THE FESTIVAL is literally just around the corner and we have to start making decisions as to which races they will all go for. Obviously the likes of Altior, Might Bite and Buveur D’Air will all run in their respective Championship races and I’m pleased to say they are all in good form. Altior and Might Bite went to Kempton on Tuesday and came through their workouts with flying colours and Buveur is also doing particularly well, Barry schooled him this morning and he’ll gallop tomorrow. It’s just a case of keeping them healthy and happy for the next ten days or so which, as we have all seen much too often, is easier said than done.
Keith Otteson has kindly agreed to let me take a few horses to gallop and school at Newbury on Sunday so Santini, On The Blind Side and Might Bite will all have an away day. It’s been terribly frustrating as I’ve not been able to get a run into Santini so having a bit of fun around Newbury will really help educate and do him the world of good. Might Bite isn’t going to gallop, as he did that at Kempton on Tuesday, so he’ll go and jump half a dozen fences and enjoy himself along with On The Blind Side.
Right! Cheltenham plans as they stand at the moment:
Might Bite – Gold Cup
Altior – Champion Chase
Buveur D’air – Unibet Champion Hurdle
Angels Breath – Supreme
Mister Fisher – Supreme
Champagne Platinum – nothing. Sadly he will not be running at Cheltenham as he’s suffered a minor setback but I hope to have him back in time for Aintree.
Champ – Ballymore
Birchdale – Albert Bartlett
Dickie Diver – Albert Bartlett
Downtown Getaway – probably Albert Bartlett
Pym – he has a few entries but we’re more inclined to go down the Handicap route with him. He’s in the Coral Cup and Martin Pipe.
Pentland Hills – the Triumph is very much a possibility. I was impressed with him at Plumpton, as was Nico who said he felt like he’d been doing it all his life. We won that very same race at Plumpton in 1984 with a horse called First Bout who went on to win the Triumph so the stats are good, although, admittedly, we have about 30lbs to find with Sir Erec!
Adjali – Triumph
Chaparral Prince – He’s had three runs so gets into the Fred Winter but won’t go past a horse at Huntingdon so I’ll be surprised if he’s able to do so Cheltenham.
Verdana Blue – Unibet Champion Hurdle – a flat race on the All-Weather – Good Friday at Lingfield!
Brain Power – Unibet Champion Hurdle
On The Blind Side – He will have a gallop and jump around Newbury on Sunday and assuming he comes through that in good shape he’ll go for the RSA.
Ok Corral – Derek O’Connor came and schooled him this morning and the NH Chase is still the plan.
Santini – RSA
Countister – she couldn’t run this weekend because of some medication she’d had so may have to run in the Mares’ Hurdle because she’s unlikely to get into any of the Handicaps.
Terrefort – still undecided. He’s in the Gold Cup and Ryanair.
Top Notch – Ryanair
We Have A Dream – Unibet Champion Hurdle
Epatante – Mares Novices’ Hurdle. Maybe my best chance of the meeting!
Lust For Glory – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
Elusive Belle – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
Daphne Du Clos – Mares’ Novices Hurdle
Whatswrongwithyou – Grand Annual. He got put up 10lbs for winning last week which seemed a bit extreme but on the other hand it does at least bring him into this.
Gold Present – Ultima Chase
OO Seven – Ultima Chase
Beware The Bear – Ultima Chase
Lough Derg Spirit – Close Brothers
River Wylde – Brown Advisory & Mariebelle Stable Plate
Call Me Lord – Imperial Cup
Dream Du Grand Val – Imperial Cup
We are now NRNB on all races at the Cheltenham Festival!
ð It's getting close now, folks!!#FridayFeeling #FridayMotivation pic.twitter.com/V1iYBmxS7r
— Unibet Racing (@UnibetRacing) March 1, 2019
Just five runners at two meetings this weekend and my thoughts on their chances are below.
NEWBURY – SATURDAY
3:45 Novices’ Handicap Hurdle
Laughing Luis (Ned Curtis)
He was a smart bumper horse on quick ground and has won twice over hurdles already in Novice Company but steps into Handicap class for the first time today off a mark of 118. Ned knows him well and is obviously great value for his 3lbs claim although I’m not sure there’s much room for manoeuvre with his rating. I’ve got two runners at Newbury, this horse is much more effective with firm in the description and the other will be happier when there’s soft in the description so I’m just hoping the Good to Soft is a happy medium! I don’t think Laughing Luis quite stayed 2m4f at Leicester last time so the drop back to 2m will be in his favour.
4:50 Bumper
Chantry House (Barry Geraghty)
We pulled him out of Kempton last week because the ground was too quick but we’ve had a bit of rain over the last day or two so we should be ok. As I said in my blog last week, Chantry House is a horse we think an awful lot of hence I didn’t want to risk him last week. His work has been very good and he’s done everything I’ve asked of him at home so I’m quite confident of a bold show.
HUNTINGTON – SUNDAY
2:30 Maiden Hurdle
Trull La La (Nico de Boinville)
She wasn’t disgraced on debut at Ludlow in December but will definitely have come on for the experience and I’ve been very happy with her work. She’s up against plenty of Mares’ with experience but her schooling has been good and the ground will be fine. She’s a Kelvin Hughes homebred, out of Chomba Womba who I trained and was a decent mare so it would be nice to think her offspring can follow in her hoof prints.
4:05 Handicap Chase
Duke Debarry (Jerry McGrath)
As you all know, I have never won a National of any kind so I’m rather hoping I may have the chance of winning the Cambridgeshire National which has been on my bucket list for some time! He’s still a novice over fences but is a lovely big horse who jumps very well so I’d have no qualms on that front and he should be able to get into a nice rhythm on the ground, therefore I think he has a great chance in what looks a nice little race for him.
5:10 Bumper
Alph (Nico de Boinville)
He was quite keen at Newbury last time so we’re putting the hood on to help him relax and he is learning all the time. I quite like him and if we can keep a lid on him I wouldn’t be surprised to see him run a big race.
We are now NRNB on all races at the Cheltenham Festival!
ð It's getting close now, folks!!#FridayFeeling #FridayMotivation pic.twitter.com/V1iYBmxS7r
— Unibet Racing (@UnibetRacing) March 1, 2019
We’ve got our annual Unibet Cheltenham Preview on Monday evening at 7:30pm. My good friend Jessica Harrington is flying in especially for the occasion and Nico, Adrian Heskin and Paddy Brennan will also be on the panel so it should be great fun. I’m told you can watch it FOR FREE online so follow us @sevenbarrows and @Unibetracing for all the details.
