My tips for today and who could be star of the week
Funny, engaging and talented, Irish jockey can be a shining light this year at Cheltenham
This week horse racing should be shouting from the rooftops that it is a sport where women and men compete on a level playing field. Darts made headlines worldwide over Christmas after Fallon Sherrock’s heroics at the World Championships and that is what racing should be doing with our own global sporting superstar in the making, Rachael Blackmore.
We don’t get to see her brilliance too often on ITV as she plies her trade in Ireland but she could come to the fore today with a strong book of rides. She is special and I’m looking forward to picking the brains of my two ITV pundits this week: the two greatest jockeys Cheltenham has ever seen, Sir Anthony Mccoy and Ruby Walsh, who will analyse how Rachael has broken the mould and why she is so good.
Ruby told me this week: “Rachael is having the success she is having because of the way she reads a race and implements tactics. Physically, she is as fit as any jockey, horses jump extremely well for her and she is winning on every horse that should win as well as some that shouldn’t.”
Gabriel Clarke has been to Ireland to make a special film for today’s show in which we see Rachael’s journey from growing up on a farm, through riding in point-to-points to the top of the game. We get a glimpse of a relaxed, funny and engaging woman as well as the ultra-modest and hard-centred jockey we see at the track. It is clear that she does not want or need the plaudits she gets, but that does not mean racing should stop making a big noise about her.
The feature race today is the Unibet Champion Hurdle, which might be substandard but is wide open and is great for punters. With 17 runners going to post, luck in running will be all important.
Pentland Hills is owned by thousands of members in the Owners Group, who have paid just £57 a year and have themselves a runner on racing’s biggest stage. It will be fun to see them competing alongside racing’s giants like JP Mcmanus and Michael O’leary and it is always good to be reminded that you do not need to spend tens of thousands to live the dream.
Pentland Hills has been beaten twice this campaign but Nico de Boinville’s confidence is not dented: if they cross the line together in first place at about 3.35pm like they did last year in the JCB Triumph Hurdle, then that 57 quid is going to look like the best sporting bargain since my Super Saints signed Kevin Keegan for four hundred grand.
The same yard could throw up a new superstar in the opening race of the meeting. I had lunch with Nicky Henderson, the trainer, a week or so ago and he raves about Shishkin. As long as he handles the preliminaries and occasion OK, an Altior-esque performance would not surprise me. One horse who could out-run his odds is Edwardstone for Alan King.
Benie Des Dieux against Honeysuckle in the Mares’ Hurdle is one of the clashes of the Festival. Benie is good enough to go close in a Champion or Stayers’ Hurdle and so it is not hard to see why this is the Willie Mullins banker of the week and, great trainer that he is, Henry de Bromhead is up against it with Honeysuckle here.