Rhinestone to tackle Rooster
The Jackdaws Castle trainer reports the eight-year-old to be in fine shape following his third placing under top weight behind Monkerhostin in the Coral Cup at Cheltenham, when ridden by J P Magnier.
And the amateur jockey, son of the horse’s owners John and Sue Magnier, is to keep the ride in the £150,000 contest in which his rivals will include Rooster Booster.
“Rhinestone Cowboy goes for the Martell Aintree Hurdle. J P Magnier will ride. He did a great job at Cheltenham. I was absolutely delighted with both J P and the horse. He did a great job,” said O’Neill.
“He’s come out of the race really well. We were thrilled to bits with him and if he runs as well as as he did there we’re really looking forward to it. He’s in grand order.”
O’Neill also has Champion Hurdle third Intersky Falcon and Coral Cup ninth Quazar in the Grade One contest over two and a half miles.
“Intersky Falcon has come out of the Champion in good form and it’s all systems go for Saturday.”
“As for Quazar we’ll make a decision later in the week,” added O’Neill.
The latter also holds an engagement in the two-mile Martell Cordon Bleu Handicap Hurdle, in which O’Neill also has Fundamental, a race that opens Saturday’s Martell Cognac Grand National card. O’Neill’s running plans at Aintree for Friday include Dark Room in the Martell Cognac Topham Chase, Master Tern in the Martell Cognac Ember Inns Handicap Chase, a race he won last year, and Bold Bishop in the Premier Convenience Stores Top Novices’ Hurdle.
National Hunt’s outstanding performers will be officially acknowledged at the first British Horseracing Board jump racing awards in May.
These accolades follow the inaugural BHB Flat racing awards earlier this year and will be based on the Anglo-Irish Classifications to be published on the same day.
The awards ceremony will take place at a central London hotel on May 17 and will precede a press conference hosted by the relevant BHB handicappers and their Irish counterparts. It will be the first time that the sport has its own ceremony, which will culminate in an award for Horse of the Year.
