Cheltenham Festival: Three things we'll learn today
Willie Mullins receives a framed cloth to mark the recording of his 100th Cheltenham Festival success. Pic: Healy Racing Photo.
It might be an illusion but good horses seem to attract good names, or at least names with a meaning or heritage behind them. There are several runners in the third race this afternoon, the Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle, that could turn out to be good in time and some these have good names too.
Gidliegh Park, trained by Harry Fry is named after an estate in Dartmoor that traces back a thousand years to the Norman invasion of Britain. Paul Nicholl’s Captain Teague commemorates a pirate so formidable that only Keith Richard could play him in the ‘Pirates of the Carribean’ films.
Lecky Watson (Willie Mullins) also has an interesting forebear, name wise. The six-year-old gelding is called after Fielding Lecky Watson who after a malaria-shortened career as a global seed collector ended up buying Altamount House near Tullow in Carlow and planting the beautiful gardens that still thrive today.
Lecky the horse is owned by Lar Byrne and family who are no strangers to Cheltenham festival glory. Byrne, also a proud man of Tullow, owned the great Hardy Eustace who sadly passed away last January at the ripe old age of 27. Hardy himself was called after another Carlow landowner, Hardy Eustace Duckett and Byrne will be hoping that his naming policy will be rewarded with another good horse.
Improvement will be needed. Although Lecky Watson has often knocked, the door has only been opened once to him when he was upped in distance to three miles at Thurles last November. However, he ran a cracker when fourth in the Bumper here last year to A Dream to Share so he likes the track and was a solid third to today’s favourite, Reading Tommy Wrong in the Lalor’s Hurdle at Naas in January. He should improve again for the trip and if he does, then his name could be up in lights.
David (DM) Christie trains a small string of horses, mainly point to pointers and hunter chasers near Derrylin in County Fermanagh, never famous as a racing stronghold. Christie saddles two runners in the Hunters Chase alter today. The race is next up after the Gold Cup and confined to amateur riders it tends to go under the radar with all the kerfuffle surrounding the big race usually still ongoing. This won’t bother Christie as he lives his life under the radar.
Originally from Bushmills in Antrim he came to Fermanagh originally to manage the farm attached to Enniskillen college before committing himself to training full time twenty years ago. Christie hit the bar with Winged Leader in this race two years ago when his horse looked a certain winner until he was mugged by a head on the line by a super-charged Patrick Mullins on Billaway. He saddled the favourite Vaucelet last year but he couldn’t finish any closer than a distant seventh.
His luck could change today and his main chance is with Ferns Rock, second favourite behind the Emmet Mullin’s trained On the Line who was recently purchased by JP McManus.
Christie had planned to run Ferns Lock last year but decided late on that patience was the better path and still only seven and is certain that this is the best horse he has brought to the festival.
“This is still a better horse than Winged Leader and Vaucelet,” he said recently. “He’s just a better horse. If you asked me to put them 1-2-3, then he would be the best.” His other entry, Ramilles, ran here twice when he was under the care of Willie Mullins, including a respectable sixth place in the Albert Bartlett behind The Nice Guy two years ago and he could also go well.
‘Who fears to speak of Ninety-Eight, who blushes at the name?’ asks the first lines of the old ballad commemorating the rebellion in Ireland in 1798. Not Boodles, today’s Gold Cup sponsors for one. At about the same time that our gallant rebels were being chased off Vinegar Hill the company that eventually became the luxury jewellery provider was being founded in Liverpool and it’s a date they commemorate proudly in their branding. Prominent all over Cheltenham racecourse their shocking pink livery bearing the words ‘Boodles 1798.’ Even the revered statue of Best Mate was bedecked with a Boodle’s racing cloth advertising the brand and the infamous year. Given the extent that the raiding party are dominating this on the track week it may be unwise to poke the Irish bear like this. Especially a Carlow based bear like Galopin Des Champs.
Although weakened both in quality and romance by the withdrawal of Hewick yesterday the Gold Cup remains a very strong contest and probably a lot deeper a field then the one Galopin beat last year. Fastorslow, Gerri Colombe, L’Homme Presse Corach Rambler and Gentlemansgame make their first appearance in the race and all look capable of putting it up to the favourite, especially if he has an off day. Otherwise, they may be racing for place money.
Since he reignited from a slow seasonal start at Christmas, he has looked imperious in winning the Saville’s and Paddy Power Gold Cup Chases and having proved his stamina last year Paul Townend can confidently ride him prominently and use his jumping agility and explosive acceleration to burn off any challengers. No blushes will be necessary.
