Taking horses over to the UK for this week’s Cheltenham Festival requires plenty of planning for Irish trainers, and this year more so than ever before.
The BHA have put plenty of paperwork on trainers due to the equine flu outbreak earlier this year and that’s increased the workload for the yards preparing to send horses over.
After that, you’ve got to pack all of your feed, your hay, the bedding, all of the racing and riding tack and some trainers even like to bring over their own water.
Hopefully for many of them it will all be worth it as having a winner at the Cheltenham Festival is a dream come true for any trainer.
Mullins v Elliott
Willie Mullins has had a relatively quiet season due to the dry ground and it looks as though he has a slightly smaller team than usual heading to the Festival.
However, I wouldn’t be put off by that and I think the firepower is still there. He has a lot of very nice horses turning up, particularly those in the handicaps.
Gordon Elliott, on the other hand, is bringing over an army of horses - somewhere in the region of 50 or 60 - and would be expected to have plenty of winners over the four days.
They’re very hard to split and I fancy a few runners from each of their stables.
Jack can be Cheltenham’s top lad
Jack Kennedy 11/2 had a very good Festival last year with four winners and could go on and be the leading jockey at the meeting this year.
Gordon seems to evenly share the rides out, but I think Jack will be on a lot of the good ones.
Davy Russell who has of course never gone home from the Festival without a winner, and Rachael Blackmore are obviously in the mix for rides but I think Jack has first call on a lot of Gordon’s horses.
TUESDAY
Champion Hurdle
First of all, I think the Champion Hurdle (15:30) is going to be an absolutely wonderful race.
Apple’s Jade 2/1 hasn’t put a foot wrong all season.
She’s been so consistent and professional, and with her fillies’ allowance you’d have to fancy her.
Laurina 7/2 comes in under the radar a little bit as we haven’t seen her as much as Apple’s Jade.
We know she’s very talented and that Willie and Ruby Walsh hold her in high regard, so you’d be silly not to think she could win this, and then there’s the champ himself, Buveur D’Air 11/4.
For racing in general, it would be amazing to see all three of them jump the last, land upsides and battle it out up the hill.
Overall, I’d just about have to side with Apple’s Jade. I can’t fault her and she’ll be very hard to beat if turning up in top form.
Other races
Another very exciting mare at this year’s Festival is Benie Des Dieux 10/11.
I know we’ve not seen her because of how dry the season has been, but I wouldn’t be put off by that.
She’s got a similar feel to Quevega about her and could easily make it back-to-back wins in the Mares’ Hurdle (16:10).
There’s a horse in the National Hunt Chase (17:30) who I like a lot with Patrick Mullins riding for Willie and that’s Ballyward 11/4.
The pair teamed up to win this race last year with Rathvinden and I think they’ve been aiming him at this for a while now.
WEDNESDAY
Betway Champion Chase
Altior 2/5 has just as much respect over in Ireland as he does in the UK and the Betway Champion Chase (15:30) looks like a race where you’re going to have to bet without the favourite.
Looking at the value in the race and Saint Calvados 33/1 could potentially be in the mix given how highly rated he was for the race last year.
Harry Whittington’s horses are in good form and he could run well and make the places.
Other races
Delta Work 2/1 was very impressive over Christmas at Leopardstown and comes into Cheltenham a fresh horse, having been put away since.
He won’t be a very big price for the RSA Novices’ Chase (14:10), but he’ll certainly take all the beating.
My big fancy on the Wednesday would have to be Uradel 5/1 in the Coral Cup (14:50).
He’s ultra-consistent and to me he looks like exactly the right type of horse in this sort of race.
THURSDAY
Stayers’ Hurdle
I think the forgotten horse of the Stayers’ Hurdle (15:30) is Faugheen 4/1.
He was going well before falling at the second-last when taking on Apple’s Jade at Leopardstown and Willie wouldn’t be running him in this if he wasn’t 100 per cent.
Reports from the yard are suggesting he’s in tip-top shape and that he’s been trained specifically for this race all season.
As a former Champion Hurdler that proved he stays three miles at Punchestown last season, he’s a very classy horse and I wouldn’t be ruling him out.
Other races
Elsewhere on the Thursday and I’ve had a very good word for Walk To Freedom 11/1 in the Pertemps Network Final (14:10).
I was speaking with Robbie Power the other day and he’s very sweet on him.
He was second at Leopardstown over Christmas and he said that if the ground comes up soft he’ll go extremely well.
FRIDAY
Gold Cup
We’ve got a great renewal of the Gold Cup (15:30) on our hands this year and it looks a big battle between England and Ireland.
We had a great race last year between Native River 12/1 and there’s a few more big names on the team sheet this time around.
Presenting Percy 7/2 is one of those and he has to be a big fancy for trainer Pat Kelly.
I know Pat has been getting a couple of good racecourse gallops into him and you can’t fault both the horse and trainer’s record at Cheltenham.
If the ground turns soft then I could see Native River grinding out another big run.
He’s a very hardy horse who will be there or thereabouts if it turns into a real stamina test and he should be nice and fresh having not run since Christmas.
At a very big price, and she may not be good enough to win it, but I think Shattered Love 25/1 has a great each-way chance.
She’s a Cheltenham Festival winner having won last year’s JLT and I know that Gordon has been training her up for this all season.
She also gets a very handy mares' allowance.
Other races
I wouldn’t be put off by the bruised foot that Triumph Hurdle (13:30) favourite Sir Erec 1/1 picked up last week.
It’s a pretty minor thing and there’s no way Joseph O’Brien would let him line up if he wasn’t 100 per cent.
Most of the work would have been done before that point and he’s very hard to look past based on how impressive he was at Leopardstown the last day.
I think he’s as hot a favourite as Altior is in the Betway Champion Chase with the others really just fighting it out for second.
Joseph’s other runner, Gardens Of Babylon 10/1, could place and it’s incredible to think he’s got two of the top four or five in the market for a Grade 1 at the Festival.
He’s bringing a team of some nine or 10 runners over this year and it’s hard to see him going home without a winner.
Gordon has a good chance in the Foxhunters (16:10) with Ucello Conti 5/1.
He’s a very classy horse who was second in the Paddy Power this season, as well as winner of a couple of good hunter chases at Thurles and Navan.
I think that he’s the one to beat here before he heads to Aintree for a shot at the Grand National.
Ireland can cling on to Prestbury Cup
I don’t think we’ll run away with it like last year, but I still think Ireland 17/20 will come out on top in the Prestbury Cup.
Over the last 10 years, the economy in Ireland has taken an upturn and we’re just buying lots of good horses.
There’s plenty of money being invested into horse racing over here and that’s paying off further down the line.
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