Savour the journey

November 10th, 2011 by Donn McClean

It is important at this stage of the season not to get ahead of yourself. Of course, all roads and all graded races or high-class handicaps, and a couple of maiden hurdles, lead to Cheltenham.

Don’t mind the people who say that Cheltenham has got too big, that there are other top races throughout the season that are seen as Cheltenham trials rather than the end game in their own right. That’s like saying, the Olympic Games have got too big, or the All Ireland Final has got too big. We should celebrate the fact that National Hunt racing has its championships, its near-end-of-season highlight into which the season funnels, unlike its Flat three-parts brother, with its Champions’ Day and its Arc de Triomphe day and its Breeders’ Cup day(s), all vying for top dog-dom.

But in the same way as, no matter which route you send her, Dora will always find her way to Boots and not to Swiper (aw man!), you know that, as long as your health stays fine and we don’t get an Act of God or a foot and mouth debacle, as sure as eggs is eggs, Cheltenham will get here. The important thing now is to savour the journey.

You have to take a pull, you have to learn to settle. At the moment, you are a runaway who doesn’t know where the winning line is, who isn’t sure that he will be allowed run as fast as he wants to run, as fast as he can run, pulling for his head, dying to get there. You can’t wait for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Arkle, William Hill Chase, Champion Hurdle rat-tat-tat-tat that starts the Festival. But you know that when you get to the Monday evening before the Tuesday morning, Cheltenham Eve, you almost won’t want it to start, because you know that, once it starts, like the snowball that starts to roll, it will roll on down the hill until it reaches the bottom, when it will stop.

The reality is that, almost more than Cheltenham week, these are the best days of the National Hunt season. Menorah and Peddlers Cross making their chasing debuts over two miles, First Lieutenant shaping up into a hugely exciting staying novice chaser, Captain Chris, Time For Rupert, last years novices stepping up, Long Run due out soon, Hurricane Fly due out soon, Big Buck’s due out soon. These are the golden days of the season, from now until Christmas.

Once the year turns, once the King George and the Lexus Chase and the Christmas Hurdles are over, the countdown to Cheltenham begins in earnest, things get a little presurised. Maybe one run between Christmas and the Festival, maybe the Deloitte Hurdle, maybe the Irish Champion Hurdle, maybe the Pillar Chase, the Hennessy, the Irish Arkle, the Aon Chase, the Game Spirit. Maybe not. Maybe no runs. The stars get scarce after Christmas.

These are the weekends. Paddy Power Gold Cup, Greatwood Hurdle, Fortria Chase, Betfair Chase, Morgiana Hurdle, Craddockstown Chase, Hennessy, Fighting Fifth Hurdle, Troytown Chase, Tingle Creek, Henry VIII Chase, Hatton’s Grace Hurdle, Drinmore Chase, December Gold Cup, John Durkan Chase, Long Walk Hurdle, Navan Hurdle, Christmas.

Enjoy the ride.

· For more of Donn’s thoughts, visit www.donnmcclean.com

Cheltenham hopefuls not to be frozen out

November 26th, 2010 by Will Reilly

Much of the eastern side of Britain is in the grips of snow and ice, which has led to the abandonment of Saturday’s Newcastle and Towcester cards, and the Sunday fixtures at Carlisle and Leicester are subject to Saturday inspections. Furthermore, in a bid to safeguard the going for their key Sunday fixture, Fairyhouse have switched Saturday’s card to next Thursday, 2 December.

However, there is still top-class racing to look forward to on a key weekend in the racing calendar, with Hennessy Gold Cup day at Newbury on Saturday and Hatton’s Grace day at Fairyhouse on Sunday.

Newcastle’s abandonment could have meant the loss of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, but the BHA has moved with commendable speed and it will now be run at Newbury on Saturday. Reigning Champion Hurdler Binocular is set to make his seasonal return in the race and will face four opponents, including last season’s Cheltenham and Aintree festivals winner, Peddlers Cross and the Champion Hurdle fifth, Starluck.

The Hennessy Gold Cup is due off at 3:05pm. The Paul Nicholls-trained Denman, who won the race in 2007 and 2009, heads the weights and is currently quoted at around 12/1 third-favourite for the Cheltenham Festival 2011 Gold Cup, a race he won in 2009. No horse has ever won Newbury’s ‘Hennessy’ three times.

Of his 18 intended rivals, Nicky Henderson’s Burton Port holds a 25/1 Cheltenham Gold Cup quote, Colin Tizzards’s Hey Big Spender is around the 25/1 mark, Noel Meade’s Pandorama is available at 33/1, and Paul Nicholls’ Taranis at 40/1. It promises to be a high-class renewal of the race.

Reappearing for the season on the same card is Paul Nicholls’ dual Cheltenham World Hurdle winner, Big Buck’s. He will face five opponents in the Long Walk Hurdle and is likely to be sent off as a short-priced favourite for the race. He is currently trading at around 10/11 for the 2011 World Hurdle.

In Ireland, a fantastic fixture lies in store at Fairyhouse on Sunday.

The first of three Grade 1 races on the card is the Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novices’ Hurdle (1:15pm). A talented line-up includes Paul Nolan’s Limerick winner Carlowswayback, Noel Meade’s Prima Vista and Perfect Smile, who will race in a tongue-tie for the first time and be ridden by Paul Carberry, Tipperary Grade 3 winner Oilily, who followed up that Tipperary success with a very good Grade 3 second to Macville at Down Royal, Tom Cooper’s progressive The Shepherd King, and the likely favourite, Willie Mullins’ Zaidpour.

A half-brother to the 2009 Cheltenham Triumph Hurdle winner Zaynar, Zaidpour created a very favourable impression when winning at Punchestown on 13 November and is quoted at around 14/1 for the 2011 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and 10/1 for the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.  

The second Grade 1 is the Bar One Drinmore Novice Chase (1:50pm), in which the 2009 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle winner Mikael d’Haguenet, one of the most exciting novices to be seen in recent years in Ireland or the UK, is set to make his chasing debut. He hasn’t been seen on the racecourse since landing Punchestown’s Champion Novice Hurdle in May 2009, but is quoted at around 10/1 for the 2011 RSA Chase at Cheltenham and 25/1 for the Arkle Trophy, also at the festival.

His promising opponents on Sunday consist of John Kiely’s Head Of The Posse, Gordon Elliott’s Jessies Dream, Colin Kidd’s Back Of The Pack, Tom Cooper’s Lucky William, Noel Meade’s Realt Dubh, Dessie Hughes’ Erritt Lake, Jessica Harrington’s Bostons Angel and Bill Harney’s Kakagh.

It promises to be a hugely-informative race and will produce movements in the Cheltenham Festival 2011 ante-post markets, as indeed will the day’s feature race, the Bar One Racing Hatton’s Grace Hurdle (2:20pm), which has attracted a high-class line-up.

The Charles Byrnes-trained Solwhit, a six-time Grade 1 winner and one of the leading novices around, is likely to head the market but his opponents include the Willie Mullins-trained Hurricane Fly, 2009’s top Irish novice and currently available at around 13/2 second-favourite for Cheltenham’s 2011 Champion Hurdle. Solwhit is on offer at 16/1 for the Champion.

Other rivals in the prestigious 2m4f contest are Voler la Vedette, second to Solwhit recently in the Grade 1 Punchestown Hurdle, Donnas Palm, who was third at Punchestown, Mourad, Aitmatov and Jumbo Rio.  

It is a race to savour, and let’s hope that the weather does not prevent the meeting from going ahead on Sunday. Whatever happens, the weekend racing should see a few more pieces added to the Cheltenham Festival picture.

Irish sweep

March 8th, 2010 by Donn McClean

We’ll win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle anyway, that’s for sure. Sure isn’t Dunguib the best novice to put his head through a bridle since Golden Cygnet? Don’t mind about his jumping, it’s only the English saying he can’t jump, trying to convince themselves, and he won’t have to jump over the hurdles anyway, he can kick every one of them out of the ground if he wants and Brian O’Connell will still be able to stop for a pint at the Guinness Village on the way up the home straight before standing up in his irons at the furlong pole.

(Big cheer.)

We’ll win the Arkle as well I’d say. (more…)