THE day of destiny has arrived for myself and Cue Card. Friday’s Gold Cup is what this week has been all about for me.
While I was hoping that I could have landed a winner with one of my select book of rides, Cue Card was always going to give me my best chance of being in the winner’s enclosure. As I said earlier in the week, this horse has been a career-saver for me and it truly is an honour to be associated with him.
I’ve been involved with his owners for over six years now, ever since I rode a horse called Mount Oscar to victory at Newbury on November 28, 2009. Colin Tizzard’s stable jockey and son, Joe, was unavailable to ride that day and I filled in for the spare.
I didn’t know at the time but he was Bob and Jean Bishop’s biggest winner until then - just a matter of months before Cue Card stormed to victory in the Cheltenham Bumper. Bob, who sadly passed away just four days after Cue Card’s win in the King George at Kempton last year, kept in touch with me after that and when Joe retired as Colin’s stable jockey the season before last I was approached to take the ride.
Unfortunately for me, other commitments meant that I was unable to, but luckily at the start of the season the chance came along again and three rides and three wins later here we are, the perfect couple.
Cue Card is 10 now but he really has become the public’s number one horse and if he manages to come up the hill in front today, I can’t begin to think how emotional it will be. I think one of the things that the public like about him is that Colin is not one of the big trainers and people can relate to the small man training a superstar better than maybe Willie Mullins or Nicky Henderson.
But as Thistlecrack showed yesterday when winning the World Hurdle, the skills of Colin should never be underestimated and it would take his career to new levels if he were to get this horse to win a Gold Cup as a 10-year-old.
The horse has everything you would want in a National Hunt superstar. He just finds everything easy. He jumps, he travels, he quickens and while some do, I personally have no doubts that he will get the Gold Cup trip. People regularly ask me to compare him to my 2010 Gold Cup hero Imperial Commander and it’s difficult because they both share a lot of qualities, particularly their toughness and their will to win.
If anything, Cue Card is that little bit more versatile and also has a bit more speed, making it easier for me to delay my challenge on him a bit longer. So do I honestly think he will win today? Well, it’s surely a tough race, as you would expect a Gold Cup to be, but Cue Card’s win in the King George was a fantastic race and as Vautour showed yesterday, there’s nothing wrong with the form. We will never know how Don Cossack would have fared at Kempton had he stayed on his feet and I see him as my main danger today, if he gets a clear round. One edge my fella has over ‘the Don’, though, is that he’s a dual Festival winner, while Don Cossack has been to the Festival twice and is yet to win.
Watch the Irish News preview for Friday at Cheltenham:
As for the rest, the two Willie Mullins horses – Don Poli and Djakadam – would I think prefer the ground a bit softer, while Smad Place might be there to pick up a few scraps, though let’s be honest, have you ever seen a horse finish eighth in the Gold Cup one year and then come out and win it the next? It just doesn’t happen.
Barters Hill’s chances of winning the Albert Bartlett novices hurdle today were given a real boost when Altior and Buveur D’air were first and third in the Supreme on Tuesday. Barters Hill beat both horses in a Newbury bumper last year and I can see people latching on to that today. He’s progressing nicely but he has no course experience and on today’s better ground I would just prefer Shantou Village.
He was no match for Yanworth at Cheltenham in January but that was on heavy ground and his win at the course in November was on ground closer to what it will be today. He could improve for the step up in trip.
Paul Nicholls seems to hold plenty of aces in the juvenile hurdler ranks after a one-two in the Fred Winter and Zubayr (pictured) surely holds a great chance in the Triumph Hurdle today. To do what he did at Kempton first time over hurdles you have to be good and he’s the one for me in a very open race.
On The Fringe would be one of my bankers of the week in the Foxhunters. A lot of the hype will surround Victoria Pendleton and On the Fringe could jump off at a silly price, much like Minella Rocco did in the amateur race on day one. JP McManus put him up as one of his bets of the week so you can’t ignore that. He bolted up last year and there’s no reason why he can’t again.
Another horse I fancy for a repeat is Next Sensation in the final race, the Grand Annual Chase. It looks like this has been the plan for him this year as he’s been running in graded races and on unsuitable ground to bring his mark down and as a result he’s only 1lb higher than when he won this last year.
He’s not far off a graded horse on today’s ground and I definitely see him making a bold bid from the front like last year.
