Rich Ricci has another strong team heading to the Cheltenham Festival this year. John Ingles assesses his key runners.
Gaelic Warrior
Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, JCB Triumph Hurdle
Gaelic Warrior has yet to actually race in the Ricci colours but the bookmakers are taking no chances with him for his intended stable debut for Willie Mullins in the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle for which he’s a firm favourite across the board. He had three races at Auteuil between April and June of last year for the training partnership of Hector de Lageneste and Guillaume Macaire, finishing third in his last couple of starts.
The principals in those races went on to prove themselves some of the top juveniles in France in the autumn which could mean that Gaelic Warrior has been let in lightly in the Boodles on a BHA mark of 129. He looks an interesting runner in a race that Mullins has yet to win.
Chacun Pour Soi
Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, Ryanair Chase
There’s little doubt that Chacun Pour Soi is the best horse that will be competing in the Ricci colours at Cheltenham later this month but has his best chance of winning at the Festival passed him by? He made a belated Cheltenham debut in last year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase for which he started at odds on as the standout two-mile chaser but fluffed his lines in finishing only third behind lesser rivals Put The Kettle On and Nube Negra.
While likely to meet that pair again in this year’s contest, Chacun Pour Soi faces bigger threats from the outstanding second-season chasers Shishkin and, from his own stable, Energumene. Chacun Pour Soi’s latest visit to Britain also ended in disappointment in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown but some electric jumping on the way to his third victory in the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown last month served as a reminder that he remains very much a top-notch chaser.
Mercurey
Weatherbys Champion Bumper
The Riccis have two entries in the Champion Bumper. The ex-French five-year-old Houlanbatordechais hasn’t been out yet for his new connections but they’ve unleashed four-year-old Mercurey to some effect, his debut at Gowran in January being preceded by a glowing report from Rich Ricci several days beforehand. Mercurey certainly lived up to his billing, sent off the 30/100 favourite and making short work of his rivals in the four-year-old bumper, all bar one of them making their debuts.
Mercurey made most of the running, travelling powerfully, before quickening clear in the final furlong to win by thirteen lengths. Cue Card remains the only four-year-old to win the Champion Bumper since 1995, though Mullins won the same Gowran bumper with Blue Sari who went very close at Cheltenham three years ago.
Vauban
JCB Triumph Hurdle
Success for Gaelic Warrior earlier in the week would no doubt be seen as a boost to the chances of another Ricci juvenile Vauban in the Triumph Hurdle. He’s another French recruit but was a Flat performer across the Channel, good enough to win a listed race on his final start there. He was odds on for his hurdling debut at Punchestown on New Year’s Eve but turned out to face a stiffer task than it looked at the time as he went down to Pied Piper who has since advertised his own Triumph claims in no uncertain terms for Gordon Elliott.
Vauban then inflicted a first defeat on Pied Piper’s stablemate Fil Dor in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown, picking up well off a sound pace to pull three lengths clear. Vauban still has room for improvement in his jumping, and with more to come from him he could well turn the tables on Pied Piper in their rematch at Cheltenham.
Royale Pagaille
Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup
Royale Pagaille has proved himself a high-class staying chaser for Venetia Williams in the last couple of seasons and one well worth another crack at the Gold Cup. He was a well-beaten sixth in last year’s race (when he would have been eligible for the Festival’s novice chases instead) but his jumping let him down under conditions that weren’t really testing enough for him. He wouldn’t want the ground to dry out before this year’s race, therefore, and on unseasonably good going he finished a remote second behind A Plus Tard in the Betfair Chase in the autumn.
In more typical conditions for Haydock, though, Royale Pagaille confirmed himself a high-class chaser when a game winner of the Peter Marsh Chase under top weight for the second year running. His second since in the Denman Chase at Newbury was a creditable effort but again underlined that he really wants the mud.
