View from connections ahead of the second day of the Cheltenham Festival 2019
Check out what the connections are saying ahead about their leading fancies for the second day of the 2019 Cheltenham Festival.
1410 - RSA Insurance Novices' Chase
(Sky Bet Price Boost: Delta Work OR Topofthegame to win)
Gordon Elliott has no regrets about giving Delta Work a break before his date in the RSA Insurance Novices' Chase at Cheltenham on Wednesday.
The six-year-old is unbeaten in three starts over fences and brings two Grade One victories to the table, the most recent of those being the Neville Hotels Novices Chase at Leopardstown's Christmas Festival.
He is in fact following a path trodden by a certain Presenting Percy, who like the Gigginstown House Stud-owned gelding won the Pertemps Final at the Festival before going back for the RSA.
The County Meath trainer said: "Delta Work is very well. I did not run him at the Dublin Racing Festival (at Leopardstown in February) as I just feared the ground was a bit too quick for him.
"He has plenty of experience over fences with three runs under his belt and two Grade One wins to his name. I thought I had everything to lose and nothing to gain by running him."
Santini has long been seen as an ideal type for the race.
Third in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle 12 months ago and successful in Grade One company at Aintree following that, he made a winning chasing bow but had to settle for third to classy mare La Bague Au Roi at Kempton over Christmas.
That did not shake Nicky Henderson's confidence unduly - but a setback with a bruised foot last week has rocked the boat.
Henderson said on Tuesday: "We'll see how he is in the morning, but it will be a very late call. He was brilliant this morning in schooling."
Henderson also runs On The Blind Side, a smart hurdler who has won one of his two starts over fences but has frustrated his trainer a touch.
He said: "He was diabolical at Cheltenham the time before. They had finished the race before he had even got over the third.
"We were practising at Newbury the other day and the same thing happened, in that Santini left him behind after three fences of the first five they jumped.
"We went back round and did it again and he warmed up and was good. We are going to put cheekpieces on him and I think he has always needed them.
"He looked like being one of the top novice hurdlers last year. A fortnight ago I thought this was crazy, but the cheekpieces will help him a lot.
"He is a bit like a car that you need to pull the choke out and if it ain't out over the first four fences he will be out of the race. We are hoping the cheekpieces will keep him in it over the first four and that he can then get into a rhythm."
Paul Nicholls rightly harbours high hopes in the future for Topofthegame, who ran an extraordinary race to be second at Exeter after losing lots of ground at the start and was one place in front of Santini at Kempton.
The Ditcheat trainer said: "He won his point-to-point and he was a good novice hurdler. He won a £100,000 handicap over hurdles and then got beat a neck in the Coral Cup.
"He looked the winner turning in at Kempton last time. Harry (Cobden) sent him on and the minute he hit the front, as he has done in the past, he was a little bit green and he finished second.
"We've purposely not run him since, as he goes well fresh, and hopefully we can go to Aintree afterwards.
"He is a high-class chaser in the making."
Tom George is hoping the fitting of cheekpieces will help bring out the best in The Worlds End," said the Slad trainer.
"He's got Cheltenham form and couldn't have nice on his chase run round there. He then ran at Kempton but the track didn't suit him. He copuldn't get to grip with it at all so we have to put a line through that.
"He obviously likes the track. He was a high-class horse over hurdles and we're putting cheekpieces on him as well which will sharpen him up a bit. He's in good form."
1530 - Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase
(Sky Bet lengthen the odds Price Boost on Altior)
Nicky Henderson is confident Altior can live up to his billing as captain of his Cheltenham team by winning the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase for the second year running on Wednesday.
Altior has enjoyed a much smoother preparation compared to 2018, and hopes are high he can strike at the Festival for the fourth year running after winning the Supreme in 2016 and the Arkle in 2017.
Success would take his tally to 18 in a row, matching the record for successive wins over jumps set by Big Buck's.
"We hope he can win his 18th consecutive race. Everything has gone quite smoothly," said Henderson.
"I will never forget this time last year, he literally came out on three legs on the Monday morning and that is how frightening this game is. The prep has been good. We have come in on a different strategy this year and we stopped after the Clarence House. He has been great.
"Soft ground doesn't help Altior, but he is in great form and they should set him a good gallop. We've just got to go out and do it. This has been the objective all year and he is the guy we rely on to head the squad."
Speaking at visit to his Lambourn base last month, Henderson outlined the pressure he feels with Altior, having also been responsible for the great Sprinter Sacre.
He said: "You are always are nervous about him, as you are back in the Sprinter Sacre situation and I can tell you how horrible it was then. It is the same factor - anything bar a good performance won't do. It's a fait accompli - but there are lots of fences and lots of people there still trying to take us on.
"He is not quite the showman that Sprinter was, but he is a very good-looking horse. Altior is a proper machine in work in that he gets on with it. He has got tremendous pace and, touch wood, his jumping is pretty accurate and he has got a lot of gears."
Min has seven lengths to find on Altior from last year and his trainer Willie Mullins has been thinking of ways to cut the deficit.
"Min has done things well this year and he ran well behind Altior in the Champion Chase last year. I've been very pleased with Min this season," said Mullins.
"Altior looked beaten last year, but he just has a huge engine. He seems to miss a beat or two and then goes. Nico de Boinville rides him very well - he never panics and knows what he has underneath him and just has to wait for it to kick into gear.
"We have seven lengths to make up, but you can't not take him on because of that. We'll see if there are any tactics that can make the difference and who knows what the ground is going to be like. We're going to do our best."
Sceau Royal was a well-beaten last of four behind Altior in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown in December, but his trainer Alan King is keen to have another go following a good run in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton last month.
"I think he deserves to have a crack at it. He won the Shloer at Cheltenham earlier in the year, then he hated the ground in the Tingle Creek so we gave him a good break," said King.
"I was going to go straight to the Queen Mother, but he was in good form and we decided to give him a spin over hurdles. He was a very good second in the Kingwell and that has brought him on. I don't think the forecast is going to be right for him, but unless it went heavy he will take his chance."
The Paul Nicholls-trained Politologue finished fourth in the race last year, but has yet to win in four visits to Cheltenham.
Rider Harry Cobden said: "He is in good form at home and it is a good prize, so why not have a go at it. We've got it all to do to beat Altior, but he has a good chance of getting placed.
"I schooled him the other morning and he jumped really well and the horse is A1. It doesn't worry me about his Cheltenham record. I will ride him to run well, we will just take our time and try to pick up the pieces."
Harry Fry accepts he is throwing Hell's Kitchen in at the deep end after winning a handicap chase at Ascot in December.
"We're asking a lot of Hell's Kitchen," Fry told Betway.
"He wasn't quite right in January and has been off the track since Christmas, but he's got plenty of ability. We're under no illusions about the task in hand, but hopefully he can put in a good round of jumping and possibly pick up the pieces. Whatever he does in this race will hopefully put him in good order for a big run at Aintree or Punchestown later on in the spring."
God's Own, a regular in this race, lines up for the fourth time for Tom George at the age of 11.
George said: "This is his fifth successive appearance at the Festival. He's acting like he's a four-year-old, not an 11-year-old - you're never short of enthusiasm with him. We couldn't be happier with him."
Henry de Bromhead's Ordinary World, Pat Fahy's Castlegrace Paddy and Saint Calvados from Harry Whittington's yard complete the line-up.
Whittington is trying cheekpieces on Saint Calvados, who has been beaten twice since winning at Naas in November.
He said: "He has been in great form since his trip to Leopardstown, where the ground was too quick for him and he didn't jump with the same fluency. He has schooled fantastically and had a spin round Newbury which he really enjoyed.
"Soft ground will suit him and we couldn't have him in better form at home this time, with the horses coming into good form at just the right time. We are very hopeful that he will run a big race."
1610 - Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase
(Sky Bet Price Boost: Tiger Roll)
Keith Donoghue believes Tiger Roll could be in even better form this year as he bids to win successive renewals of the Glenfarclas Chase over the cross country fences.
Gordon Elliott's nine-year-old famously went on to win the Grand National after his return to form over the unique fences and won a Grade Two hurdle on his most recent outing over an inadequate trip.
Tiger Roll will also create his own little piece of Festival history if he is successful, having already won three times at the big meeting.
Donoghue was unable to do the weight in the Grand National and was replaced by Davy Russell, but he reclaims the ride this week.
"I don't think there's any more pressure on him this year despite being a short price, you want to be coming to Cheltenham riding those horses," said Donoghue.
"You'd rather be riding an even money favourite than a 33/1 chance. I'm looking forward to it. He's in great form and if we can get a run around like we did last year and with a bit of luck, you'd be confident.
"There's an argument for saying he's a better horse this year. His form is better coming in this year as since he won it last year, he's won the Grand National and a Boyne Hurdle. Last year he'd lost his form and it was this race that sparked him back."
Down the years there have been several examples of jockeys taking the wrong course, but Donoghue has a novel way of getting around that.
"I just follow the one in front and hope they know what they are doing!" he said.
"When I first began riding in the race I did wonder how I'd get the hang of it, but you soon pick it up."
Enda Bolger has dominated races over the course since its inception and has two chances in Josies Orders and Auvergnat.
"I would say this year's Glenfarclas Chase is the best renewal of the race. Obviously, Tiger Roll is the one we all have to take on and is the standard bearer. There's 32 fences to be jumped and we're looking forward to the race.
"Auvergnat won a nice pot over Christmas at Leopardstown and we intentionally have kept him fresh for this event.
"Josies Orders also won nicely at Punchestown on his latest start. Both of the horses know their way around here well and we're looking forward to good runs, but Tiger Roll is the horse you have to seriously respect. I haven't had a winner at the Cheltenham Festival since On The Fringe won the Foxhunter three years ago."
1730 - Weatherbys Champion Bumper
Envoi Allen puts his unbeaten record and huge reputation on the line in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham on Wednesday.
Cheveley Park Stud went to £400,000 to secure the five-year-old point-to-point winner at a Cheltenham sale in February of last year, and he has so far lived up to that hefty price tag with three successive victories under rules.
Dominant displays at Fairyhouse and Navan were followed by a battling success at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown and while trainer Gordon Elliott views his charge as a work in progress, he is hopeful he can extend his winning streak at Prestbury Park.
"He just does what he has to do," said the Cullentra handler.
"Everything was against him last time with the track and the ground and more of a galloping track will suit him. He is a nice horse, but is one for the future and is hopefully an exciting three-mile chaser in time. I've probably had speedier horses than him in bumpers and you won't see him at his best until stepping up to three miles."
Elliott also saddles Abacadabras, who made a winning debut at Galway and looked set to be placed behind his stablemate before running out at Leopardstown last month.
Joseph O'Brien is also double-handed, with his brother Donnacha - champion Flat jockey in Ireland - taking the ride on Meticulous, who filled the runner-up spot behind Envoi Allen at Leopardstown.
O'Brien - who also runs Thurles winner Sempo - told At The Races: "I thought Meticulous ran very well behind Envoi Allen at the Dublin Racing Festival. He should have learned from the experience he got there and we're looking forward to him.
"We've always liked Sempo at home, but Cheltenham wasn't really in our minds for him until he won in very good style at Thurles the last day."
Willie Mullins has saddled nine previous winners of the Champion Bumper - first striking gold when training and riding Wither Or Which to claim top honours in 1996.
The Irish champion trainer's subsequent victors include Florida Pearl (1997), Cousin Vinny (2008), Champagne Fever (2012) and last year's winner Relegate, who led home a Mullins one-two-three.
This year the Closutton handler has just one runner in the four-year-old Blue Sari - who was snapped up by JP McManus after a hugely impressive debut victory at Gowran Park.
The trainer's son Patrick Mullins was on board that day, but with Blue Sari getting an 8lb allowance from his elders, Mullins is unable to get down to his allotted weight of 10st 11lb, so Barry Geraghty will take over in the saddle.
Mullins junior said: "I think it will be the first time since 2007 I haven't ridden in the race. Ruby (Walsh) doesn't have a ride, either. Blue Sari is a very laid-back individual, which is a huge advantage in a race like this. He's a French-bred horse, so he's a bit different to a lot of four-year-olds and I think he goes there with a huge chance."
Paul Nicholls runs Ask For Glory and Flic Ou Voyou, while other leading contenders for the home team include the Colin Tizzard-trained Master Debonair and Alan King's mare The Glancing Queen.
King said: "The Glancing Queen is good. I'm happy to let her go on this ground, although I would prefer it if it didn't get too much softer. I would have thought having already won at the track is a bonus.
"She also ran very well at Ascot in a Listed race, particularly as she didn't get all of her mares' allowance. I'm not saying she will win on Wednesday, but hopefully she will run a nice race."
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