Jockey Daniel Hiskett hopes he can secure a breakthrough first success at Cheltenham by steering Picanha to glory in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle on Festival Trials Day (Saturday 29th January) in front of his biggest fan – his six month old son Albert.
The new Dad, who was born in Cheltenham, will bid to claim the most notable victory of his career at his hometown track when reuniting with the Richard Philips-trained eight-year-old in the Grade Two prize.
Having finished third aboard the son of Malinas on his hurdles debut at Exeter in November, the Adlestrop-based rider missed the gelding’s recent victory at Warwick on December 9th after being forced to spend a few days on the sidelines due a fall arising from a schooling incident.
Hiskett, 30, is now back to full fitness and aiming to make the most of the opportunity aboard the Liz Prowting-owned gelding, who he remains optimistic can handle the step up in class in the extended 2m 4f contest.
He said: “Picanha seems in good form at home. He won that race at Warwick well. He seemed to have come on from his Exeter run and his jumping seemed much sharper.
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“I had a fall schooling and I was a bit too bruised to ride him at Warwick. It wouldn’t have been fair on the horse and the owner. I was gutted to miss the ride but I wouldn’t be the first lad to miss the ride on a good one.
“It is another big step up again and he is against a few nice ones but we are trying to see if he is good enough to go to the Festival.
“The ground is currently good and although it was soft last time out when he won, his point-to-point win came on good ground so I like to think he would go on it. It is nice to go there on one with a chance.
“I was born in Cheltenham and grew up in and around Moreton-in-Marsh but now I live just down from Richard’s yard in Adlestrop.
“I’ve a six month old boy called Albert with my partner Tiffany Kelleway, who is trainer Gay Kelleway’s niece. I’d like to think Albert is my biggest fan! They are all coming along to support me, which is great.”
Despite being forced to miss the ride aboard Picanha last time out, Hiskett has built up a good relationship with the horse both at home and on the track.
He added: “I’ve seen him since day one and he has progressed into a nice type and has developed all the time.
“He is like a toddler at home. If you are in his stable he wants to know why but he is a loveable lad. He is very straightforward and professional and goes about his business nicely. He does everything the right way and how you want him to do it.
“Tabitha (Worsley) did a great job on him at Warwick. A lot of the time it can be hard getting back on one like this but Mrs Prowting has been good putting me back on.”
While it can sometimes be hard to know what to expect from a horse on their racecourse debut, Hiskett was quietly confident that Picanha would prove up to the task on his first outing in a bumper at Exeter in December 2019.
He explained: “On what he had done on his homework we knew he was okay but going into a hot bumper you don’t know what everyone else has got and there were plenty of people who felt their horses were decent.
“He travelled nicely out the back and then as soon as they straightened up he picked up nicely and went through the ground well.
“Immaturity just held him up so we gave him a holiday. He was still growing and we thought a lot of him. As it turns out, it was a very good decision.
“There was not too much pressure on Richard as the owner is fantastic and they let him nurture the horse.
“At Exeter on his first start this season it was a nice educational run. He jumped well and took me into the home straight where a bit of race sharpness just got the better of him.
“I’d like to think if I ran again against the two that finished in front of me that day, I’d be a lot closer.”
Looking beyond the weekend Hiskett believes that getting experience of the track at Cheltenham would be a big plus for Picanha, who holds Grade One entries in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival.
He added: “If he does progress into a horse for the Festival it is handy to have that course experience on side when it comes to that meeting. If they have already run there they know what is then coming.
“I can’t see why he won’t handle the track. He has won around Warwick which is flat but then he has won around Exeter where they go up and down hill.”
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