It’s a dream; a Cheltenham Dream. Both horses are running tomorrow at the Cheltenham Festival, on Gold Cup day! Can you believe it? Good for you if you can as I definitely can’t.
Before I start talking about the race, I do want to pass on my and Kim’s deepest condolences to Peter, Ber and the family. As has been reported, Peter’s mother died yesterday (Wednesday) and Peter and Ber have travelled home to be with family and prepare for the funeral which, I believe, will be tomorrow (Friday). Ber called me last night as she was joining Peter to travel up and catch the 2am ferry; it is very sad and my heart goes out to them.
It had all been so different on Tuesday evening when John, Bernard and I had dinner with Peter and Ber. They were, as always, great company and very excited about the week ahead. All of that has been put into perspective now, but I know the staff they have over, Nicola, Seamus and Paul (joined by Kevin Sexton today) will work even harder to cover everything and make sure that everything is under control.
I had been up to the centre of the course on Tuesday morning and the horses all looked magnificent. Suprise Package, according to a very happy and positive Nicola, was in even better form than before Sandown; Freedom to Dream had come over on Monday but still seemed as fresh as paint.
Saturday was an amazing day. We had a great time and the only surprise was Suprise Package’s starting price of 20/1. I honestly thought he would be in single figures so backed him at 16/1 and then again at 18/1; it never occurred to me that he would continue to drift. Anyway, you didn’t need to be a seasoned race-reader to note how well he was going and from the second last, it was more a matter of when, as opposed to if, he was going to lead and go on to win his race.
The Irish handicapper was impressed, so much so that he raised him 11 pounds to 140. That seems a pretty high mark to me but, technically, with ‘only’ a five pound rise for the County Hurdle tomorrow, he is actually six pounds ‘well in’. It’s entirely possible other horses are 10 or more pounds ‘well in’, but we’ll turn up, take our chance and we’ll see who wins. Kevin is recovered and is back on tomorrow and hoping, I assume, to win his second County hurdle in a row. I always felt the 2m 1f of the County on the stamina requiring New Course was just what he wanted; we don’t have to wait long to find out.
Kevin will not be riding Freedom to Dream though as the race is limited to Conditional jockeys. We booked Liam Harrison last week and are delighted about it. He has had a good season, establishing a 19% winners: runners ratio, is well regarded and rides Cheltenham very well.
Freedom to Dream looks magnificent and everything seems to be in his favor: the distance; the going and the rating of 135. We don’t believe he really saw out his races at Limerick or Leopardstown and have made a few tweaks. We have finally managed to get some weight off him and we would like to think has significant improvement in him for what will be only his fourth race over hurdles. He finished 12 lengths behind Hollow Games at Leopardstown and meets him on eight pounds better terms; that, if you take a literal interpretation, would requires us to find four pounds of improvement to beat him. We believe we have done that and, if that is so, our price of 25/1 compares very favourably to the 7/1 of Hollow Games.
The ground was soft today and may well dry up before racing tomorrow; whatever happens it will be perfectly fine for both horses. We will avail of Owners and Trainers Hospitality and have booked the first sitting for lunch. There are two main reasons: firstly, this will help provide a layer to soak up any celebratory drinks later and , secondly, there are only two sittings and the second coincides with the County hurdle.
Rereading this blog, I feel the need to apologize; it is pretty boring and that , I like to think, is not typical. However, it’s been a long week in so many ways and the cumulative exhaustion is just about winning out over the incredible anticipation. I will refuel my batteries this evening and tomorrow will be totally surreal. I cannot believe that I have one, never mind two, horses running on Gold Cup and both with genuine chances. Nick Luck asked if he would be able to find me if we won the Counry Hurdle; I said that he would hear me. That was ridiculous; based on how much of my voice I lost at Sandown, there is no chance of anyone hearing a sound if Suprise Package was to win.
I will go now to scratch myself really hard; please wish us luck. This is a really special day and I am determined to enjoy every minute. I would love Peter and Ber to have a winner tomorrow