Ruby Walsh: After an emotional start, expect Irish raiders to start as they mean to go on
Jockey Paul Townend with Kopek Des Bordes on the gallops at Cheltenham Racecourse on Monday. Picture: David Davies/PA
The roar that will greet the runners as they creep towards the starting tape in today's Festival opener will feel a bit different from the one in other years because this year's Supreme has been named in honour of Michael O’Sullivan.
The emotion, love and pride for a wonderful young man will roll off the greatest grandstand in the sport and pour out towards Cleeve Hill as the runners hurtle to the first hurdle. It will be fast, it will be frantic, and the race will create a story just like the 27 that will follow it between lunchtime today and teatime on Friday.
Everyone wants a winner here, and the relief will flow from Paul Townend if Kopek Des Bordes delivers on the promise that he showed at the Dublin Racing Festival. There is no reason to believe he won't, and, in all honesty, there is every reason to think he could be better today than he was six weeks ago.
His improvement in jumping from Christmas to the end of January was quite remarkable, and with that experience under his belt, I expect him to be hard to beat today. Romeo Coolio is a strong stayer, and William Munny and Salvator Mundi look speedier types, but Kopek Des Bordes looks to have it all, and favourite backers should get a dream start.
Paul Townend will be sitting out the Arkle at two o'clock, but Willie Mullins won't be, and Majborough, which will be ridden by Mark Walsh in the colours of JP McManus, is Willie's second short-priced favourite of the day – in just the second race.
Last year's Triumph Hurdle winner has made an effortless switch to fences this season and blew a strong field apart on his last start in the Irish equivalent of this contest. He raced keenly and rushed at a fence or two, but nothing about how he went about his business at Leopardstown worried me.
The short run to the first fence and flurry of jumps in the opening five furlongs will suit this giant five-year-old. His age could prove the biggest stumbling block as five-year-olds have a dreadful record in the race, with Well Chief, in 2004, being the last one to win it.
That said, very few of the best juveniles go chasing the following year so that stat doesn't overly worry me. I fully expect Willie Mullins to be tipping his trilby in the winner's enclosure at around ten past two.
The Ultima Handicap Chase is next up, and Willie Mullins won't make it three from three because he has no runner here, and the first handicap of the week could bring the first British-trained winner.
The handicapper has done his best to give the home team a chance by pushing the ratings of the Irish-trained horses up a bit, and he doesn't appear to have missed any of the raiders here. Novices, who tend to be less exposed, are a good starting point when looking for the winner, and the Lucinda Russell-trained Whistle Stop Tour fits the bill for me.
This year, for the first time, the Mares’ Hurdle will precede the Champion Hurdle and to some people Lossiemouth shouldn’t be in this race or even be allowed to run it. Personally, I think she is in the race she has the best chance of winning, and she was Willie’s second string in the Champion.
This is a better Mares’ Hurdle than the one she won last year, too, with mares like Jade De Grugy, July Flower and Jetara all capable of a big performance but, at the prices, I like the five-year-old Kala Conti each-way and think she could be the one to give Lossiemouth the most to do.
She is a double-figured price and should still be improving but should get in the shake-up even if she has a little to go to get to Lossiemouth.
Constitution Hill, State Man and Brighterdaysahead are all set to face off in the day one feature, and everyone has their take on it. The only certainty is that King Of Kingsfield will lead them to the first hurdle, and this will be a Champion Hurdle run at a high tempo from flag fall.
It won't be tactical, but I can't see it being easy for whoever triumphs, and I hope that when they swing off the top of the hill and descend to three out, they are lined up and ready to go.
I expect Jack Kennedy to be pressing on aboard Brighterdaysahead from the third-last, with Nico De Boinville, on Constitution Hill, poised on her tail. State Man is likely to be tracking them both to have a go at whichever one of the two in front is left after one has cracked the other going to the last.
Maybe neither will have cracked, and he won't be able to lay a glove on them, but if you are a fan of jump racing, you have your own picture of how this will play out. Mine is Brighterdaysahead grinding the other two into defeat with a display of pace and stamina for the ages.
The Fred Winter will most likely be lost in the shadow of a compelling Champion Hurdle, but don't forget about it because I fancy Beyond Your Dreams for Joseph O’Brien. She needs to jump a little quicker than on her most recent starts, but I think the competitive nature of this race will help her there, and that slow jumping has gained a very attractive mark.
I make that five-one to Ireland on the day, but Resplendent Grey can peg one back for the Brits in the last race, now that he is upped to a marathon trip. I know the further you go, the more you have to jump, but you also go slower, and that will be key to this fellow's chances as he has jumped too deliberately over shorter distances all winter. Today could be his day and he can reward Sean Bowen for his excellent riding all season.
