MY BRAVEHEART IS BATTLE READY
Nicholls taking Denman route to glory
PAUL NICHOLLS feels confident Bravemansgame has the experience he needs to go and land the Ballymore Novices Hurdle.
The six-year-old is the leading 9/2 home hope for the day two cracker against the might of the Irish challenge.
Willie Mullins’ Gaillard Du Mesnil and Henry De Bromhead’s Bob Olinger are fighting at the top of the market alongside the Nicholls charge in a clash which could provide a Festival highlight.
Bravemansgame hasn’t been sighted this year since running up a hat-trick prior to the calendars changing.
His only defeat this term came back in October when pipped by Soaring Glory, who has stormed into the Champion Hurdle picture.
On his absence in 2021, the champion trainer has revealed it’s all part of the plan hatched by his boss and big-race jockey Harry Cobden to follow the same route as a mighty past hero did.
Denman, trained and owned by the same connections, had a similar preparation before finishing second to Nicanor five years ago ahead of his Gold Cup glories over the biggest obstacles.
Nicholls, right, won’t make ability comparisons at this stage of the youngster’s fledgling career but is happy to take him down the same path as the late legend.
He said: “He had four runs up to and including Christmas when he won the Challow, so we’ve just decided to keep him fresh.
“Denman had four runs before he ran in the race and I didn’t think he needed to run again. He’s very fit. Physically, he just keeps on improving.
“Basically, he’s gone down the same route. Denman won the Challow, this lad won the Challow. Physically, he’s the same type - a big, scopey horse who will make a chaser.
“If ever he was as good as Denman, we’d be delighted. I’ve never said he’s as good, we all dream he might be.”
Later on the Wednesday, Nicholls also has Politologue, below right, aiming to defend his crown in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
The 10-year-old faces an enormous challenge with Mullins’ outstanding odds-on hotpot Chacun Pour Soi rated a banker of the week for the Irish.
The champion, who won the
Tingle Creek earlier this season, will have plenty of punters creeping about his attractive each-way price of 9/1.
Nicholls said: “Chacun Pour Soi looks nearly unbeatable on his run at Leopardstown [Dublin Racing Festival]. He has got to act at Cheltenham which is a slightly different track. That’s the only thing I can see.
“Politologue’s level of form, he always gives his all and is a genuine and tough horse. This will be his sixth Festival, which is amazing really.
“He’s fairly simple to train, he loves his work. It’s just a case of getting him cherry ripe on the day. If Chacun Pour Soi turns up in top form he’s going to be really hard to beat but you never know at Cheltenham. Politologue does like the track, that’s a big plus.”
RICHARD JOHNSON is desperate to help Thyme Hill win his mouth-watering deciding clash against Paisley Park.
But the former champion jockey has made it crystal clear the Paddy Power Stayers Hurdle will not simply be a head-to-head clash.
Thyme Hill and Paisley Park are locked at 1-1 after two pulsating races this term.
The hurdling duo go to
Prestbury Park looking for the upper hand in a Thursday showpiece showdown.
Johnson, however, is wary of other contenders and is cautious about concentrating on just the one rival in a cut-throat event.
Thyme Hill is a solid 4/1 shot to sink 10/3 Paisley and his pilot said: “He just got beaten at Ascot but he seems in very good form.
“Hopefully we can get the better of Paisley Park at Cheltenham. We beat him at Newbury and he beat us at Ascot so, hopefully, it’s our turn again.
“You ride your horse to run the best race that he can. Paisley Park is very, very good.
“On the day we’ll see what everyone else is doing. There are others in the race I’m sure that are very good so it’s definitely not a two-horse race. All year round you’re hoping to have horses good enough to go to Cheltenham.
“To go there in the biggest races is fantastic.”
Despite competent rivals including last year’s winner Lisnagar Oscar and the Irish challengers such as The Storyteller and even Kemboy, the headliners are still expected to fight it out.
Thyme Hill’s handler Philip Hobbs is hoping youth might win the day for his seven-year-old, who was an unlucky fourth as a novice in last year’s Albert Bartlett.
The younger won the day in the first clash at Newbury in receipt of three pounds. But Emma Lavelle’s 2019 Stayers Hurdle king defied a two-year age gap and took revenge to claim the Long Walk Hurdle by a neck at Ascot when the pair met at level weights.
Hobbs said: “You’d have to say Paisley Park didn’t have the best of runs and he did well to win the race. But Thyme Hill ran an extremely good race and, hopefully, he is still an improver. That would be the plus.
“He’s not had that much racing and our biggest hope is he could still be an improver and is still going in the right direction, whereas Paisley Park at his age shouldn’t be.
“Paisley Park is a formidable horse and is not going to be easy to beat whatever happens.
“Thyme Hill is in really good nick. We are at the stage of thinking about a few gallops to wind him up before Cheltenham.
“He’s not a horse that needs a lot of work anyway. We’re very much looking forward to it.”
Hobbs has no concerns about the potential going at Cheltenham ahead of the slog on the
New Course. He said: “I don’t think the ground really matters to him.
“You probably don’t want it to be heavy. Anything else is fine and he could cope with quick ground. The ground is the least important thing.”
ADRIAN HESKIN believes Tritonic can force his way firmly into the picture for the best Triumph Hurdle in years.
Owner Max Mcneill’s retained jockey will get back on board the talented Alan King inmate tomorrow at Kempton as he looks to book his ticket to the Festival.
He came second at Royal Ascot last year during an impressive flat campaign which also produced a runner-up show in the Glasgow Stakes behind subsequent Group One winner Subjectivist at Hamilton to earn a rating of 99.
Tritonic then returned to Berkshire to start his hurdling career with an impressive success which caught the eye of many shrewd judges last month.
Heskin’s mount was instantly chopped into as short as 12/1 from around the 33/1 mark for the Friday opener and those odds will contract significantly again if he gets the job done at Sunbury to stake his position as the No.1 UK hope in the contest.
He said: “He impressed us at Ascot because he had to dig deep to win. I love the way he went through the race because he jumped and travelled really well.
“There is plenty to build upon fitness-wise and I think he will come on from that Ascot run.
“That was just his first run over hurdles and it would have knocked the rust off him. It was also a first run after being gelded as well.
“He’s had a smooth trip from Ascot as far as going into Kempton is concerned and he has a big reputation.
“It’s exciting to have him out again on Saturday.
“It represents the next step of his education. Of course we would all love to see him win and hopefully he can.
“But the main thing is that he learns a lot and we can keep him going forward in the right direction.”
Mcneill has come close in the Triumph Hurdle before with Walkon filling second spot in the race 12 years ago before Grumeti was third behind Countrywide Flame in the 2012 renewal.
Penzance and Katchit have both been winners for King but the Irish have a mighty-looking hand for this season with two of Gordon Elliott’s young stars at the head of the market.
Zanahiyr has been top of the ante-post lists since hacking up during the festive period while Quilixios also put forward strong claims with a smooth success at the Dublin Racing Festival.
Willie Mullins has also recently taken control of French Aseel for the Joe Donnelly team.
Heskin knows there is going to be lots of quality within a deep event but is also sure that Tritonic will be a worthy rival if he can produce the goods at Kempton and head into next month’s showdown with a two-from-two hurdles record.
He said: “It is looking as good a Triumph as there has been in recent years. The Irish team appears very strong and there are plenty of good English horses around too.
“But Tritonic’s flat rating entitles him to be up there and we hope he can back it up at Kempton. If he does, he’s worthy of his opportunity.”