Fehily goes for gold with Our Duke ride
Super-sub lands plum role for Cheltenham Red Mills Chase winner now 8-1 for big contest
Noel Fehily, who deputised for the injured Barry Geraghty to win last year’s Champion Hurdle on Buveur d’air, will get the opportunity to prove himself ‘super-sub’ again this time in the Timico Gold Cup after he was handed the ride on Our Duke yesterday.
Our Duke, who is now trading as short as 8-1 for jump racing’s blue riband after winning the Red Mills Chase at Gowran, was ridden by Jessica Harrington’s stable jockey Robbie Power on Saturday, but Power, who won last year’s Gold Cup on Sizing John, is committed to the defending champion as he is retained to ride for the late Alan Potts.
The 2½-mile chase, run on heavy ground, could prove itself one of the key Cheltenham trials after Our Duke, who has undergone a back operation since he won the Irish National last spring, returned to form to beat the RSA favourite Presenting Percy by a length – giving him 7lbs.
The ride will revert to Power if anything should befall the 6-1 shot Sizing John, who has not run since being beaten by 32 lengths in the Christmas Chase at Leopardstown.
Both jockeys are outstanding horsemen and similar in that they are more than capable of sowing up big races out in the country by getting horses into a good rhythm, so it is no surprise Harrington moved early to secure Fehily.
Harrington was pleased with Our Duke’s performance on Saturday. “He’s back on track,” she said. “He had to do that to convince us even though it was the wrong distance on horrible ground. The other horse is very well, too. I’ve never worked them together so I couldn’t put them in an order and, as for jockeys, Robbie had no choice in the matter because he is retained to ride Sizing John.”
Alan King is keen to supplement Kingwell Hurdle winner Elgin for the Unibet Champion Hurdle for £20,000 – even after sleeping on the idea. “In the last three weeks his work has progressed again. With the penalty it was a tough ask, but he came through it well,” he said.
“I’ve just been looking through last year’s Champion Hurdle ratings and the second and fourth were rated 154 and 157. I think Elgin will be close to 160 on Tuesday.”
Ted Durcan, 44, who won the Oaks on Light Shift and the St Leger on Mastery, says he is to retire.