Cheltenham Festival 2011 (15/16/17/18 March.

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Cue Card Champion Hurdle entry 'safety net'

COLIN TIZZARD will keep his stable star Cue Card among the novice ranks at the Cheltenham Festival, with one key proviso - that the Champion Hurdle picture does not change radically.

Tizzard confirmed his intention to run Cue Card in the Stan James Supreme Novices' Hurdle - for which he is favourite - after consulting with owner Jean Bishop on Monday.

"We've left Cue Card in the Champion Hurdle, but he's going to go for the Supreme," Tizzard told racingpost.com.

"The safety net of the Champion Hurdle is there if the three top horses came out for any reason - we do live in a precarious world."

Tizzard added that Cue Card is now entering the crucial stage of his Cheltenham preparation. "We're winding him up now. He's got three weeks hard work, and then we'll be ready. "

The son of King's Theatre burst on to the scene with a wide-margin win at last year's festival in the Champion Bumper, and confirmed himself as a potential star over hurdles with a pair of impressive wins at the start of the campaign, including a Grade 2 win back at Cheltenham.

That eight-length defeat of the highly regarded Dunraven Storm prompted Tizzard to let Cue Card take on senior rivals for the first time in the Stanjames.com International Hurdle, but he suffered a first defeat in five starts by Menorah.

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Acid tests for festival hopes on super Saturday
Racing Post

ALL roads have led to the Cheltenham Festival for some time, but with just four weekends left between now and the four-day extravaganza, plenty of big guns are set their final examination on Saturday to ensure they are up to the championship level required.

At Ascot, Pride Of Dulcote will have his final race to decide whether the Totesport Gold Cup, for which he is as short as 12-1, is a viable target.

It should be a thorough test for the Paul Nicholls-trained eight-year-old, and the trainer said: "It's a big day for him. We want to give him more experience and, in a lot of ways, this is his Gold Cup trial. It wasn't a hard decision to miss Leopardstown for this race as he didn't settle in well in Ireland and the extra fortnight has been ideal. Any rain that falls will help him as it will make the race more of a test of stamina."

Plenty of those in opposition harbour festival ambitions of their own, with Riverside Theatre a leading fancy for the Ryanair Chase at as short as 8-1. However, his performance on Saturday could determine if he sidesteps Cheltenham altogether, as trainer Nicky Henderson said:

"He does appear to be in very good order at home since his excellent run when second in the King George. We'll see what happens today [Saturday] before making a plan, and it may be that he misses Cheltenham to wait for Aintree's 3m1f Totesport Bowl Chase."

Tartak, unbeaten in his last two starts and another fancied for the Ryanair, andGrand National possible Big Fella Thanks also feature among a top-quality field of seven.

At Wincanton the Kingwell Hurdle takes centre stage, with MilleChief aiming to emphasise his Stan James Champion Hurdle credentials, against four rivals. As low as 10-1 for Cheltenham, Mille Chief was described as being in "superb form" at home by trainer Alan King on Friday.

King and owner Max McNeill will be hoping for a better day after Totesport Trophy favourite Walkon blew out in McNeill's colours on Friday, but the likes of Celestial Halo and Overturn will ensure the winner of the Grade 2 is respected if lining up in the big one at Cheltenham.

Haydock's card is also intriguing, with Albert Bartlett favourite Court In Motion odds-on to repeat his impressive victory at Cheltenham last month when taking on seven others in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle on the card.



While some are attempting to enhance burgeoning reputations for Cheltenham, others are attempting to restore theirs, none more so than Dunguib, who makes his seasonal reappearance at Gowran Park in the Red Mills Trial Hurdle.

Only third in the Supreme Novices' last season when considered by many the banker of the festival, the eight-year-old then finished sixth behind Hurricane Fly at Punchestown in the Rabobank Champion Hurdle and hasn't been seen since last April.

Luska Lad and Gimli's Rock provide the opposition to Dunguib in the Grade 2, and he is a best-priced 14-1 shot for the Champion Hurdle.

Henderson's fabulous four backed for festival

NICKY HENDERSON'S star shone brightly on Saturday as another stellar set of performances, including four winners at Ascot, prompted Coral to re-open the trainers' championship market with Henderson a 13-8 second favourite.

Henderson is £172,615 behind reigning champion trainer Paul Nicholls, who is Coral's 4-9 favourite for the crown.


Riverside Theatre led the Seven Barrows charge with a breathtaking Betfair Ascot Chase win and, despite Henderson admitting plans for the chaser were still fluid, he was nibbled at in theRyanair Chase market. Paddy Power and Stan James went 7-1 (from 10), as did William Hill (from 12), while Totesport went a point further to 6-1 (from 10).

Master Of The Hall was almost as impressive in winning the Sodexo Prestige Reynoldstown Novices' Chase, coming home six lengths clear of Billie Magern, and William Hill went 14-1 (from 33) he repeats the feat in the RSA Chase. Paddy Power were less impressed, offering 20-1 (from 33).

Sprinter Sacre's wide-margin win in the Trisoft National Hunt Novices' Hurdle was suitably impressive - despite going off at 30-100 - and Paddy Power cut him to 7-1 (from 11) for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle.

Even Mono Man, a narrow winner of the Ascot bumper, forced the odds compilers into action. Bet365 went 12-1 (from 20) and Stan James 10-1 (from 20).

At Haydock a shock victory by the Howard Johnston-trained Back In Focus prompted a major shake up of the Albert Bartlett market.

Court In Motion, odds-on at Haydock but uninspiring in action, was pushed out to 7-1 (from 6) by William Hill while Totesport went 10-1 (from 5).

Back In Focus, a highly impressive newcomer, went the opposite direction and was cut to 8-1 (from 66) by Stan James and William Hill.

Later on the same card, Silver By Nature blitzed his rivals in the Totesport.com Grand National Trial. Although trainer Lucinda Russell said the top-weight was not certain to run at Aintree nothing could halt the momentum behind the horse, who was installed 14-1 co-favourite for the John Smith's Grand National by Totesport (from 25) and 12-1 favourite by Ladbrokes (from 40).

A narrow victory for Mille Chief at Wincanton left the Stan James Champion Hurdle hopeful largely unchanged at a general 12-1, while a smooth comeback by Dunguib at Gowran Park led to mixed reactions. Ladbrokes were unmoved at 14-1, while Paddy Power went 10-1 (from 14).

Christie's Foxhunter Chase favourite Baby Run did his popularity no harm with another flawless victory in the last at Haydock. Victor Chandler went 7-2 (from 9-2) he'll give his jockey, young Willy Twiston-Davies, a first festival to remember.

Racecourse gallop a possibility for Kauto Star

PAUL NICHOLLS on Monday said that he might take Kauto Star for a racecourse spin before the Totesport Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival next month, if only to allow Ruby Walsh to reacquaint himself with the dual winner as he returns to race-riding.

Walsh is due at Nicholls's Ditcheat stable on Monday and Tuesday next week, with the trainer hoping to line one up for Walsh at Taunton next Thursday.


Kauto Star has never been taken for a racecourse gallop before running in the Gold Cup but Nicholls is contemplating that this time.

He said while entertaining the media on Monday morning: "He looks the part in his coat and is no back number, but he's a year older and might just benefit from a racecourse gallop before Cheltenham.

"He might go with Master Minded, although it's not certain and it wouldn't necessarily be for anything other than a gentle spin and for Ruby to get back on him at a racecourse."

Nicholls reportedhis festival team, also notably to include Big Buck's, Master Minded and Denman, to be in good shape, although he did warn that Tataniano may not be ready in time to join Master Minded and Woolcombe Folly in the Champion Chase.

Pepe Simo, he pointed out, was much more likely to contest the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase that the Irish Independent Arkle Trophy.

Jason Maguire ruled out of Peddlers Cross ride

JASON MAGUIRE was on Wednesday ruled out of the ride on Peddlers Cross in the Stan James Champion Hurdle after incurring a seven-day suspension.

He was found to have marked a horse, Cool Mission, at Doncaster and subsequently handed the seven-day ban, which will run up to and include March 15, the day of the Champion Hurdle.


The stewards found Maguire's ride, Cool Mission, who finished second, had suffered minor weals as a consequence of excessive use of the whip from the fourth-last fence.

Five days of the seven-day ban are for marking the horse and two further days are for frequency of his whip use. The ban runs from March 9 to 15 inclusive.

After two wins this season Peddlers Cross is a general 5-1 co-second-favourite for the Champion Hurdle.

Maguire has partnered Peddlers Cross to victory on seven occasions, an unbeaten record, and the six-year-old has never been ridden by another jockey while competing under rules.

Maguire will now have 48 hours to decide whether to appeal the ban, while trainer Donald McCain will be forced to set about lining up a replacement rider.

With the Champion Hurdle looking particularly competitive this year and many top stables represented in the race, McCain will be denied the services of many of the leading jockeys in Britain and Ireland.

Henderson believes he can strike gold with Run

THE Gold Cup remains the most glaring omission from Nicky Henderson's cv, but the trainer believes that Long Run, his representative in this year's race, "is as good a chance" he will have of winning the race.

Henderson, looking to add the festival centrepiece to his 37 winners at the meeting, hosted a media day at his Lambourn yard on Thursday, where the Gold Cup second favourite was the star attraction.



Looking ahead to the Totesport Gold Cup, Henderson said: "Long Run is my best chance in the race for a long time - Marlborough was knocking on the door - and I'm notworried about him having been beaten when running at Cheltenham.

"Nothing went right for him in the RSA last year and I had an inkling the week before with his coat and demeanour suggesting he had gone after what had been a long season for him coming over from France.

"This year he is in the same form as he was at Kempton and he is as good a chance as I will have at winning the Gold Cup."

Six-year-old Long Runand jockey Sam Waley-Cohen will spend more time back at school before the big day with Henderson reporting another session with Yogi Breisner booked next week to add the finishing touches.

With five Stan James Champion Hurdles to his name, Henderson rates this year's renewal better than last year's but believes Binocular will be up to the task, despite the doubts raised in some quarters by his workmanlike Sandown win.

"It looks a very open Champion and a very good one. Binocular has been trained for one day and nobody was disappointed at Newbury when he blew up at the last. On his Kempton run, he would have won that Fighting Fifth.

"Sandown has put doubts into everyone's mind but if Ruthenoise led they weren't going any pace and a stronger pace in the Champion will suit.

"The Sandown hurdles were like gates, very upright, and I wonder what effect that had on Binocular as he didn't hurdle as well as usual."

Henderson still rates Peddlers Cross, who beat Binocular in the Fighting Fifth, as a threat but sees Hurricane Fly as the main danger.

Zarkandar's Triumph odds continue to tumble

TWO days after the Paul Nicholls-trained Zarkandar burst on to the JCB Triumph Hurdle scene with a hugely impressive victory on his hurdles debut at Kempton, the aftershocks are still being felt in the ante-post market for the Cheltenham Festival race.

A half-brother to unbeaten Arc heroine Zarkava, Zarkandar was initially slashed to around the 12-1 (from 25s) mark for the 2m1f event on March 18, after comfortably beating eight rivals in the Adonis Hurdle.



However, following the admission by Nicholls on Sunday that he had "left plenty to work on going to Kempton" Zarkandar was forced into a single figure price across the board on Monday.

"As a half-brother to the brilliant Zarkava, a Cheltenham Festival win may not have been the initial aim when Zarkava was born, but he was most impressive at Kempton and punters clearly believe he can emulate Soldatino's Adonis-Triumph double from 12 months ago," said Coral spokesman David Stevens, whose firm went 8-1 (from 10s) on Monday.

Victor Chandler, who from 9am on Tuesday will be offering ¼ the odds on four places until the 48-hour declaration stage on the Triumph, tookeven more evasive action going 15-2 (from 9-1).

"We have seen money for Saturday's Kempton winner Zarkandar and Third Intention (16s from 20s) ahead of the offer. We have also eased favourite Grandouet to 11-2 (from 5-1)," said VC spokesman Charlie McCann.

William Hill, who cut Zarkander to 8-1 (from 10s), report support for the Dermot Weld-trained Unaccompanied in the same race and make her their 6-1 (from 7-1) joint-favourite with Grandouet.


Another Cheltenham mover on Monday was the Willie Mullins-trained Zaidpour, who despite holding an entry in the Neptune Investment Hurdle, was supported for his alternative engagement in the Stan James Supreme Novices' Hurdle.

The five-year-old was clipped into 8-1 (from 10s) with Totesport for the opening contest of the festival, making him fourth best in the firm's list, which is headed by Cue Card at 9-4.

"Zaidpour has always been highly regarded by the Mullins stable and recent support suggests he will be heading for the Supreme Novices' rather than the Neptune," said Totesport spokesman George Primarolo.

Zaidpour's stablemates, Quel Esprit and Mikael D'Haguenet, who worked after racing at Leopardstown on Sunday, were the other notable movers for Cheltenham glory on Monday.

Hills slashed Quel Esprit to 10-1 (from 16s) for the National Hunt Chase, which Mullins seemed to be favouring as the preferred festival target on Sunday, while Paddy Power make Mikael D'Haguenet a 12-1 (from 16s) chance for the RSA Chase.

Twiston-Davies fears Kauto Star and Denman
Racing Post

NIGEL TWISTON-DAVIES believes proven Cheltenham Festival performers Kauto Star and Denman will pose thebiggest threat to Gold Cup winner Imperial Commander, rather than the "young whippersnappers".

Imperial Commander, who won the Betfair Chase at Haydock on his only start this season, is no bigger than 4-1 favourite to retain his crown and Twiston-Davies does not think Cheltenham will suit King George winner Long Run or Hennessy winner Diamond Harry.

According to the betting, Long Run, as short as 5-1 with Gold Cup sponsors Totesport, provides the biggest threat, while Diamond Harry's price ranges from 7-1 to 14-1.

But, speaking at his press day on Tuesday, Twiston-Davies said: "I fear the old brigade of Kauto Star and Denman more than any others.

"I'm not sure if the undulations of the track will suitthe likes of Diamond Harry and Long Run.

"Imperial Commander is favourite and he's a worthy favourite. There's no young whippersnapper in there that frightens me."

Imperial Commander has not had the smoothest preparation for his Gold Cup defence - a cut ruled him out of meeting Long Run and Kauto Star in the King George - but he has been sharpened up by racecourse gallops at Warwick and Kempton recently.

"You can see from the gallops that he's tanking along and in good form," Twiston-Davies added.

"He's had two racecourse gallops and if he's not fit after them, he never willbe."

Such is the quality of this year's Gold Cup, Twiston-Davies believes Imperial Commander will be rated one of the all time greats should he win back-to-back renewals.

He added: "The standard of the Gold Cup is high - they are good Gold Cups at the moment and if we can win then Imperial Commander will be up there with the best of all time.

"We have got the best horse in the country and it is nice to be able to say that. Last year we were forgotten and nobody thought we had a chance and so to win the Gold Cup was brilliant. We were confident last year and we are confident again this year because we are expected to win."

Twiston-Davies is expected to run his usual strong team at the festival and one contender he hopes can emulate Imperial Commander in the future is Sybarite, who worked very well with the Gold Cup winner at Kempton on Saturday.

The five-year-old is entered for the Albert Bartlett Hurdle and Twiston-Davies said: "I think Sybarite is an exceptional horse - a big, imposing, really good-looking horse.

"We think the world of him and I think he has a very good chance in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle. He could be the next Imperial Commander."

Sybarite is a best-priced 25-1 with Paddy Power for his festival target.

Cheltenham 'in better shape than last year'

CHELTENHAM clerk of the course Simon Claisse on Wednesday maintained that the hallowed turf was in better condition than it was this time last year as he issued his first official going description.

"It's the third winter in a row that I am telling you I wish things looked a little better out there but we are in better shape than last year," said Claisse.

"The going is a mixture of soft and good to soft. My official going description of both courses would be soft, good to soft in places, but it's pretty marginal. The cross-country course is good to soft, soft in places.



"The seven-day forecast is for the weather to remain much as it is. Frosts at night, relatively cool although the temperatures may rise during the day towards the end of the week, which might stimulate some grass growth. The GoingStick ranges from 5.9 to 6.5."

Claisse added: "The second-last fence on the Old course is now in place, having moved for the October/November meetings from the bottomof the hill to the home straight.

"For races over two miles, two and a half and four miles, there is an extra obstacle to be negotiated. Three-mile handicap chases stay the same at 19 fences. Hurdles positions will be in the sameposition as last year and nearer to the winning line than we were used to from 2009 back."

The average race value is £125,000 which he said exceeded the horsemen's tariff by £1.8 million.

Tickets will be on sale on the day for the first three days of the Cheltenham Festival but Gold Cup day is expected to sell out.

Managing director Edward Gillespie said: "Our target for attendance is 215,000 to 220,000. Ticket sales are 195,000 and closing in on our best possible target. Hospitality is also stronger than it was this time last year."

Maguire free to ride Peddlers as ban reduced

JASON MAGUIRE is free to ride Peddlers Cross in the Stan James Champion Hurdle after he was successful in his appeal to reduce a riding ban.

Donald McCain's stable jockey was at the BHA on Thursday to challenge the length of a seven-day ban handed out by the Doncaster stewards last week for his ride on Cool Mission, who was found to have suffered minor weals as a consequence of excessive use of the whip.

Maguire had his seven-day ban reduced to six days, leaving him free to partner the unbeaten hurdler, rated a 6-1 shot for the first-day Cheltenham Festival highlight by the sponsors.



Maguire said: "It's the right result. I wasn't confident coming down here and didn't really know what to expect.

"Mr McCain and Mr Leslie [Tim, owner] have been great throughout and I'm obviously delighted.

"It’s very important for the horse. He looks fantastic and I am now looking forward to riding him."

Maguire was represented by solicitor Rory Mac Neice and barrister Graeme McPherson, while the BHA's QC was Max Baines.

Maguire's team argued initially that two offences were involved in breaching rule 54.3 - marking and excessive frequency - and therefore the two-day ban portion should be treated separately, so allowing the second day to be deferred given March 15 - Champion Hurdle day - includes Grade 1s.

That argument was rejected by the panel, chaired by Tim Charlton, but McPherson's assertion that the overall seven-day penalty was excessive, especially in relation to Maguire's whip use, was accepted.

The main thrusts of Maguire's legal team's arguments were that Cool Mission, who finished second to the Johnson-ridden Beshabar in a beginners' chase, had been clipped the day before the race and therefore would have marked more easily - he had never marked previously - and that Maguire's use of the whip did not deserve anything more than a caution as two of the 18 strikes after the fourth-last were 'taps' to encourage the horse to jump the last, and he put his whip down once the horse was beaten.

Injury rules Diamond Harry out of Gold Cup

HENNESSY winner Diamond Harry, one of the leading contenders for the Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, was on Friday ruled out of the festival after a visit to trainer Nick Williams' vet revealed he had injured a suspensory ligament.

As short as 7-1 with Coral for the Gold Cup, but a 10-1 chance with the sponsors, Diamond Harry, along with King George winner Long Run, was regarded by many as one of the few up-and-coming chasers capable of shaking up the established order of Imperial Commander, Kauto Star and Denman, whom he memorably beat in the Hennessy in November.


He has not raced since then though, with Williams keen to keep him fresh for Cheltenham.

However, the trainer issued a downbeat bulletin on his stable star last week, saying he was not showing the same sparkle he had before the Hennessy.

"I hadn't been happy with him and said last week that he'd lost his sparkle and it could easily be that something was ailing him," Williams told the Racing Post on Friday evening.

"He was lame so I took him to the vets and he's done a suspensory ligament on his near-fore.

"We had four hours at the vets today and that's how we found out. He'll be out for about three to four months."