Day 3 of Cheltenham gave us a loss and showed just how
trappy this meeting, though fantastic, can be! Yesterday’s favourites and
co-favourites came 9th, 12th, 21st, 22nd,
4th, 5th, 2nd, 15th, 6th,
3rd, and 4th on what was a day to forget for
jolly-backers.
As for us, we picked up a place in the La Touche Cup with
Uncle Junior coming from nowhere to
finish 3rd at 11/2. Duke Of Lucca seemed to take to the banks well
and travelled and jumped brilliantly throughout – he looked like a bit of shoe-in in-running according to the
exchanges, but ended up a disappointing 5th. And Bishopsfurze was,
as we warned, unpredictable and didn’t run to his potential.
In the big one, our 12/1 e/w selection, Bog Warrior was a
non-runner. With the race won by a 20/1 outsider, and Quevega, At Fishers
Cross, and Fingal Bay not running quite as well as may have been expected, I
really think Bog Warrior could have given them all a run for their money. We
were of course then watching the race from a neutral perspective as far as betting
was concerned, and it would have been brilliant to see wonder-mare Quevega
finish off a wonderful career with a win at Punchestown. Full credit must go,
however, to Jetson, who gave a brave run in front, and Davy Russell, who got
the ride just perfect.
Gods Own was the 25/1 winner of the Grade 1 Ryanair Novices
Chase, followed home by a 20/1 shot and then our selection, Balder Success. Our
each-way bet, on the other hand, came 5th after running well most of
the way around.
Today, though, is the big day. From the start of the
festival, the clash of Hurricane Fly and Jezki has been billed as the race of
the week, with Jessica Harrington’s up-and-coming Champion Hurdle winner facing
off against arguably the best two-mile hurdler of all time (arguably – let’s
not get into that). To top it off, just over half an hour after we witness this
supposed Clash of the Titans, possibly the most exciting horse from Cheltenham,
Vautour makes an appearance in the Grade 1 Tattersalls Ireland Champion Novice
Hurdle.
Moving on, then, as always, to the racing….
5.30 –
Punchestown Champion Hurdle – 2m – Grade 1
This has been billed as the race of the festival for a long
time now, with record-breaking Grade 1 winner Hurricane Fly, having dominated
not only this particular race but all of the two-mile hurdling division for so
long, being challenged by Jessica Harrington’s 2014 Champion Hurdler, Jezki.
Old Kings versus new pretenders, classic heroes versus
rising stars, this race should in theory have everything that National Hunt
racing is renowned for – the same stalwarts of the game returning each year,
while exciting new prospects come bursting onto the scene, perhaps unexpectedly
as may have been the case for Jezki’s Champion Hurdle win.
But first, the mighty Fly. Hurricane Fly is one of the true
characters of Willie Mullins’ yard, who seems to have been there forever, who has
a great talent and also a great attitude, and who is admired and supported
constantly by his loyal fan base. The Fly is one of those horses which don’t
come around too often which manage to capture the imagination of not only the
racing public, but of a whole country which gets behind this star hurdler every
time he runs.
However, at Cheltenham his vocal supporters were silenced
when Jessica Harrington’s 6yo Jezki, ridden by Barry Geraghty, won the Champion
Hurdle, with My Tent Or Yours and The New One directly behind him and Hurricane
Fly reduced to just fourth. With Jezki running immaculately, The New One being
badly hampered and recovering brilliantly, and My Tent Or Yours finishing very
well considering how keenly he ran, Hurricane Fly was a definite fourth-best.
Supporters will point out that he has won this race for the
last four consecutive years, but I would be quick to caution you that, although
he ran off the back of Cheltenham defeat in 2012, he had in my book run to a
career best in either his last or second last start before Punchestown, a feat
which he has not managed to repeat this year. His runs this season haven’t been
to quite the same standard as we’ve been lucky enough to see over the past few
years from Hurricane Fly. Although the Cheltenham run can perhaps be discounted
due to fast ground, the other starts these season (despite the fact that they
were wins) lacked something the Fly has had in past years.
Jezki, on the other hand, comes in to this race off the back
of what was undoubtedly a career best performance in the Champion Hurdle at
Cheltenham. All of the talk surrounding how unlucky The New One was having been
hampered by the fallen Our Conor has taken away slightly from Jezki’s run – he
quite simply did nothing wrong and it’s hard to find any chinks in his armour.
The ground won’t be as fast today as it was at Prestbury
Park the month before last, but Jezki will be in no way disadvantaged by soft
ground – in fact, the official going description is Good to Yielding, on which
ground he is 2 wins from 2 runs in the past. He is one from one on good to
soft, one from one on yielding, and one from two on good ground, perfectly
demonstrating how versatile this horse is.
Jezki also has nothing to be afraid of regarding the fact
that Hurricane Fly is a course specialist (8 wins from 9 runs) with a win from
his only past race at the track only a good sign. He is also four from four on
right-handed tracks and four from four on undulating tracks such as
Punchestown.
Admittedly, and this is to take nothing away from the
Champion McCoy, I was disappointed to see that he had replaced Barry Geraghty,
who is currently in fine form, on board Jezki, after choosing to overlook him
in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. Jezki has a 100% record with Geraghty on
his back, with five wins from five runs.
The theory that Hurricane Fly will have come on for the Cheltenham
run doesn’t mean much to me. He ran his final race before the festival in
February and has made plenty of course appearances this year already. Jezki, on
the other hand, seemed to come to life when he came to Punchestown last year,
reversing the form with the 2013 Supreme winner Champagne Fever by beating him
in the Herald Champion Novice Hurdle.
Soon after the death of her husband Johnny, it’s wonderful
to see that Jessica Harrington in form at the moment – and it would be even
better if Jezki could top off his Champion Hurdle win with one in the
Punchestown Champion Hurdle.
1 – Jezki
2 – Hurricane Fly
3 – Steps To Freedom
Jezki EVENS* (NAP)
*Be sure to get Best Odds Guaranteed.
Elsewhere today, the tank that is Vautour runs after his
Supreme form has been franked in style by the horses he made short work of in
the opening race of the Cheltenham festival. He’s undoubtedly the most likely
winner today but I won’t be betting at 1/3 in a race in which I wouldn’t put
you off a bet on any of the runners (except maybe for Noble Emperor). Yes,
Vautour is worth watching, but I’m going to leave this race watched today, even
if I do have massive faith in the horse.
As always, the very best of luck and only bet what you can
afford to lose. Jezki is, by the way, a festival bet and the NAP of the day.
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