This has already been an extraordinary, turbulent Festival but we could be about to witness the most emotional moment of the week if Lieutenant Colonel (3.20) can honour the memory of Dessie Hughes by winning the World Hurdle. A Gold Cup-winning jockey who became a Champion Hurdle-winning trainer, Hughes was a Cheltenham God. He died in November with this horse in his care and his daughter, Sandra, now looks after him.
The six-year-old has since progressed into a talent that Hughes would be proud of. He has won two Grade Ones and achieved a new career peak last time at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting, when stepped up to three miles for the first time.
It’s no bad thing to have been kept fresh since then and he already has useful Festival form in the book, having run sixth in last year’s Neptune Novice Hurdle. In case you’ve forgotten, that was won by Faugheen and it is hardly to be wondered at if Lieutenant Colonel could not live with him in the last half-mile.
But he appears to have found his distance and, with Bryan Cooper in the saddle, makes a lot of appeal in a race that does not look full of top-class form. It is possible that the greatest danger may once again be the Davy Russell-ridden Jetson, who has chased him home in both Grade One races.
1.30 Vautour was perhaps the most impressive winner of the last Festival, though Faugheen now seems to overshadow him. He broke his winning run with a bad mistake at Leopardstown but novices do these things and on the whole he still looks very classy. The Paul Nichollls-trained Ptit Zig is a danger but this can be another win for the Willie Mullins, Ruby Walsh team.
2.05 Here’s a chance for Tony McCoy to get one on the board, through Regal Encore, who recovered his form when stepped up in distance last time to win at Exeter. He has always had a big reputation but had begun to be disappointing before that win, which followed a three-month break. If three miles is what he really needs, decent ground should not be a problem.
2.40 Foxrock is an intriguing entrant here, since he was thought to be a Gold Cup candidate and actually started favourite for the four-miler last year. Could he be quick enough? I don’t quite buy it with a rival like Balder Succes in the field. This admirable sort was just tapped for pace over two miles but has come good at this trip, winning an Ascot Grade One convincingly last time. Somehow, he has failed to complete in three previous visits here but his jumping looks very attractive these days and a better showing is to be hoped for this time.
4.00 This has practically become David Pipe’s race, the trainer having won it three times in five years, the last two for the owner Allan Stennett, who has Monetaire running this time. From the bottom of the weights, this nine-year-old has a very likeable profile for such a tricky handicap and appears to have been saved since winning a good race at Newbury in November.
4.40 Ted Walsh may have sorted out a good chance for his daughter, Katie, to ride here in Champagne James. On the strength of a handful of chasing defeats, he looks potentially very well handicapped and seems to have been crying out for three miles.
