There were plenty of Cheltenham Festival clues on offer over the Festive period in Britain and Ireland, with the Timico Gold Cup picture arguably becoming an even more difficult contest to assess, writes Mark Boylan.
Don Poli
Don Poli (photo: Dave Boylan)
In Ireland, the ultra-relaxed and ultra-talented Don Poli did just enough to provide Willie Mullins with his first success in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown. As a follower of the Gigginstown-owned chaser, it is now widely accepted that Don Poli will probably never win by enormous distances with his head in his chest. He is a horse full of personality who will only do the bare minimum – but most importantly, he usually will do enough to win. Questions were raised in the aftermath of Lexus with some doubting the quality of opposition he faced, but in my opinion, Don Poli would have won in the same fashion, whether the opposition were rated in the 130s or the 160s; he will more than likely never look flashy in victory. In a Cheltenham Gold Cup scenario where stamina is obviously a vital ingredient to success, Don Poli looks an ideal sort for the extended 3m2f trip, and is undoubtedly a horse of enormous talent to respect.
Vautour
Vautour wins the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham (photo: Dave Boylan)
The King George VI Chase at Kempton was certainly a race for the ages with the outstandingly brave Cue Card denying Vautour victory in the dying strides after Don Cossack came to grief at the second last obstacle. First and foremost, Cue Card deserves enormous credit for his performance in this season’s Christmas highlight. The Tizzard team have showed that they are a stable of immense talent in bringing Cue Card to the Grade 1 heights of this season, but deeper company await at Cheltenham for the popular chaser in his bid for the Million Pound Triple Crown Bonus. There has been much debate on whether or not Don Cossack would have been able to clinch King George glory if not for falling two out. In my eyes, he never looked to be in a rhythm for the majority of the race, but he surely would have gone mightily close if he had stayed on his feet. However, this is jumps racing and the fences as there to be jumped primarily, so I would not take anything away from the memorable battle between Cue Card and Vautour. Don Cossack is still most definitely a worthy contender for the Gold Cup crown this March, but this was Cue Card’s day.
In the immediate dissection of the race, many were quick to believe that the Mullins challenger Vautour had not seen out the extra distance, with some bookmakers even pushing the Robin Des Champs gelding out to 16/1 for the Cheltenham showpiece. Following the comments of trainer Willie Mullins that the seven year-old is still expected to line up in the Blue Riband event, Vautour’s odds shortened to 8/1 (generally) and the remarks of rider Ruby Walsh saying that he holds the blame on his own part for the defeat, have given me further confidence in the horse’s Gold Cup claims.
Terrific cruising speed
Vautour appears to have a terrific cruising speed which could easily get his Gold Cup rivals in trouble before coming up the Cheltenham hill, which he has made his own in recent years. Like many horses in the care of Ireland’s leading trainer, Vautour’s has always produced his strongest form in March at the Cheltenham Festival and surely his return to the scene of his Supreme Novices’ and JLT Novice triumphs will see an improved display this year. He also appears to jump more fluently on left-handed racecourses which he will have in the Timico Gold Cup and above all else, I believe this horse is a superstar. If a horse with the tremendous pace of Vautour were to win National Hunt racing’s most coveted prize over an extended 3m2f, it would be a truly special performance – but special is what I honestly think he is. No doubt, there will be horses blessed with more stamina than Vautour in this year’s Gold Cup (such as Don Poli), but few will match his natural talent, which I hope will make the difference.
Ivanovich is ideal Triumph type
Ivanovich Gorbatov announced himself as a juvenile hurdling force to be reckoned with after a striking victory at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival. Trained by the phenomenal (mostly flat based) trainer Aidan O’Brien, but in the care of son and jockey Joseph – who has recently applied for a trainer’s license – the four year-old’s victory saw him jump to the head of the Triumph Hurdle market at the Cheltenham Festival. An impressive performer on the flat and with further improvement expected on better going, Ivanovich Gorbatov looks to be another strong Irish hope for Cheltenham glory this March.
Mares make pleasing chasing debuts
I was very impressed by the chasing debuts of two mares recently, in the shape of Harry Fry’s Bitofapuzzle and Nicky Richards’ Hester Flemen. The former made light work of an Exeter field over 2m 3f, producing an outstanding round of jumping to win by an easy 11 lengths. Hester Flemen proved far too good for her gelded opponents at Catterick, emphatically winning by 6 lengths in the hands of stable jockey Brian Harding. Both mares look to have substantial ability and should continue to improve over fences as the season progresses. These novice chasing mares could certainly make the step up to graded company over fences and provide a stern test for geldings in Britain this season.
Fantastic Fox’s Kelso recovery
Kelso’s most recent meeting saw a tremendous piece of skill in the saddle from Irish jockey Derek Fox, remarkably keeping the partnership with Egret intact after the gelding lost its footing on landing. County Sligo-native Fox who has enjoyed a rich spell since joining Lucinda Russell’s Scottish yard continued to finish fourth in the race subsequently won by Takingrisks.
Watch Derek Fox’s excellent sit here.
One to Watch – Imagine The Chat
I couldn’t help but be taken by Imagine The Chat’s emphatic success in a 2m 6½f limited handicap chase at Newbury recently and he looks to be a horse that is steadily improving. Although the handicapper will more than likely have his say after an easy seven length success under Sean Bowen, JP McManus looks to have a horse capable of holding his own in deeper company later this season. Imagine The Chat is certainly a horse to keep an eye on over the coming months in staying handicaps.
