Fehily hoping State Of Play can provide National delight
Day one at Cheltenham was supposed to centre around Ruby. It did but it was the Fehily-ridden Rock On Ruby rather than the Ruby Walsh-ridden ‘good thing’ Hurricane Fly who took the glory by claiming a shock victory in the Champion Hurdle. Four weeks on the man from Castletownkenneigh in Co. Cork is still basking in the glow of a deserved big-race win.
‘‘We’re still living on that one. It was a great victory and I’m still on a high after it,’’ he says. ‘‘Without a doubt it was my best day in racing. You dream of winning Champion Hurdles but you never think it’s going to happen so it was a wonderful day.
‘‘Hurricane Fly had the best profile going into the race, the best form and he looked rock solid. I was as big a fan of Hurricane Fly as everyone else. What he had done was unbelievable. The way he had won at Cheltenham last year, he looked unbeatable but it just goes to show that every horse is beatable.
‘‘I knew my horse was in great shape going in to the race so it was a case of riding him to his strengths and hoping for the best and luckily it worked out on the day.’’
The victory was extra special for Fehily as he had missed the previous two Festivals through injury. The wrist injury that would rule him out of the 2011 Festival was particularly unfortunate as it came at a time when his star was on the rise. With Walsh sidelined after breaking his leg it was Fehily Paul Nicholls turned to. He repaid the trust by steering Master Minded to victory in the Tingle Creek in December 2010 and was set to pilot the legendary Kauto Star in his bid for a fifth successive King George.
It wasn’t to be, though, as the wrist injury he had suffered the previous month flared up again and forced Fehily to step aside and he could only look on as Kauto Star, under Tony McCoy, finished third behind Long Run.
‘‘Obviously I’ve had my ups and downs but every other jockey does as well,’’ Fehily, who will link up again with Rock On Ruby in today’s Aintree Hurdle, says. ‘‘It’s part of the job and goes with the territory. Lucky for me it’s worked out well in the end. I was lucky enough to get on a horse with Rock On Ruby’s ability to win a race. Every jockey has their ups and downs and injuries but that certainly made up for a lot of them.’’
A month on and Fehily will today be looking to complete a remarkable double by winning the Champion Hurdle and Grand National in the same year, a feat the remarkable McCoy achieved with Binocular and Don’t Push It in 2010.
Fehily will ride the Evan Williams-trained State Of Play, a former Hennessy winner and a Grand National veteran at this stage having finished fourth, third and fourth in the last three renewals. Paul Moloney was in the saddle the last three years but has opted to ride Cappa Bleu on this occasion. Today will be the first time State Of Play has been seen on a racecourse since last year’s Grand National and only four 12-year-olds — Ben Nevis in 1980, Little Polveir in 1989, Royal Athlete in 1995 and Amberleigh House in 2004 — have won the race in the last 32 years.
Odds of 40/1 reflect the view that the horse’s chance on winning the National have come and gone. Fehily, understandably, is hopeful of a bold showing.
‘‘I sat on him earlier in the week. He’s in very good order. He’s fresh and well and jumped really well so I’m looking forward to it,’’ he says. ‘‘I’m hoping for a good run, a clear round. The horse knows his way around, he’s been third and fourth around there. Hopefully I can get a good clear run around and have a good spin off him.’’
Fehily acknowledges State of Play’s advancing years are a concern but feels the fact he has been lightly raced is a strength rather than a weakness.
‘‘Obviously it’s a downside that he’s getting on but he’s very little mileage on the clock which, I think, counts for a lot,’’ he suggests. ‘‘He’s been trained especially for the race the last couple of years and the low mileage definitely does count even though he’s getting on.
‘‘He didn’t run the year before last year’s National either so Evan Williams obviously knows the horse and he thinks it’s best to train him this way. He knows the horse better than anyone and he produced him to finish fourth last year and there’s no reason why he can’t do the same this year. Hopefully he’s still got a few good races in him.’’
Like State Of Play, Fehily, despite missing out on the race in the past two years, is something of a Grand National veteran having ridden in it on nine previous occasions. There are few better placed jockeys to comment on what’s required to successfully navigate the race.
‘‘You need a horse that looks after himself a little bit and is a little clever,’’ Fehily explains. ‘‘Obviously he [State Of Play] is. He knows his way around. I think that’s a big plus and [you need] a horse that’s able to race handy up with the pace and out of trouble. He’s done that the last few years as well. He’s the ideal sort of horse to ride in the race so we’re just hoping he’s got a big race in him.’’
Asked if State Of Play will be the best he’s ridden in the National, Fehily responds cautiously. ‘‘I suppose he probably would be,’’ he says, ‘‘but the thing about the National is you never know. Sometimes you’re on something thinking you’ve no chance and it ends up running a blinder and sometimes there’s something you fancy and they end up running no race. It’s that sort of race. You never know until you get out there but he’s been there and done it. He’s got a bit of class. He’s won a Hennessy so hopefully he can run a big race.’’
Fehily’s first National experience in 2001 is one he remembers vividly. No wonder. It was one of the most eventful of all time. Fehily’s mount was Moral Support and in hugely testing conditions he went off 10/1 joint-favourite due to his liking for soft ground. However he was one of 36 out of the field of 40 to fail to finish and two of the four that did make it to the finishing line, Blowing Wind under McCoy and Papillon under Walsh, did so after being remounted in a race that was ultimately won by Red Marauder. Quite a National debut for a jockey.
‘‘It started joint favourite and I only got as far as the Canal Turn so it just goes to show you,’’ Fehily recalls. ‘‘It was running very soft. He was a horse that had good form going into the race. He’d won the Rehearsal Chase; he was second in the Welsh National. I went into the race thinking I’d a great chance and got as far as the Canal Turn. It probably was my biggest National disappointment.’’
Having won the Gold Cup last month, Synchronised goes into the National as the clear favourite. However no horse has won both races in the same season since 1934. It’s a daunting task but Fehily feels the Jonjo O’Neill-trained nine-year-old is a worthy favourite.
‘‘It [the Gold Cup and Grand National double] is a very difficult thing to do. It’s probably doable but it’s a very difficult thing to do. If any horse can do it he can probably do it because he’s off a good mark, he stays, and he probably is the one we’ll all have to beat. He doesn’t look like your typical chasing, Grand National type of horse but he’s got a massive heart and he doesn’t know when to give up which is a big plus,’’ Fehily says.
Come what may today is a day Fehily will savour. ‘‘It’s a great test of horse, jockey, everything. It’s a great test of jumping, stamina and you have to have the mind for it. It’s a great spectacle, isn’t it?’’
