Tuesday, March 16, 2010
JOCKEY Brian O’Connell has described Spinal Research Supreme Novices’ Hurdle hotpot Dunguib as a "once in a lifetime horse" ahead of today’s opening race of the Cheltenham Festival.
Philip Fenton’s seven-year-old will be attempting to emulate the exploits of Montelado, the last horse to win the Champion Bumper at the meeting and follow up in the Supreme 12 months later.
O’Connell was in the saddle for his ultra-impressive bumper success last year when he was still an amateur, but turned professional before Dunguib ran in the Grade One Royal Bond Novice Hurdle in December.
"The nerves are OK at the moment," said Limerick man O’Connell. "It helps that I’ve ridden him in all of his races, I ride him out at home so I know him very well. The experience of last year in the bumper can only help him and the fact that he is a year older, too.
"He feels a bit stronger this year. He’s seven now so he’s probably done all his growing, but he has maybe matured a bit. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of excitement there tomorrow with it being the first race and he can get worked up, but being over there last year must help him so I think he’ll be OK.
"I only turned pro this season and to be riding him, well, he’s a once in a lifetime horse, you could spend your whole career looking for a horse like this. I have had a few outside rides this season, but Dunguib winning would certainly be a big boost to my career."
Fenton has been pleased with his pride and joy in the run up to the race and says everything has gone according to plan.
"Everything has gone just fine with him," said Fenton.
"We’ve kept him away from the track on purpose because he is a bit excitable, we’ve had him stabled at Jim Wilson’s.
"He did his final half-speed on Thursday and of course it is very exciting to be heading to the first race of the meeting with the hot favourite. We’ve not had the slightest little problem with him, we wouldn’t have declared him otherwise, no setbacks or anything."
Dunguib will face 17 rivals in the Festival opener, with the most notable withdrawals at the declaration stage being Bellvano, Peddlers Cross and Rite Of Passage, with all three having other options.
With Dunguib such a short price at the head of affairs, there are some fancy prices flying about for some highly-regarded youngsters, with Nicky Henderson’s unbeaten Oscar Whisky falling into that bracket.
"He has a lot of ability but probably lacks experience," said Henderson. "He is a bonny sort of horse who goes about his business really professionally. He won very easily at Sandown last time and I think he has a very realistic chance.
"It takes a good novice to win the totesport Trophy so you have to respect Get Me Out Of Here and I think Dunguib has scared a lot off to the two-and-a-half-mile race (Neptune Investment).
"If there is any chink in Dunguib then it is an open race and I remember a 1-14 favourite (Zaynar) who got beaten recently, so it can happen!"
Get Me Out Of Here is the biggest danger to Dunguib in the eyes of many a good judge, being unbeaten in four starts over hurdles and looking very classy in beating seasoned handicappers in the totesport Trophy at Newbury.
His trainer Jonjo O’Neill said: "The ground is lovely and there will no excuses on that front. It is good safe ground and I am looking forward to getting going.
"He had a cut after the totesport Trophy, but that is all healed up now as you would have hoped it would.
"We did have the option of running in the longer race, but he has never been beaten at two miles so why try anything different.
"He has done all of his winning on flat tracks which is something to think about, but he is a good-moving horse so you would like to think he will handle the undulations.
"Dunguib is an exceptional horse. People keep knocking his jumping, but he still keeps winning and he gets from A to B. We need to improve again to win, but you can’t be afraid of one horse."
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