The Betway ambassador's mind is turning to Cheltenham, with the nine-year-old his first ride of the week...
Thankfully March has already started better than February. It was nice to get a few winners on Friday and Saturday, and now it’s just a case of having a bit of luck and staying in one piece ahead of Cheltenham.
Nice ride in the Arkle
I’m looking forward to the Betway Cheltenham preview on Monday night in London with my fellow ambassador Davy Russell. We’ll be going through all the key races and trying to highlight some winners.
On Tuesday morning I’m riding out at Ben Pauling’s yard as I’m going to be on his A Hare Breath ({ODDS:141982650:33/1}) in the Arkle. I haven’t ridden him before, but he’s a nice ride to pick up.
Obviously it’s going to be very hard to beat Altior ({ODDS:141982659:1/4}), but the race could cut up. If it does, he has a great chance of finishing in the places.
David Bass and Nico De Boinville, who normally ride for Ben, are set to be on Charbel ({ODDS:141982640:10/1}) and Altior.
Copper Kay
It was great to get Copper Kay back on track at Doncaster on Friday. She’ll probably go to Newbury next for the mares’ novices’ hurdle finale.
She’s run well at Newbury already this season and the conditions of this limited handicap should suit her well.
Newbury double
I was really pleased to have two nice winners at Newbury on Saturday. Hello George won the opener really well, although we were a bit shocked there was so much money for him as he’s quite a stuffy horse.
We thought he might have needed another run.
He handles very soft ground really well, though, and we’ve always liked him. Hopefully he can continue to show what we always thought he had.
Aintree could be an option for him and although soft conditions are a help, we could step up to three miles on decent ground. He’s a chaser for next season.
It was definitely a case of which horses handled the ground best at Newbury. Bol D’Air did it pretty well in the handicap hurdle. He survived a bad mistake at the second and he’s a free going sort.
The more he settles, the better he’ll be. The handicapper will put him up again, but he’s going the right way.
Gala Ball handles soft ground, but it was very sticky and he struggled on the surface. I’m sure he’ll be better when we get some nicer conditions.
Dresden felt a little flat in the Greatwood Gold Cup and he might have just had two fairly hard races recently. I think they’re planning to go to Aintree with him.
I thought Sgroppino would run a nice race, but he’s another who just didn’t handle the ground. He travelled nicely and is one to keep an eye out for on spring ground.
Definitly Red a big player in the National
It was an excellent performance by Definitly Red in the Grimthorpe. He’s such a solid horse and I think he’s a proper Grand National type.
His form is really solid, he never seems to run a bad race. The Last Samuri is a very good yardstick, so you’d have to think Definitly Red goes to Aintree with a good chance.
Great sit by Jody McGarvey
Jody McGarvey did really well to stay on board Great Field at Leopardstown on Sunday.
It’s great for a young jockey to have such a good sit and with Cheltenham around the corner, it’s always good to get some positive press. I’m sure he was a happy man last night.
Joao Moreira
To have eight winners in one day is phenomenal – Frankie was probably crying after that.
It’s not just about riding the best horses, you need to make the right decisions and have a lot of luck as well
Four is my best in a day, so I only have to double that to match him.
This week
It’s the calm before the storm this week. Kayf Adventure could run at Fontwell on Wednesday. He won well last time and hopefully can go in again.
