Team Ireland hoping for more of the same
Some 5,000 Irish racing fans make an annual pilgrimage to the Cheltenham Festival in hope of teaching the home team a lesson or two.
The introduction of the new four-day meeting in 2005 made it a true stamina test for those who like to spend as much time painting the town red in the evening as they do investigating the finer nuances of the formbook.
But the army of visiting invaders had the added advantage of a record nine Irish-trained winners to help line their pockets and give them every reason to turn each night out into a celebration.
Comparing the total tally with that managed in years gone by is something of a red herring, with the extra races added to the programme.
But by any standards, 2005 was a great year for Irish jumps racing, as the nation claimed the Queen Mother Champion Chase (Moscow Flyer), Totesport Gold Cup (Kicking King) and Smurfit Champion Hurdle (Hardy Eustace), not to mention Kicking King’s Stan James King George VI Chase victory and Hedgehunter’s brilliant victory in the John Smith’s Grand National.
Kicking King managed to repeat his King George success in less-than-ideal circumstances earlier this season, but injury means that he will not be able to defend his Gold Cup crown this time around.
Moscow Flyer and Hardy Eustace are both ready to bid to win their races again, but neither is likely to start as favourite this season, so should the Irish be preparing for a disappointing year ahead?
Hardy Eustace may have lost his place at the head of the betting to Brave Inca after defeat at Leopardstown in the AIG Irish Champion Hurdle but bookmakers Cashmans offer just 1-3 (a price that should arguably be even shorter) that the Champion Hurdle crown goes to Ireland again.
With Brave Inca, Macs Joy and Al Eile, as well as Hardy Eustace, all at the forefront of the betting, they certainly have a point.
Other strong hands on the first day of the meeting come in the Arkle Chase (Accordion Etoile and Missed That) and Sporting Index Cross-Country Chase (Spot Thedifference and Native Jack).
But for many the race that sets the tone for the meeting is the curtain-raiser of the Anglo-Irish Bank Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, where the Irish usually come up with a well-backed favourite, which is backed to provide the funds for the rest of the week.
Arcalis kept the prize in the UK last year, but Brave Inca’s 2004 success all but brought the house down as he outfought compatriot War of Attrition to bankroll the day for most of the sell-out crowd.
Noel Meade’s Sweet Wake is the market-leader to repeat that sort of performance and, provided the jumping skills of this talented ex-Flat performer hold up against the pressures of a fiercely-run race, he should go close.
With the exception of the Paul Nicholls-trained Kicks For Free, Willie Mullins appears to hold the key to the usually-abundant Irish challenge for Wednesday’s Champion Bumper.
Mullins, who was winning the race for the fifth time when Missed That scored 12 months ago, could have as many as five or six runners as he bids to further enhance his record, headed by Ballytrim and Equus Maximus.
Also on the second day of the meeting, the Irish will fancy their chances in both the Royal & SunAlliance Chase and Hurdle, while aside from Moscow Flyer the likes of Fota Island and Central House will fly the flag in the Champion Chase.
Seemingly the weakest day of the challenge will come on the Thursday where the best Irish hopes in the day’s major event, the Ladbrokes World Hurdle, may come in the shape of Asian Maze or Golden Cross, although the Tom Taaffe-trained Kings Advocate looks an interesting contender in the Pertemps Hurdle Final.
For those punters still with any energy left, the Gold Cup is the undoubted highlight of the final day, and probably of the whole meeting, despite the absence of the great Best Mate and reigning champion Kicking King.
The lack of a contender with top form has left Beef or Salmon with a fine chance to atone for his three disappointing runs in the race to date.
When winning the Lexus at Leopardstown over Christmas and following up in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup in February, he looked back to his best and his trainer Michael Hourigan reckons that his muscle problems are now firmly in the past.
The likes of War of Attrition and National hero Hedgehunter will also give Ireland every chance of taking steeplechasing’s blue-riband prize.
Hedgehunter’s owner Trevor Hemmings, trainer Mullins and jockey Ruby Walsh were among those invited to a reception last June hosted by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Although it is probably too much to hope for more of the same in 2006, Brian Kavanagh, the chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland, is still busy celebrating.
“The year of 2005 was probably the most successful year ever for Irish racing,” he said.
“For the first time ever, in 2005 all five major UK National Hunt races were won by Irish horses.
"The winning of the King George, the Gold Cup, the Champion Chase, the Champion Hurdle, and the Grand National by horses which were Irish-bred, trained and ridden was a remarkable historic achievement.
“Nine Irish-trained winners at Cheltenham followed by a phenomenal eight winners at Aintree franked the form of the class of 2005.
“This transformation in the fortunes of Irish horse racing has come about through hard work, planning and a unified approach across the industry.
“Improved prize money, investment in racecourses and extensive promotion and development of the sport has given the industry great confidence.
“The effects are also felt further afield in that Irish racing has created a success story for Ireland itself, generating widespread employment in direct and indirectly-related industries, earnings from tourism and the export of horses as well as an unbeatable social and sporting amenity for the Irish people.”
An unbeatable social and sporting amenity for the Irish people? He must be talking about the Cheltenham Festival!
