Warren Greatrex column ahead of 2019 Cheltenham Festival
Warren Greatrex feels Western Ryder is his best chance of the week in the County Hurdle - check out his thoughts ahead of the 2019 Cheltenham Festival.
It's been a long build-up but, with all the preview evenings and talk just about done and dusted, the wait is almost over.
We've not got a massive team going to Cheltenham but have a couple of live chances with a bit of luck. And we've also got exciting types likes La Bague Au Roi and Emitom heading to Aintree so there's a lot to look forward to no matter what happens this week!
Here are my thoughts on the runners and some of the star names in action at the Festival.
Mulcahys Hill – Tuesday, 5.30 National Hunt Chase
Mulcahys Hill been a bit of a work in progress but he should stay the four mile trip and the more rain the better. Noel McParlan rides and he’s ridden at the past two Festivals for us. He could run very well. It’s a funny sort of race as the form can go a bit out of the window. It's all down to the one who stays the best, the one who takes the preliminaries the better and everything like that. And also who has the jockey to get them jumping and into a rhythm. It's not all gone to plan for Mulcahys Hill this time around but he nearly won a Grade One last year. I think this is the race we fancied having a crack at from a fair way out. Missed Approach was second in the race at 50/1 and this lad has probably done more than him at this stage.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, I'm a big fan of Klassical Dream in the Sky Bet Supreme. I was at Leopardstown when he won his Grade One and all the talk that day was that they liked him a lot. Soft ground will suit and it wouldn’t surprise me if he shortened up a bit more before the off. Dai Walters has two in there and there’s plenty of hype with Angels Breath but they do think he’s very smart. Al Dancer looks a bit keen for me but there aren't many negatives about him otherwise.
As for the day's feature - the Unibet Champion Hurdle – I'm a big fan of Laurina. She’ll love the ground and she’s the most unexposed in the field. She looks awesome and the softer the better for her as well. For me it looks a three-horse race and you have to respect Buveur D'Air. He's probably not got the credit he deserves but the 7lb he has to give to the mares is quite a lot when you have high-class mares. They’ve had a better prep with Buveur this year than last year but he's got a job on his hands.
Mahlervous - Wednesday, 2.50 Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle
Mahlervous stood his ground in the Coral Cup but he's the second reserve. He won well last time and has good form around Cheltenham. He’s a decent horse but it’s a bit of a lottery in a race like this.
In the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle Champ looks rock solid and I’ve eventually come round to Oli Bell’s thinking (!) that Sams Profile has a good each-way chance for Mouse Morris. Connections are shrewd and if the vibes are positive then you have to take notice. He was a bit unlucky not to finish closer last time out.
In the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase we should get another chance to celebrate Altior. He's just an exceptional horse and I’d say he’ll win again, barring accidents. We’ll have to cherish him while he’s around and I’m one of these who thinks he could win the Queen Mother for the next few years, rather than going up in distance or anything like that. But I don’t train him!
Keeper Hill - Thursday, 3.30 Sun Racing Stayers' Hurdle
Keeper Hill will go for the Stayers' and Richard Johnson will ride him. He had the option of the Pertemps Final but we'll go for the Grade One because of the fact that it looks so open. I’m not saying we'll win the race as Paisley Park looks the most likely. We'd have each-way chances in either race we went for so we'd rather have a crack at the big one than take on well-handicapped lurkers in the Pertemps. I think there’s improvement in him and he could run into a place. Sandown and really tacky ground didn’t suit him last time but he was impressive at Warwick and his run at Cheltenham prior to that was very good too. He seems in very good form.
Western Ryder - Friday, 2.10 Randox Health County Hurdle
Western Ryder runs in the County and I think he's my best chance of a winner all week. He came back from Haydock, where he under-performed admittedly, with very bad ulcers but we’ve treated them and he's well. He’s fresh and fit and the race is absolutely made for him. Dickie Johnson will ride hopefully but we might just be waiting on that. I’m thinking I might go for blinkers for the first time with Western Ryder. I just feel in these races if I can eke out a bit of improvement then he’ll be bang there. He does tend to run his race. He'll have enough weight but nowadays it’s hard to get into races of this nature with tons in hand so it’s not liked it used to be. He won’t be giving lumps of weight away and he won't disgrace himself.
Star Of Lanka - Friday, 5.30 Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle
Star Of Lanka will possibly run in the Martin Pipe as he was eliminated from the Coral Cup. He’s in great form and we’re happy with him. He ran well enough last time and his work has been good since. He was a good fourth in the Lanzarote so his form is strong. I'm just not sure who’ll ride if he runs at Cheltenham but there's an option of Kempton at the weekend too.
In the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup, I'm a big Native River fan and he could get his ground again. He’s run well this season around tracks that don’t really suit in my view. There are question marks about the others and I’d be confident Native River run his race and be thereabouts.
Jammin Masters - Saturday 3.35 Uttoxeter Midlands Grand National
At the moment Jammin Masters is an intended runner in the Midlands National. We considered the four miler at Cheltenham but he’s better off in a handicap I think. He's been consistent this season but fairly frustrating. As for the ground, the softer the better. He’ll be ridden with restraint and he’ll be competitive off his current handicap mark. Dickie possibly went too fast last time at Chepstow. The horse is a bit idle and this race looks right up his street.
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