Amy can shoot to the top with Kalashnikov
AMY MURPHY is hoping Kalashnikov can hit the target at the Cheltenham Festival in today’s Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. The Newmarket-based trainer’s father Paul, who owns the son of Kalanisi, reserved the name hoping his daughter would unearth a weapon of a racehorse. He did not have to wait long. Kalashnikov has justified the faith of 25-year-old Amy, the youngest trainer in Britain who only started training in 2016. The giant five-year-old made a winning debut at Wetherby almost 12 months ago and has only been beaten once in his subsequent four runs. After a storming win in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury last month, Kalashnikov was promoted to 11-2 third favourite for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the runner seen as the biggest threat to Willie Mullins-trained favourite Getabird. Murphy said: ‘You dream of having a runner at the Festival which could be competitive, never mind having prospects of finishing in the first four. ‘We are only a small stable and have only just started out. To be going to what is the equivalent of our Olympics with a live contender is amazing.’ Before Murphy began training she worked with some of the biggest Flat trainers in the world, including the renowned Gai Waterhouse in Australia. In Britain, Murphy has worked with Tom Dascombe and was assistant to Luca Cumani for three years, where she rode the outstanding talent Postponed every day. Murphy hands huge credit for Kalashnikov’s success to his underrated jockey Jack Quinlan, but at home the gelding is her ride. Murphy said: ‘I have ridden some very nice horses and now get to ride Kalashnikov. Rather than relying on anyone else, you are relying on your own judgment. He is not the easiest. He can be quite keen. I would rather know exactly how he feels every morning. ‘Now and again, I let Jack school him but only with the handbrake on.’ Murphy admits nerves mean she struggles to watch Kalashnikov during his races. ‘I can just about watch the Flat horses but not the jumpers,’ she says. ‘My poor travelling head lad has to let me know when they have cleared a hurdle and I can look up. When they are approaching the next hurdle, I look down again.’ Murphy feels Kalashnikov should cope with the Festival experience better than her. She adds: ‘The preliminaries shouldn’t be a problem. The Betfair Hurdle was very intense and he never turned a hair. Although he has only run on flat tracks, he is a very balanced horse and very professional, so he should handle Cheltenham. ‘He can be quite laid-back so there may be stages where he looks like he is not travelling, but then the turbo kicks in. ‘He is not a flashy horse. He has to be woken up and told to go and do his job.’ Not many jumps horses are trained in Newmarket, the Suffolk town regarded as the HQ of British Flat racing. Kribensis, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, won the 1990 Champion Hurdle with jockey Richard Dunwoody wearing the colours of Sheik Mohammed. Two years later, Stoute’s Newmarket colleague James Fanshawe landed the Champion Hurdle on Royal Gait, with jockey Graham McCourt wearing the Sheik’s colours, and Fanshawe won his second Champion Hurdle with Hors La Loi III in 2002. Murphy believes she has another gem to fly the Newmarket flag at the home of jump racing.