Selections can wait. The only place to start is the best day of this year’s Festival by far, a day when it felt like people fell in love with Cheltenham again.
I was flat when I left the track on Wednesday and I was not afraid to say so in Thursday’s Mail Sport. I was genuinely concerned the British horses would be pummelled again, but what a glorious fightback it proved to be.
Dan Skelton? Wow. He surged to the top of the British trainers’ championship with his third and fourth winners of the week. I was adamant Grey Dawning would win and that beautiful grey didn’t let us down. But to produce Protektorat to take the Ryanair was something else altogether.
For Sir Alex Ferguson to be involved in the ownership was just perfect. I said on these pages in November that he is racing’s greatest ambassador and the thrill he’ll have got with his great mates, Ged Mason and John Hales, will be off the scale.
Some 40 minutes earlier, the trio had won the Pertemps with Monmiral and I assure you the happiness in the winner’s enclosure was unbridled — matched later by that of Harry Redknapp, whose Shakem Up’Arry passed the post first in the Plate to noisy acclaim.
Galopin Des Champs faces tough challenge in bid to make history in Cheltenham Gold Cup
Ferguson 2 Redknapp 1 —you’ll have seen that scoreline somewhere before.
Then how about popular West County trainer Jeremy Scott getting in on the act with Golden Ace?
This was a proper Cheltenham afternoon; winners shared out, some favourites going in but a sense that everyone had a fighting chance. The previous two days felt too one-sided.
Sport needs competition and this sport will have plenty of that as we reach the crescendo and the main event, the 100th Cheltenham Gold Cup. There are some high-profile absentees but we still have a race for the occasion. This is a proper Gold Cup.
Defending champion Galopin Des Champs sets the standard and will be a hard nut to crack, particularly with underfoot conditions to suit.
It’s easy to see Galopin galloping to victory again and the only thing not to like about him is the short price. Taking evens, possibly odds-on, in a contest that will be run at lung-burning ferocity? You’d be braver than me.
Owners John Hales (C) and Sir Alex Ferguson (second right) celebrate after Prokektorat won the Ryanair Steeple Chas
Fastorslow was behind Galopin Des Champs at Leopardstown in February but that wasn’t his Gold Cup. He’ll be trained to the minute for today by his canny handler Martin Brassil and is the best jumper in the field. I’ll be amazed if he’s not in the first three.
Unfortunately, we won’t see Shishkin. Goodness, I’d have loved to see Shishkin. But this has been a week to test the patience of Nicky Henderson and we will never know now whether the enigmatic gelding would have handled the hustle, bustle and claustrophobia of this test. He had the talent to win a Gold Cup but the question about his determination will go unanswered.
What a shame, too, that the ground has gone against Hewick. An £800 Gold Cup winner would have been a narrative straight from a movie script.
In their absence, however, others can make life hard for Galopin Des Champs. Gerri Colombe hasn’t quite lived up to the hype and might need an absolute slugfest to go close, but owner Brian Acheson is enjoying an outstanding week with two winners, and a third wouldn’t be a shock.
Few horses get beaten in a Gold Cup and come back to win it. Bravemansgame has his work cut out.
L’Homme Presse is another decent contender for the home team but is he quite good enough?
Dan Skelton (right) surged to the top of the British trainers’ championship on Thursday
We know where we stand with most of these horses but we still don’t know about Corach Rambler. He won at this meeting last year, then bolted up in the Grand National. He loves to weave through horses in a big field, and if he’s still in contention at the bottom of the hill, he’ll win. I say that with confidence. I’ve been talking him up for weeks and I won’t desert him now.
My two big plays are now non-runners — Sir Gino and Shanagh Bob — but I’ll have a little interest in King Of Kingsfield in the County Hurdle. Gordon Elliott’s team think this horse can run in top races and he’s nicely weighted. Follow him closely.
