:20)
We kick off with a red-hot renewal of the Supreme Novices’ (13:20), and I’m really looking forward to riding Leader d’Allier 9/1 in this, who I think could run a big race at a double-figure price. He has a lot of experience from his time in France, which will stand him in good stead in a race of this nature. He disappointed us a little when second to Ballyfad at Leopardstown, but he took a huge step forward to win his maiden at Punchestown a month later, and even though it wasn’t the strongest race, he won it with plenty of authority. His work at home since then has been really good, so even though he isn’t one of our usual hotpots we’d have in the Supreme, I think he could run a big race.
It’s a very strong renewal. I was watching back Old Park Star’s wins back recently, and he’s certainly done nothing wrong this season. They don’t seem to be getting carried away with him at Nicky Henderson’s, though, so the door could be open for one of the Irish horses to come and take the opening race once again. It’s no secret that Mighty Park will be the stable’s first string, and as impressive as he was at Fairyhouse on debut, it won’t be easy going from a maiden hurdle straight into a Supreme. I really liked what he did that day, though, so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if he was able to pull it off. Even horses such as El Cairos, Talk The Talk, and Mydaddypaddy all come here with strong chances, so it looks a very strong race, and I’d say whoever wins it could go on to big things.
It’s then onto the Arkle (14:00), and one of our really strong chances of the week in the shape of Kopek Des Bordes 6/4 . It’s no secret that coming here off the back of just one run over fences isn’t ideal, but this is a horse with a serious level of ability, so if anybody can win an Arkle on just their second chase start it’s him. Lulamba has shown a high level of form this season and has experience on his side, but I just have a feeling I’m on the horse with most natural ability – certainly over two miles, anyway. Although he lacks experience over fences, he’s been to Cheltenham before and handled the prelims, which will help, and he’s schooled so well recently, so we go there full of hope.
The trip being just short of two miles is a positive for Kopek, but I actually think that brings Kargese into it as well. She gets the mares’ allowance, which could be a big factor, and coming back slightly in trip from Leopardstown will help her. That was a very hard race, so hopefully that hasn’t left a mark on her, but as long as it hasn’t then I can see her running a big race.
Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle (14:40)
It’s a slightly different order this year, and although I don’t ride in the race, Willie runs three in the juvenile handicap (14:40), but I wouldn’t say any of them hold too many secrets from the handicapper. Madness d’Elle is a nice horse, but he has his fair share of weight. The same comment applies to Bertutea, who needs to bounce back from a disappointing effort at the Dublin Racing Festival. Mino Des Mottes is actually the biggest price of the three at the time of writing, and I actually thought he was going to be a nice horse at the start of the year, but he’s just disappointed on the track so far. He was better last time, though behind Too Bossy For Us, so he could have an each-way chance at a big price.
We have nothing in the Ultima, so we’ll then be turning out attention onto the feature race, and the public are getting their wish with Lossiemouth 13/8 heading for the Champion Hurdle (16:00). There’s no denying that she needs to leave a poor run at the Dublin Racing Festival behind her, but we’re hoping the cheekpieces will bring back that spark and they seemed to work for State Man in this race last year. If she’s ever going to have a crack at a Champion Hurdle, this is probably the right time, and she always seems to come alive at Cheltenham so I’m really hanging onto that as Festival form is always key here.
Brighterdaysahead is a quality mare, but you’d say she hasn’t shown her best on her two previous visits to Cheltenham. She has had a different prep this year, though, so you’d have to have enormous respect for her. I think the mares, including Golden Ace, will really put it up to The New Lion, who despite being the favourite for this from some way out hasn’t had the best season. He tipped up at Newcastle when we were on his tail with Anzadam, and he had a racecourse gallop the last day in the International Hurdle, so I’m happy to be taking him on, and I think that was Willie and Rich’s view when they looked at this race too. The Skeltons are a quality outfit, so they’ll have left nothing to chance with him, but this will almost certainly be his stiffest task to date, so if Lossiemouth is back to her brilliant best, then I think she’s the one they’ll all have to beat.
That’s me done for the day then, but O’Moore Park heads to the Plate (16:40) with Sean O’Keeffe on board. Although he’s not been in the best of form, he ran a big race at a price last year in the Jack Richards behind Caldwell Potter, so if he comes alive back at Cheltenham then he could get involved once again. I’ll be wishing them the best of luck anyway, so hopefully we can get off to a good start with a few winners on day one!
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