THE wait is finally over and the 2019 Cheltenham Festival is upon is. I don’t mind admitting it’s been quite a frustrating lead up to it for various reasons, fast ground, soft ground, snow ground, flu, shoes, poultices, you name it and we’ve had it! However, we seem to be all over it now and I’m just looking forward to getting the show on the road.
The only news I can tell you about Santini is that we have declared him for the RSA on Wednesday and, at the moment, everything seems fine. We were happy with him this morning and we have to be happy tomorrow as well but there was a very, very big difference today compared to yesterday so I hope we are now fully back on track, but because we lost a few days we’ve had to move on and do more with him than we usually would this close to a race, which could, and god forbid it doesn’t, switch him back again as we all saw what happened last week but I must admit he was very good this morning.
Ten runners flying the @sevenbarrows flag for the stable on Tuesday and I’m hoping to gain an eighth win in the Unibet Champion Hurdle and my thoughts on our squad heading to war on day one are below.
CHELTENHAM – TUESDAY
3:30 Unibet Champion Hurdle
Buveur D’Air (Barry Geraghty)
I’m not sure he was quite right when winning this race last year and he will have to be at his very best to win the Unibet Champion Hurdle for a third year but there is no reason to suggest why he isn’t up to it. I don’t think he’s received the recognition he deserves for already winning six Grade Ones and two Champion Hurdles but hopefully that will change of successful on Tuesday. His work has been excellent, he won nicely at Sandown beating Vision Des Flos who came out and won the National Spirit after, and the ground should be absolutely perfect so there are no excuses. Barry came and rode him last Saturday and feels he’s in the right shape at the right time. There’s no doubt the dangers are the two Irish Mares and Apple’s Jade was very impressive at Leopardstown last time and Laurina could be anything, but I wouldn’t want to swap Buveur for anything and he’s raring to go.
Brain Power (Nico de Boinville)
He could be the forgotten horse as he was very good in the Unibet International Hurdle and a likely fast pace here will really suit him, as it will Buveur D’Air. Things didn’t entirely go to plan over fences so we’ve switched back to hurdles, and while I’m not saying for one second that he’ll do a Buveur D’Air, it has obviously helped him and Michael Buckley deserves all the credit for suggesting reverting to timber. It’s going to be a tough task but he’s not far off the best of the UK hurdlers and his work has been excellent, as it always is, so you’d have to hope he’s up to finishing in the money.
Verdana Blue (Davy Russell)
She’s very ground dependant therefore wouldn’t want any more rain but if she takes her chance she would have solid claims. Everybody knows her story, and she has a very sporting group of owners who are extremely enthusiastic and absolutely adore her. Hannah, who rides her everyday, is very happy with the mare and she did a nice piece of work earlier in the week.
1:30 Supreme Novice Hurdle
Angels Breath (Nico de Boinville)
I wasn’t at all disappointed with his run in the Dovecote (carrying a 5lbs penalty) as he’d been off for a while because I’d be unable to get a run into him and we also had to re-vaccinate which is never ideal a week or so before having a race. Everything has gone well since and he worked with Epatante last week and I was extremely happy with what I saw and he comes into this race in great shape. Dai Walters also has Al Dancer in the race, and he’ll be hard to beat, but this race has always been the plan and his owners have not put any pressure on me to go down the Ballymore route. Nico got off him at a Kempton and said he wants a fast run 2m which he’s almost certain to get here and he won an Irish Point to Point on soft/heavy so I have no worries where the ground is concerned and he’ll have come on plenty for the Kempton run.
Mister Fisher (James Bowen)
I adore this horse and thought he put up a very good performance in the Rossington Main at Haydock last time. I never really needed another run with him because he already had experience and he’s been in great shape ever since. He’s a big horse who will make a fantastic chaser in time but he’s not slow and jumps very well and I’m very excited about seeing what he can do. He’s certainly not a stable second string and James has won on him so it makes sense for him to ride again.
2:50 Ultima Handicap Chase
Beware The Bear (Jerry McGrath)
He loved it getting his own way out in front at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day but whether we can employ those same tactics again may be difficult. The Handicapper put him up 5lbs for that which I suppose is about fair but he was fourth in this last year off 150 and is a pound higher now. We’re keeping the blinkers on and I’ve been very happy with him at home so he goes there in good form but this is a typically competitive Cheltenham Handicap so one can never be overly confident but he’ll tootle around and hopefully finish his race well.
O O Seven (Nico de Boinville)
He has to have good ground so I wouldn’t really want any more rain for him. He’s a typical ‘old fashioned’ chaser in the fact that he’s ginormous and it’s great to have him around the place but he needs to bounce back from a poor run last time so we’re putting the blinkers on to help him concentrate. He jumps well and is in fine form at home so could easily run a big race if getting luck.
4:50 Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase
Lough Derg Spirit (Nico de Boinville)
He wouldn’t want the ground much softer and we’ll be keeping a close eye on conditions but I liked what he did at Ludlow the other day in first time cheek pieces and we’ll keep them on again. This is always a very tight novices Handicap and there’s only 7lbs separating the whole field so it’s going to be massively competitive but I’m very happy where we are with him and he goes there with a live chance.
5:30 National Hunt Challenge Cup
Chef Des Obeaux (Mr Mark O’Hare)
He has four miler written all over him as he tends to take his time with everything he does so should be suited by this stamina sapping contest. We took advantage of a good opportunity at Chepstow last time where he won as he liked but this is a completely different ball game altogether. The more rain the better for him and if it turns into a real slog, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him run a nice race.
Ok Corral (Mr Derek O’Connor)
This race has always been the plan, but that’s not to say he’s devoid of speed, as he doesn’t scream four miles at you, and we could easily have gone the RSA route, but this is a race JP would dearly love to win and Derek O’Connor has been in to school him since they teamed up at Warwick together and his jumping was excellent. It’s been a very long road with him and we’ve had to be extremely patient because his legs were like glass but we’ve had a clear run and hopefully our patience will be rewarded. He’s so sharp and well at the moment and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what he can do.
Make sure you follow @sevenbarrows and @unibetracing to keep abreast with all the news and action at Cheltenham this week and to read my exclusive blogs each day.
Have a great week everyone and make sure you back plenty of winners!
Nicky
