Soft start to Cheltenham

It’s proper soft ground and Tuesday’s four-miler showed just how much of a test it is, particularly on the chase course.

To see only four horses finishing is a real concern and has cast the future of the race into doubt.

All I would say is that the ground was very testing and Noel Fehily said the chase course was particularly bad.

Momella was fine in the ground in the Mares’ Hurdle but she never really travelled that well.

She’s come home and you wouldn’t have known she had a race.

It seems that the fall at Newbury back in November has really unnerved her and she’s just not in love with the game at the moment.

We’ll go back to the drawing board, do plenty more schooling with her and try to relight the fire.

I was stood at the last to witness Benie Des Dieux’s dramatic fall on Tuesday.

She just came up out of Ruby Walsh's hands, lurched over it and crumpled on landing.

Any one giving Ruby a hard time wants to try and ride a horse around Cheltenham on testing ground.

People will be getting on his back about it, but he’s the Festival’s most successful rider and he’s brilliant around Cheltenham.

He ends up with more chances at the last at Cheltenham than any other jockey and sometimes it just happens.

Two Thursday Festival hopes

Black Mischief  is our first runner of the day in the Pertemps Final (14:10).

We were planning his spring targets earlier this season and decided that we’d gradually like to get him up to three miles.

After getting up to win in the dying strides under Richard Johnson at Haydock over 2m3f, we pressed on and ran him in a qualifier at Wincanton on Boxing Day.

He was a good fourth that day and the plan was then made to keep him back and freshen him up for this.

We change tracks tomorrow, so we should get better conditions but I still think we need the ground to dry out for him to be seen at his best.

The same can be said for Just A Sting  , who really needs better conditions in the Kim Muir (17:30).

Mike Legg, our assistant, rides. He’s a top-class amateur and has previously been placed in this race on Potters Legend in 2017.

He was also a runner-up on Native River in the four-miler the year before and this time rides a horse he knows very well.

He’s won two bumpers on him and works with the horse a lot at home.

All being said, we still need the ground to dry out.

Stamina is his forte, and we’ve actually given him an entry to the Irish Grand National, but he doesn’t act as well on soft ground.

As a progressive seven-year-old novice, I think we’ve got the right sort of profile. He’s in brilliant form at home too and we just need the ground to dry out.

In the Stayers’ Hurdle (15:30) it looks hard to oppose Paisley Park .

He’s been seriously progressive all year and his last start in the Cleeve Hurdle at this track was arguably his best performance to date.

I know you’ve got Faugheen  in there and there’s always the chance of an upset but he looks a really solid favourite.

In the Ryanair Chase (14:50), it looks to be a case of Frodon  versus the Irish.

He has run some terrific races this season and has a great record at Cheltenham.

I think he’s hard to dismiss given his form this campaign and would be the one I’d go for.

Gold Cup on Friday

It’s interesting to see Native River  now heading the market with conditions swinging in his favour.

The Tizzards will have no problem with any more of the forecast rain falling either and he must have a really good chance.

Presenting Percy  is a tricky one.

We’ve seen him run so well at Cheltenham but he’s not had a straightforward preparation.

The vibes are strong but I’d rather stick with those who have the form behind them.

Clan Des Obeaux is somewhat the new kid on the block and the Paul Nicholls camp are very hot on his chances.

The one thing about him is when you think back to the finish we had last year, is he ready to do battle with Native River if they’re upsides coming over the second last?

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