Silviniaco Conti the one to beat, insists Paul Nicholls
Although the nine-year old failed in two previous attempts to win the blue riband of jumps racing, the Ditcheat handler feels it could be a different story back at the Festival on March 13.
Since losing on his seasonal reappearance at Wetherby, Silviniaco Conti has gone from strength to strength, winning the Betfair Chase at Haydock and a second King George VI Chase at Kempton.
Nicholls said: “He’s been unlucky at Cheltenham in the past.
“He run well when beaten in the International Hurdle and he was travelling well when he fell in the Gold Cup two years ago.
“Last year he jumped the last in front but he was just not finishing his races.
“He looks way better than he did this time last year and he is in really good order.
“He won the Betfair Chase in first-time cheekpieces, then he won the King George in what was probably a career-best performance.
“If he wins a Gold Cup he will cement himself as one of the best.”
The Ditcheat handler also believes his other representative, Sam Winner, could creep into the Gold Cup frame at a big price.
Nicholls said: “Sam Winner loves Cheltenham and runs in the Gold Cup.
“He has done nothing but improve this year. He will love the better ground and fast gallop and he will be fresh.”
Nicholls plans to take a smaller team to Cheltenham than last season, but is convinced quality is not in short supply.
He said: “We are a bit light on the novice hurdlers this year, but I would probably say it is as good a squad as we’ve had.
“This year I don’t want to run horses at the Festival just for a day out so I will have a more select team and certainly less than the 36 runners I had in 2014.”
With 19-times champion jockey Tony McCoy set to retire at the end of this season, the door will be open for a new name to appear on the roll of honour.
Perennial runner-up Richard Johnson is likely to start favourite to end up at the top of the table in the post-McCoy era, but Nicholls believes stable jockey Sam Twiston-Davies has the right credentials to be a future champion jockey.
He said: “Sam has won more prize-money than any other jockey this season and you can see how well he is doing.
“He’s a nice lad and everybody likes him. He’s an investment for the future and he’s turned out a very good one. He just needs to get a few more outside rides.
“I have always thought he could be champion jockey one day and if he gets those outside rides he’s definitely going to be right up there.”
Nicholls admits it was a “close call” for Twiston-Davies over which of the yard’s two runners he will ride in the World Hurdle.
Following news More Of That will not be defending his Festival title, the Ditcheat-trained pair of Zarkandar and Saphir Du Rheu sit at the head of the ante-post market, with plenty of bookmakers unable to separate the duo.
But Sam Twiston-Davies had already pledged his allegiances to Saphir Du Rheu, who booked his slot in the race when landing the Cleeve Hurdle after a disappointing stint novice chasing.
The fact he has returned to hurdles from fences evokes memories of Nicholls’ star stayer Big Buck’s, who won four World Hurdles for owner Andy Stewart, in whose colours Saphir Du Rheu also runs.
Big Buck’s crashed out in the Hennessy before going on to World Hurdle glory and while he never returned to fences, Nicholls expects Saphir Du Rheu to eventually make his mark in that sphere.
The champion trainer said: “Saphir Du Rheu is still a young horse. We put him in the World Hurdle as its wide open.
“He won the Cleeve Hurdle and stayed on really strongly up the hill and his jumping was very sharp.
“There is a lot of improvement to come and we are very pleased with him. Sam has decided to ride him and that was a close call.
“While Big Buck’s never jumped a fence, this lad will and we will do that again soon.”
Twiston-Davies was aboard Zarkandar when he suffered a shock defeat in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot before Christmas but Nicholls believes he also has strong claims.
The eight-year-old finished fourth in the race last year and Nicholls expects him to put that Ascot eclipse well behind him.
He said: “Zarkandar just pulled himself up in front at Ascot and if Sam rode him again, he would have done things a bit differently.
“He is so much better when fresh and this year we trained him just for this race.
“He’s got a fantastic chance as the more competitive race will give him a better lead into it, so we do not have to hit the front too soon. He’s a talented horse who is in good order.”
Nicholls also holds a strong hand in the Champion Chase, with Dodging Bullets and Mr Mole in the mix after winning their prep races.
Dodging Bullets supplemented his Tingle Creek success by claiming the notable scalp of the returning Sprinter Sacre in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot last month.
While there were obvious excuses for Sprinter Sacre as he returned from a heart problem and a long absence, Nicholls felt his charge had plenty more in hand than the three-length winning margin suggested.
He said: “He (Dodging Bullets) probably deserves to be favourite for the Champion Chase. The nice thing about his win at Ascot was that Noel (Fehily) felt he had plenty left in the tank.
“Last year he was quite mentally immature, but he’s grown up now and is so much more relaxed.”
Mr Mole is a relatively late arrival on the Champion Chase scene but he will line up on the back of four successive wins, most recently in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury.
Nicholls sent Master Minded to win that race before his Cheltenham success in 2008 and hopes the JP McManus-owned seven-year-old can emulate that performance and give the retiring Tony McCoy a final victory in the two-mile feature.
“Mr Mole has followed the same route as Master Minded and hopefully that’s a good omen,” he said.
“He is hugely talented and is mentally a lot more mature.
“AP has worked out it’s better to bowl along on him. He’s not ungenuine, just a bit of a character
“He cantered into the race last time at Newbury and won very well.
“AP has got a lot of faith in him now and I think he will run a big race.”
