Day 4 Straight From The Trainers Mouth
Straight From The Trainers Mouth
Day 4 Cheltenham
Rolling Star –
This race has been good
to me. I think I have a very good ride in Rolling Star but it’s the best
Triumph in years,
Far West and Our Conor are
the biggest dangers – Barry Geraghty
He's in good form. Schooled this morning. Will gallop at Kempton [on Saturday]. We always decided we wouldn't run him again. I don't know . . . we probably should have done. We didn't think he needed to, he was very good on the day. He's great. – Nicky Henderson
Far West –
Our Conor does look very
slick but I like Far West . He has everything. His first couple of races he won
with staying, last time he sprinted clear. I know Willie thinks Diakili could
turn the form on Our Conor but I’m not sure – Ruby Walsh
Far WestHe won at Ascot on Saturday in what was a tactical affair but it was fantastic to see that, as well as he stays and he jumps, he's got a devastating turn of foot. Ruby was very impressed with him. We had gone there thinking that River Maigue had won a point to point, so they would make plenty of use of his stamina but Geraghty was determined to follow us, so we ended up in front and Ruby said from the back of the second-last to the last and on to the line, he was really impressive, he sprinted away. He won at Cheltenham twice in the autumn and each time he won well. He jumps straight, he's been working with Zarkandar, he's improved enormously all through the winter. We thought he'd run really tidy on Saturday, we also thought he needed it a little bit but that's put him spot on. He's a proper little racehorse and really looking forward to the Triumph. I'd say he'd compare very favourably with Zarkandar [at the point when Z ran in the Triumph]. We've got some really nice juveniles but he's definitely top of the pile. We bought him originally, thinking he'd be a nice chaser in time, but I suspect he'll end up staying over hurdles next season and could be really interesting. – Paul Nicholls
Court Minstrel –
t may be a
year too soon to run him in a handicap at the Festival this year, but if he did
go to Cheltenham it could be for something like the County Hurdle rather than a
novice,” said the Welshman.
“If he goes
to Cheltenham he might not run before then because he's had three runs over
hurdles now, although ideally he could do with another run in novice company as
he’s still learning to settle.
“He ran with
credit at Sandown. He came to win the race but just didn't pick up in the
ground. He looked like playing a part at one stage, which is what we needed to
see - we didn't want him beaten half a mile out.
“I think
he'll be better suited to handicaps, just the way they are run with a fast
pace. One day I think he's got a big handicap in him. Make no mistake, he’s a
good horse – Evan Williams
Swing Bowler -
will run here rather than the
mares race. – David Pipe
Tanerko Emery –
who will probably run here. He
ran well in the Welsh Champion Hurdle after rushed preparation. He's very keen
and will be better on decent ground – David
Pipe
Riding him out we've put a hood
on him and different bit and we can just about hold him.Mr Watson
I would like to run him in the Coral Cup over two miles and five furlongs because there's more chance for him to get a breather and maybe go that fraction slower, but it looks like he won't get a run so he might have to go in the County.- Jonjo O’Neill
Utopie Des Bordes –
This is a very hot
race.Utopie des Bordes stays really well and should appreciate better ground;
the mares allowance is massive in this race. At Fishers Cross is the one to
beat though, has course form, jumps really well. – Barry Geraghty
Ballycasey –
I like Ballycasey, he
showed plenty so far. Coneygree will run well at 14’s, he’ll stay forever – Ruby Walsh
At Fishers Cross –
He's in really good form - we've
never had him better - but the main thing is the ground," Curtis told At
The Races.He's not proven on anything other than heavy.
I think the horse would go on good ground but it seems to interrupt his jumping a bit when they go a bit quicker - he can get galloped off his feet.
I think he'd be fine on the softer side of good but he wouldn't want it too quick.- Rebecca Curtis
Gevrey Chambertain - is one he feels is improving all the time.
He is three from three however he went up 15 pounds and is entered in the two
staying novice events and a number of handicaps. The suggestion was that we
would be best over three miles so perhaps the Albert Bartlett may be his
preferred option. – David Pipe
African Gold
–
I would have thought it is the
Albert Bartlett for him. He has done everything we wanted of him this season.
He is lovely – I really like him.He is superb. I think the extra distance and better ground will improve him a lot. I am hoping in years to come that he will be another Imperial Commander type. He is a great big strong horse.
The horses do it themselves – they are growing up and learning – that is the thing. - Nigel Twiston Davies
Cloudy
Copper –
He doesn't show you anything much
at home – a little bit like Synchronised – but on the racecourse he's done
nothing wrong," he said.He's a very straightforward horse, unfussy and economical.
He's in great nick, but it would be a bit of a worry if the ground dries because he's done all his winning on really soft ground.
I don't how he'd handle coming up and down the hills either, but he's an interesting one – he's a fair horse.
He'll run unless the ground comes up really quick and he's a horse that could surprise. – Jonjo O’Neill
Bobs Worth -
I would have liked to run [at
Cheltenham in January], yes, but it doesn't mean we can't do it. He was fresh
into the Hennessy. Probably did take a blow there, so we're mindful of that but
he'll be straighter than he was in the Hennessy. He's the baby. He lacks the
experience. I thought he did, going into the RSA last year, but he was very
good and he loves Cheltenham. Yes, he's got work to do but we're on schedule,
very much so. This is where we find out who he is, what he is. He's not reached
the superstar status that Sprinter Sacre seems to have done, purely because he
hasn't had the opportunity to do so. Yes, he was the best staying novice of
last year and he didn't have an easy year last year and it hasn't actually been
that easy this year, or I would have run him in the meantime. That day at
Cheltenham that we missed, we all agreed at the end of the day, thank goodness
we were forced to miss it [because the ground was so testing]. Otherwise, would
we have even run him if it had been all right? I think it [the Gold Cup] is
very wide open but I don't there's a standout horse. Silviniaco Conti, you
wouldn't say he was earth-shatteringly impressive at Newbury but it was a very
satisfactory trial, I'm sure. There's nothing that's come out and said, Christ,
look at that. So Bobs Worth, Long Run, they've got as good a chance as any. – Nicky Henderson
Bobs Worth –
Bobs Worth is in great
shape and working very well. I told Nicky I need him fitter than the Hennessy
and he says he is. The Gold Cup was always the main target and he is ready;
he’s a worthy fav. Sir des Champs is not strong enough, Silvianico Conti is a
danger. – Barry Geraghty
I've been doing a lot of schooling with Long Run here. Last week, he jumped 10 fences with Nico [de Boinville, jockey], absolutely wonderful. I'm not sure, maybe he will go up and join Yogi [Breisner, jumping guru], he's coming Thursday next week. I don't think anything's ever changed. You don't see anything flashy about it. He worked with Binocular and Binocular was probably a little bit quicker just at the end. You'd expect a two-miler to beat a three-miler . . . not beat, but just find that little bit of extra kick. But it was a bloody good gallop over a mile and a half. We haven't decided yet whether he will wear cheekpieces for the first time but it is likely. – Nicky Henderson
Wayward
Prince –
The Gold Cup
is the plan, everything seems to be okay at the moment," said the
Gloucestershire-based handler.
"The
ground has been dreadful. He doesn't go on soft ground, it's as simple as that
really. We've been struggling to get a run into him because it's been so wet
everywhere but he has done plenty of work. Hilary
Parrot
Captain
Chris –
Of
all our horses next week, to me he’s very much the one that looks overpriced.
He's definitely better on good ground, which he hasn't had for ages. And
remember, he didn't have his first race until he was six. – Phillip Hobbs
“He should
be reaching his prime at nine and is possibly still improving. He has probably
just lacked experience until now. And while people talk about the distance as a
bit of a question, it could even be that he actually wants it. – Nicky Henderson
Silviniaco
Conti - He's done incredibly well this year. He got beat at Ascot last year, he wasn't right, it was when the horses were coughing and, if you remember, he travelled to the last, looked the winner and didn't get home. We knew something wasn't quite right. He started giving a few coughs, we thought, we're not going to go to Cheltenham with him. We went to Aintree, better ground and he won nicely. The other day he had his prep race at Newbury, which he won nicely. We were really pleased because we left plenty to work on, we didn't want to have him at his best and the ground got testing and I was nervous he was going to get a bit tired. But he stayed on strongly, jumps well. I keep reading that he can't win at Cheltenham, he's not won at Cheltenham. We haven't avoided Cheltenham with him. He ran in the Bula over hurdles. Well, for him, he ran incredibly well that day, for a three-mile horse against a lot of two-milers and there's never been a chase there when we wanted to go with him. He's been round loads of different tracks on different ground. Always thought he wanted good ground and when he was at Aintree last year, he was absolutely awesome on good ground, but this year he's had to cope with softer ground. I was slightly nervous before Haydock and Newbury that it had got too soft but he now copes with that ground as well and you can ride him any way you like. We never went to Haydock that day with the plan of making the running. We thought Long Run, being a Gold Cup winner, would use his stamina and bowl along, we'd follow him. Ruby decided at the start that they weren't going to do that and so we bowled along in front, which we're never afraid to do. But he actually would be suited by a real fast, end-to-end gallop where he could just sit in third or fourth, use his jumping and then hopefully he'll stay on strongly. He's progressed nicely. He's come out of Newbury well, was really fresh and well this morning, we're very, very happy with him. I think the three [ex-] novices, Bobs Worth, Silviniaco Conti and Sir Des Champs might be three. Long Run you can never rule out, being such a good horse, but those novices from last year might just be progressive and could be the three that could be interesting. We think we're going there with a nice chance. He's not flashy, like Zarkandar, he's just workmanlike but he gets the job done. – Paul Nicholls
Silviniaco Conti –
First time
without Kauto . I’m delighted to ride Silvianico Conti who has done nothing
wrong all year. It looks like a better race than last year. Sir des Champs little
disappointing on 1st run but improving still. First Lieutenant is a great price
but I think the winner will come from top 4 in the betting – Ruby Walsh
Sunnyhillboy
–
I've put him
in the Pertemps Hurdle Final, but there will be 28 runners there and I wouldn't
want anything to happen to him,” said O'Neill.
“I'm not
sure where we'll go but the plan is really Aintree. He could run at Cheltenham
and there would be fewer runners in the Gold Cup so it might be an option. – Jonjo O’Neill
First
Lieutenant –
He runs
above himself at Cheltenham and he's done nothing wrong this year. He's just
not got his head in front.
"He ran
well at Down Royal, he ran well in the handicap at Newbury (Hennessy) and ran a
blinder at Leopardstown [Lexus] – Mouse
Morris
Jessies
Dream - He's not getting any younger and
he's been off the track for a couple of years so we take it day by day, but at
the moment he's back in work and all is okay. – Gordon Elliott
Salsify –
I definitely
wouldn't swap our horse, that's for sure,” said Sweeney of the eight-year-old
trained by his father Rodger and owned by his mother Joan.
“We were
delighted he did it at Leopardstown. I don't think our lad had been written off
but people were definitely thinking Tammys Hill was the new kid on the block
after he beat us twice, so it was nice to get back on top.
“It's even better
we managed to beat him on soft ground as we know our horse will be better when
he gets on better ground, hopefully at Cheltenham.
“We left a
bit to work on with him. The worry going into Leopardstown was that he'd have
too hard a race on soft ground, but he's come out of it nice and fresh which is
great and I think he'll improve for it. – Colman
Sweeney
No quotes found
Viva Colonia –
If one of either Overturn or
Simonsig had a set back we might consider the Arkle Chase, however it is
looking increasingly likely that Viva Colonia will race for us in the Grand
Annual Chase on the Friday. Viva Colonia was always going to be better over
fences and is a very exciting prospect indeed.He took time to settle in with Brian Ellison during December. He didn’t eat a great deal initially but since his two recent wins he has been screaming for his food and is bouncing at home which is a major plus. - Lee Bolingbroke (owner)
Donnas Palm and Free World –
have both
lost their way and need to show some improvement, but they were good horses on
their day. I'd say they are both possibilities for the Grand Annual – Tim Vaughn
Alderwood –
I
was really pleased with him at Punchestown. I thought he ran a cracker considering
it was his first run in a really competitive handicap over fences.
He's come
out of the race in good form and hopefully that run sets him up well for the
big Festivals in the spring.
I haven't
had the nod from J P or Frank Berry (racing manager) yet, but you'd imagine the
Grand Annual would be an obvious target for him. He went up 3lbs for his
Punchestown run which puts him on a mark of 138.
I’d like to
think he'll keep progressing on the better ground in the spring like he did
last year. I'm very happy with where we are with him at the moment – Tom Mullins
Astracad –
Astracad is in very good heart
and looking forward to that,” said Twiston-Davies, who trains locally at
Naunton.“He’s in the very last race of the meeting and that will be our best chance. That’s a shame but there you go. He’ll not have run for three months but he’ll be fit enough. – Nigel Twiston Davies
His Excellency - is in
both the Arkle which the owner would like him to run in and the Grand Annual,
which some in the yard prefer. He thinks could go well as he is clearly a
monkey but conditions of the race could suit. – David Pipe
Pigeon Island –
won the Grand Annual in 2010 and
he may go for that race again. He has been very consistent in all the top
races, earning prize money for being placed. He is in the form of his life
really. – Nigel Twiston Davies
Ulck Du LinFor a change this year, we've actually got a chance in a few of the handicaps and this lad runs in the Grand Annual. He's been progressive this year, he won nicely at Newbury. He probably needed the run at Stratford and then he won nicely the last day at Ascot. We purposely then thought, we won't run until the Grand Annual, keep him nice and fresh and well, try and get him in the best of his form. Some of the horses behind him have been winning. Wouldn't want the ground to dry up too much or be too quick for the last day, he'd like plenty of cut in the ground. He travels nicely, jumps nicely and he's improving. – Paul Nicholls
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