Views from connections ahead of Tuesday's Cheltenham Festival races including the Unibet Champion Hurdle
Views from connections of some of the key contenders on day one of the Cheltenham Festival, including Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins.
Cheltenham Festival - Tuesday March 10
- 1.30pm Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 87y £125,000
- 2.10pm Racing Post Arkle Novices' Chase (Grade 1) 1m 7f 199y £175,000
- 2.50pm Ultima Handicap Chase (Grade 3) 3m 1f £110,000
- 3.30pm Unibet Champion Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 87y £450,000
- 4.10pm Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 3f 200y £120,000
- 4.50pm Northern Trust Company Novices' Handicap Chase (Listed) 2m 4f 44y £70,000
- 5.30pm National Hunt Chase (Amateur Riders' Novices' Chase) (Grade 2) 3m 7f 147y £125,000
1.30 Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1)
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Gordon Elliott - Abacadabras
"Abacadabras travelled over well and he's in good form, but I wouldn't want to see much more rain coming, I suppose. I can't say he won't handle the ground, but I just don't think he'll be at his best on it - hopefully he should be OK on soft. The ground is actually much better than I expected it to be - it just depends how much rain there is on Monday night into Tuesday."
Nicky Henderson - Shishkin, Chantry House
"You would like to think Shishkin would be one of our best chances of the week. He has looked very good so far and he is a genuine two-miler. He looked very good in his bumper, and in two of his novice hurdles he has been very efficient. He has got to prove himself still and this will be a much bigger test than he has had, but he has been visually very impressive. He doesn't seem to lack experience as he races very professionally - you can press a button and it works, and that is what makes life easy for him."
"Chantry House was very green at Cheltenham and yet when he went to Newbury the other day he was foot-perfect. He travelled like a good horse, jumped like a good horse and he went away like a good horse."
Willie Mullins (Assistant David Casey) - Asterion Forlonge, Berkshire Royal, Elixir D'Ainay
"All is good. Asterion Forlonge seems well. He travelled over well and the ground shouldn't be an issue. Hopefully he'll have his chance. He stays well and that is what you need."
"Berkshire Royal was a decent horse on the Flat. It's obviously going to be very tough for him first time out but he's a horse with plenty of ability and a horse we like a lot."
"Elixir D'Ainay was too keen the last day so we're dropping him back in trip. He's not one to be dismissed. His overall form is good."
Colin Tizzard (Assistant Joe Tizzard) - Fiddlerontheroof
"His form is rock solid. He was second to Thyme Hill, then he was second to Edwardstone and he has been hugely impressive in his two runs round Sandown.
"He is a good traveller and will stay on up the hill. His bumper form was good and he beat The Big Getaway in Ireland before we got him.
"He will make a gorgeous chaser next season, but he is a pretty good novice hurdler at the moment."
Runners: Abacadabras, Allart, Asterion Forlonge, Berkshire Royal, Captain Guinness, Chantry House, Edwardstone, Elixir d'Ainay, Fiddlerontheroof, Hollow Sound, Jabbaar, Mario de Pail, Shishkin, Soviet Pimpernel, Whatsnotoknow, Heaven Help Us.
2.10 Racing Post Arkle Novices' Chase (Grade 1)
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Henry de Bromhead - Notebook
"I kind of backed off our horses after Christmas and a lot of them ran quite fresh at the Dublin Racing Festival. Notebook bolted to the start in Leopardstown, but I hope he was just fresh and psyched up to get going - I'm telling myself it was anyway. We'll probably put some ear plugs in him at Cheltenham. He seems to love jumping. Sizing Europe was pretty slick as a novice, but he's similar."
Willie Mullins - Cash Back
"We always hope we can improve them coming to Cheltenham. Notebook has a good bit more experience, whereas Cash Back is gaining experience all the time. He has a great never-say-die attitude."
Joseph O'Brien - Fakir D'oudairies
"Fakir D'oudairies is in great shape and we are looking forward to a good run. The juice in the ground should be OK for him. I thought it was a great run behind Notebook last time, we were over the moon with him and we will give it another go against him.
"It's a different track on a different day, so you never know what will happen. Hopefully his stamina will come into play in the race as we know Fakir is a guaranteed stayer. It looks like it will be a good race."
Olly Murphy - Brewin'upastorm
"Brewin'upastorm had a knock at Taunton in November, so we had to back off him for a few weeks. We are really looking forward to running him, as we know he goes well fresh. It looks an open Arkle and there looks to be plenty of pace in the race. Hopefully, we can benefit from that by dropping him in."
Ben Pauling - Global Citizen
"Global Citizen is in great form and we're looking forward to running him, all being well. We'd obviously prefer better ground. I suppose we won't really know our fate until the day, but the better the ground, the better his chance."
Dan Skelton - Maire Banrigh
"Maire Banrigh stays two miles very well and gets 7lb from the boys. If you take her 7lb into consideration, she's a 155-rated runner, which is a very high mark. I think she's got to be a player on form and figures and on the form she's in at the moment, I can't see her under-performing.
"I didn't think we'd be this far along with her, to be honest, but I think she's fifth in the betting and she'd be a legitimate winner."
Runners: Al Dancer, Brewin'upastorm, Cash Back, Esprit du Large, Fakir d'Oudairies, Global Citizen, Notebook, Our Merlin, Rouge Vif, Maire Banrigh, Put The Kettle On.
2.50 Ultima Handicap Chase (Grade 3)
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Runners: Vinndication, Brave Eagle, Cepage, Vintage Clouds, Mister Malarky, Kildisart, Discorama, Who Dares Wins, Atlanta Ablaze, Activial, Mulcahys Hill, Burbank, Cogry, Townshend, Cobra De Mai, Big River, The Conditional, Elwood, Soupy Soups, Quarenta, No Comment, General Principle (NR), Vivas, Ice Cool Champs.
3.30 Unibet Champion Hurdle (Grade 1)
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Nicky Henderson - Epatante, Fusil Raffles, Pentland Hills, Call Me Lord
"Epatante was very disappointing at Cheltenham last year, there's no getting away from it. There were a few that didn't show up like they should have done because of the flu vaccinations, and I think she was one of them.
"I've read in some places she can only go on a flat track, just because she didn't run very well at Cheltenham on the only time that she has been there - I don't think that was the track. If it doesn't work again I will have to agree with those that have concluded she is only any good around Kempton, but at the moment I've no worries.
"Pentland Hills wants to switch off a little bit more, and I think we will drop him in a bit more than we have done. "The trouble is he is such a good jumper he is taking you there all the time.
"Both times he has come there and looked like he has come to win his race. I don't think he has done anything wrong. They have just been races in bad ground both times.
Fusil Raffles was very disappointing at Kempton, but he could still come back into it. Call Me Lord was a little bit flat there at Sandown the other day, but he has won the International and he goes round Cheltenham."
Willie Mullins - Cilaos Emery, Sharjah
"We've decided to go down this route with Cilaos Emery purely because it's such an open Champion Hurdle. You can see how hard it is to get horses to a Champion Hurdle, so he'll take his chance.
"He wasn't spectacular at the end of the race in Gowran, but I thought what he did coming down the hill in putting the race to bed was good enough for me. He should be improving. He could go chasing again down the line, but let's see what he does in the Champion Hurdle first. He can mix it - I'm not afraid to do that if they show they are able to do it.
"Sharjah's last run was terrible. He missed the first hurdle down the back in Leopardstown, and we don't know why because he's usually a very good jumper. I'd prefer drier ground for him, but I don't think he's ground dependent. Horses do handle softer ground as they get older."
Gavin Cromwell - Darver Star
"Darver Star had a racecourse gallop at Leopardstown (last week), and I am very pleased with him going into the race. It looks wide open, and I think Cheltenham will suit him. He is the same sort of price as Espoir D'Allen was last year.
"He stays, travels and jumps well. I think he will be staying on up the hill strongly, and hopefully he has a live chance."
Joseph O'Brien - Darasso
"Darasso is a big price, but if you aren't in it you can't win it. Our lad goes there in great shape and I think the course and distance will really suit him, while we know he handles soft ground."
Runners: Ballyandy, Call Me Lord, Cilaos Emery, Coeur Sublime, Cornerstone Lad, Darasso, Darver Star, Fusil Raffles, Gumball, Le Patriote, Not So Sleepy, Pentland Hills, Petit Mouchoir, Sharjah, Silver Streak, Supasundae, Epatante.
4.10 Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle (Grade 1)
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Willie Mullins - Benie Des Dieux, Elfile, Stormy Ireland
"Benie Des Dieux is one hell of a mare. I think what she did in the French Champion Hurdle last year was missed by a lot of people over here, beating the unbeaten French mare (De Bon Coeur). She hasn't run an awful lot, but I've got her to the stage where I can run her two or three times a year and I want to keep it that way.
"You're guaranteed to get soft in the going description on the first day of the Festival and that's a big plus for her as she's a big mare.
"I was very pleased with her last run. We just let her do whatever she wants to do - that's the way she likes to run. She's entitled to be there.
"Elfile won well the last day. She stays well and is an improving mare. Hopefully she can be competitive. She ran well in the novice race last year. The step up in trip will suit her this year. She stays well."
Kenny Alexander, owners' representative - Honeysuckle
"I'm a bit apprehensive, taking on a mare like Benie Des Dieux, but also excited. We've got a mountain to climb, but Honeysuckle is only rated 4lb below her and is three years younger and still improving, we hope.
"It looks like we'll get some nice ground. It's a championship race for mares and a Grade One in its own right. May the best mare win."
Phil Kirby - Lady Buttons
"It wasn't an easy decision (which race to run in), we wanted to keep our options open as long as possible. We were keen to run her in a Grade One and while I'm not saying it will be easier (than the Champion Chase), this is the way we decided to go.
"She's very versatile, she jumps hurdles and fences just as well. At a lower level she jumped fences so well it was her big asset, but the higher up she goes they all jump as good. She seems to be in as good a form as ever, her last two races have possibly been her best two, she's finishing off strongly and travelling great.
"If there was a question mark you might have said it was the trip, at Cheltenham, but she stayed it well at Doncaster over fences. Every race at Cheltenham is hard, but with Benie Des Dieux and Honeysuckle in there, as well as last year's winner Roksana, this is especially hard."
Runners: Benie des Dieux, Cap Soleil, Crossgalesfamegame, Desaray Girl, Elfile, Honeysuckle, Lady Buttons, Popong, Roksana, Stormy Ireland.
4.50 Northern Trust Company Novices' Handicap Chase (Listed)
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Runners: Precious Cargo, Hold The Note, Espoir de Guye, Torpillo, Knight In Dubai, Jarveys Plate, Champagne Mystery, Imperial Aura, Champagne Court, Galvin, Paint The Dream, Highest Sun, Mellow Ben, Earlofthecotswolds, Beakstown, Mitchouka, Daly Tiger, Lord Schnitzel, De Plotting Shed, Trainwreck. (R1: Whatmore, R2: Sensulano)
5.30 National Hunt Chase (Amateur Riders' Novices' Chase) (Grade 2)
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Runners: Anteros, Carefully Selected, Clondaw Cian, Forza Milan, Lamanver Pippin, Lord du Mesnil, Newtide, Ocean Cove, Ravenhill, Redzor, Smoking Gun, Some Can Dance, Springfield Fox, The Hollow Ginge.
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