Ruby Walsh has done his bit for the Thistlecrack bandwagon, using his columns with both Racing UK and Paddy Power to say he would like to ride the novice chaser in Monday’s King George VI Chase, in which the Irishman has no mount. Thistlecrack was pressing his stablemate, Cue Card, for favouritism on Betfair’s exchange on Wednesday night and both horses are available at a best price of 11-8 with bookmakers.
“If I had the choice I’d ride Thistlecrack,” Walsh said. “The likely tempo of the race and the quality of this King George field is his biggest test yet over fences. But I think he’ll prove up to it.”
While acknowledging Thistlecrack’s status as a novice with just three small-field successes over fences to his name, Walsh pointed out that the King George field would also be small, with a maximum of seven runners. “It won’t inconvenience Cue Card but he has all the experience of big fields and competitive races and that won’t come out as much on Monday.
“I haven’t seen anything in his jumping suggesting this is a race or two too soon for Thistlecrack. He’s looked a great jumper. But, that said, Cue Card is possibly 20lb better than any horse he has faced before.” Walsh added that he would have chosen Cue Card if there were 12 runners or more.
He also offered some hope that Faugheen would make a return to action in Leopardstown’s Ryanair Hurdle next week, 10 months after a ligament injury put him on the sidelines. “I don’t know if he will run there but it won’t be too long until you see him,” Walsh said. “I rode him yesterday and he’s fresh and well. He looks a million dollars. Does he retain all his ability? Oh God, he does.”
The jockey was more cautious about Annie Power, the reigning champion hurdler, also trained by Willie Mullins, saying: “I doubt she will run in the Ryanair. She seems well and is getting there now. When Willie’s happy with her, he will run her.”
Yanworth is the 2-1 favourite for Monday’s Christmas Hurdle, for which six entries were revealed on Wednesday. Alan King’s chestnut will step back to two miles for the first time in a year and faces possible competition from Vroum Vroum Mag, The New One, Ch’Tibello, My Tent Or Yours and Gray Wolf River, who is available at 5,000-1 but merely has to complete the course to secure at least £1,340 in prize money.
The British Horseracing Authority will finally offer its view of the controversial Jim Best case on Thursday, the deadline for appeals against the verdict last week having passed. Nick Rust, the chief executive of the ruling body, will speak first in an interview with Matt Chapman on At The Races at 10am and will also be grilled on Racing UK an hour later.
Later in the day, the BHA will release a statement explaining how it came to appoint the solicitor Matthew Lohn as chairman of the disciplinary panel that first heard Best’s case in February. After Best was banned for four years, it emerged that Lohn had been paid for years to offer private advice to the BHA, leading to the verdict of his panel being quashed because of an appearance of bias.
When Best’s case was reheard recently, he was still found in breach of the rules but received only a six‑month suspension of his trainer’s licence.
Best maintains he did not instruct a jockey to lose two races last December but a disciplinary panel ruled that he probably had done so.
