The best four days in racing is nearly here and I have a strong team going to the Festival this year, with several high-quality runners over the four days. It’s a relatively quiet start for us with just three runners tomorrow but they all have chances.
It’s always nice to get a winner on the boards early and Grand Sancy is a young horse who will give a very good account of himself in the opening contest, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle over 2 miles.
You need a horse with plenty of experience in the Supreme and with 11 races over hurdles Grand Sancy fits into that category.
Last time out he won the Kingwell at Wincanton — which showed he is very much still improving — and the hustle and bustle of a race like this should suit him.
Al Dancer was quite impressive when landing the Betfair Hurdle at Ascot last month and is one of the fancied runners off the back of that victory but I’m not sure about the form of that race as they went very slow early and it turned into a bit of a sprint.
I have trained 43 Festival winners and it would be a great start to the week if Harry Cobden and Grand Sancy could make it 44. He has a solid each way chance.
Our sole representative in the Ultima Handicap Chase — the first handicap at the festival — is Give Me A Copper. He has been pleasing me since his fourth-place finish behind Classic Ben in a handicap chase at Sandown last month. That was his first run in 446 days, so he should come on considerably for that.
I have done a couple of Cheltenham preview nights in recent weeks and he has been a popular selection for some panel members, although I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing! He has been really well at home and is in great shape but with 24 runners you need a lot of luck. If we get that luck this guy will have a really good each way chance.
Movewiththetimes, our third runner tomorrow, was running well when coming a cropper at this track last time out and he’s our runner in the Close Brothers Novice Handicap chase at 4.50pm.
Prior to that race, he had unseated Barry Geraghty in a Fakenham novices’ chase, when favourite. He also pulled up in the Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Plate at the Festival last year but he’s on good terms with himself and has been pleasing me at home.
He finished second in the Betfair Hurdle back in February 2017 so he’s a nice horse but his jumping has been an issue at times. Having said that, we have done plenty of schooling with him so hopefully he can put it all together and run well.
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