Hopes high for Salmon
Michael Hourigan is hoping Beef Or Salmon can finally end his totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup hoodoo this year.
The 10-year-old has endured a fruitless journey across the Irish Sea for the last three seasons, falling on his first attempt as a novice in 2003, finishing fourth the following year and being pulled up 12 months ago.
However, Hourigan believes that first fall in the Festival showpiece could well be at the root of Beef Or Salmon’s in-and-out form since as the horse suffered muscular problems, which he is now over.
He told At The Races: “I think he’s had none of his muscular trouble since well before Christmas – I think they’ve done a super job with him.
“I think the horse knows it as well. When you see him exercising at home, he hasn’t had a pain or an ache and I think it took a full year, maybe a year and a half, to get rid of all those aches after the fall he had at Cheltenham in his first season as a novice.”
The ground at Cheltenham is usually on the quick side for the Festival and although Beef Or Salmon impressed when winning the Lexus Chase on soft ground last month, Hourigan is untroubled by the idea of faster conditions.
He explained: “He won at the Curragh on hard ground and he’s won the Punchestown Gold Cup on quick enough ground. I don’t think the ground is a big factor.”
Beef Or Salmon, who is currently vying for Gold Cup favouritism along with Kingscliff, is on course to complete his Cheltenham preparations with an outing in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown next month.
Hourigan added: “He seems to be in good form and, please God, he will stay right.”
