WALSH HEADING TOWARDS VAUTOUR IN THE CURTAIN RAISER: With Cheltenham starting a week today – Ruby Walsh is likely to ride Vautour in the opening Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
Just one week before the famous Cheltenham roar signals the start of the 2014 Festival.
Ruby Walsh and Willie Mullins wasted no time last year in getting off the mark when Champagne Fever won the opening Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – the start of a fantastic opening day for them – and this year Ruby Walsh will be hoping he has got it right in choosing Vautour in the race.
Mullins still has nine entered for the opener but it’s Vautour who is the strongest in the BETDAQ ante-post market currently trading at around 5.2 (odds below).
Vautour joined the Mullins team from France and is unbeaten since then in three runs over hurdles. He started odds on for his debut at Navan – a 30 runner race which he won easily and has since followed up in better class by winning the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer at Punchestown and most recently the Grade 1 Deloitte Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown where again he was impressive in beating The Tullow Tank who was sent off the odds-on favourite.
Wicklow Brave is the next best Mullins runner according to the market and Walsh admits it was a difficult choice.
“It will be a tough call,” he said, “I am probably leaning towards Vautour and I have won the race on stayers in the past. He seems to be a good stayer but they all have at least two more bits of work to do and they have to travel. But Wicklow Brave is a good horse, he’s got a lot of speed. He jumped only okay the last day but I think he’ll improve on that and he’s a hell of a good horse and I hope I’m on the right one.”
The Paul Nicholls trained Irving was catapulted to the top of the market after an effortless five length success in the Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle at Kempton recently – one of the last key trials for the race.
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