Top jockey Daryl Jacob is looking forward to some fantastic rides on day one of the Cheltenham Festival and gives us his thoughts.
Mistergif could be anything
I sat on Mistergif a few times at the start of the year and can't wait to get back on him in the Sky Bet Supreme. It's a competitive race as you'd expect but what he did in the Limerick maiden in January, and the manner in which he won, was very impressive. He's really exciting and we've always thought he could be an very good horse. He goes into this as one of the unknown quantities in the race and he could be anything. Soft ground suits him well and he's got experience from the Flat in France so I hope he's ready for the whole occasion. He may have been a fraction keen in Limerick, and Cheltenham day one is a very noisy atmosphere, so the addition of a hood here can do no harm.
Yarn looks top-notch prospect
Hunters Yarn runs in a competitive Arkle and with Paul (Townend) on Gaelic Warrior, it's a great opportunity to ride what we believe could be a top-class horse. He could easily be two from two over fences but fell first time out at Fairyhouse when seemingly on his way to victory. He's an exciting horse to go to war with but there's not much between all of them in this field and soft ground conditions will suit him too - the softer the better I suspect.
Zarak to be best of the rest?
Zarak The Brave is a Galway Hurdle winner and although he had the blip earlier in the year, he was given plenty of time to freshen up and came straight back to form when winning at Naas in January. Paul rode him that day and he was very complimentary. With Constitution Hill coming out, you're now left with State Man as the obvious one in the Champion Hurdle but behind him it looks an open race and we'll hopefully be in the mix for second and if anything happens with the favourite then we'll be there to pick up the pieces with a bit of luck. He's a good horse, he split Lossiemouth and Gala Marceau at Punchestown last year and I think he's gone slightly under the radar this season.
Batman to swoop in lucky last
Batman Girac could be a tricky one but he's a very talented horse at the same time. He's got a lot of ability but needs to settle, needs to relax and jump. We know he has the engine there but has to go and do things right given he's got a big weight in the Fred Winter. I'd imagine I'll be looking to ride him quietly and creep into things as he's got a bit of speed. If he can settle through the first mile then hopefully at the top of the hill I can start picking through and save something for coming up the hill at the finish. It's a good book of rides for day one of the Festival and I'm really looking forward to it.
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