In an exclusive interview with BOYLE Sports , Willy Twiston-Davies said the Gold Cup is wide open and that Marine Nationale could reverse his Dublin Racing Festival defeat to Majborough if Cheltenham ground suits better and argues Fact to File will be very difficult to beat.
The former jockey argued that it would still be difficult to looked past Fact File For The Gold Cup but that Haiti Couleurs has the ability to challenge.
Elsewhere, Willy gave his perspective on Harry Cobden’s Big Move to JP, the impact that may have on Mark Walsh and claims that horse's in Britain receive more attention than in Ireland .
Champion Chase
Champion Chase: Marine Nationale To Reverse Majborough Defeat?
Majborough was really good at the DRF . But I just do wonder whether Marine Nationale might be able to turn it back around at Cheltenham . His performance at Christmas, when he was second after being absolutely blindsided, was an unbelievable comeback performance. Did he have a harder race there than we all thought? Maybe.
But the Champion Chase looks very open to me. If Galopins Des Champs returns to his ‘A’ game, he’ll be bang there in the Gold Cup. You’d never ever write Willie Mullins off. His whole team, Patrick, David, Casey and Willie , are all geniuses. You've got to take on trust what they said that maybe Galopins Des Champs had a harder race over the Christmas period, leading into the DRF.
I thought he jumped well; he certainly wasn't disgraced. If he comes back to his A game, he's going to be bang there. After getting beaten by Inothewayurthinkin last year, he's got to go back to his first Gold Cup form. The form of last year would not be good enough to be competitive in this Gold Cup . The race is going to be a big step forward from last year.
Gold Cup
Hard To Luck Passed Fact File For The Gold Cup
I find it very hard to look past Fact to File. The performance he put in at the DRF was remarkable. His jumping was the best. I remember years and years ago when Paddy Brennan rode Imperial Commander . When he rode him to stay, he never seemed to perform. The one time he dared him to go for it in the Gold Cup , he went and won it! I think that's what Mark Walsh did. Instead of trying to ride him to stay, he just rode him like he was the best horse in the race, and that proved to be the case.
Obviously, The Jukebox Man's performances have been spot on all year. Will he have to step forward slightly to beat Fact to File ? Probably, but can he do it? He can. Obviously, Haiti Couleurs has done nothing wrong apart from his one blip. I thought he won very well the other day; he seems to handle all sorts of ground. He’s won at Cheltenham , and he'd probably be my pick of the British . Jango Baie looked to me like he got outpaced and was just a bit un no man's land at Kempton .
Nico said Cheltenham will probably suit him better, and the way he powered up the hill in the Arkle last year, you can’t knock him. On the whole, it's a really intriguing Gold Cup , and it's something we've been looking forward to for a while. Instead of having a short price favourite, it's quite nice that you can have a 3-1 or 4-1 favourite. Five or six of them have a chance, at less than 7-1 or 8-1. And that makes it a proper race.
Haiti Couleurs For Gold Cup
If you've got a horse of Haiti Couleurs’ quality at this stage, surely the Gold Cup is the target. Look at Synchronised going from winning a Welsh National to winning a Gold Cup.
I think this horse shows a bit more class. The way he went round in the Denman was very good, I thought. Sean Bowen was very positive; his jumping was good. He quickened away well. He's very ground versatile, he's obviously won at the track, and I do think he's actually improving. He's certainly a horse you'd love to have in your yard. He’s very consistent. Apart from Haydock , you can't fault him.
Jockey Moves
Harry Cobden’s Big Move to JP
I know Harry (Cobden) very well. At a young age, he has achieved a lot in a short space of time. He is the go-to jockey on the big days. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out and whether Harry spends more of his time in Ireland or over here. Whatever happens, the role will involve travelling around a lot. I think Harry's just got that little bit of extra flair, like Barry Geraghty. He performs on the big days and doesn’t get flustered.
Personally, it looked like it was working the way it was. Nico de Boinville has made very few mistakes on the JP ones at Nicky Henderson's , and they've done well. But I suppose I can see JP’s point. Maybe they want a bit more continuity in England and Ireland , and Harry fits that bill.
That said, Mark's a fantastic jockey. I don't know the reasoning behind it, whether they just want to pin someone down for longevity who's a bit younger. But Mark's record speaks for itself. He's been unbelievable. He's ridden more Grade 1 winners than anyone for JP . He's very quiet, makes very few mistakes, and obviously, I'm sure he'll be disappointed to lose the job to Harry .
Trainers Championship
Cheltenham Top Trainer Battle
Gordon is obviously a fantastic trainer. It's particularly good to see Jack Kennedy having some luck from all his injuries. He’s had no luck whatsoever and seems to bounce back every time, and rides better than ever. But I think it'd be very hard to beat Willie with the firepower he's got. Obviously, Gordon's got some fantastic chances and some very nice horses. But will his standout novices like Romeo Coolio going to be as good as the ones Willie and Nicky have got? The answer is probably not.
Brighterdaysahead , will she win the Mares’ ? Possibly. Will she win the Champion Hurdle ? After her last two festivals, maybe not. But he'll be very strong in the handicaps in some of the races. He’s got Teahupoo in the Stayers’ Hurdle .
He's got the backing of all those big owners, so you wouldn't be surprised if he didn't nick three, four, five winners. But it'd still be hard to see Willie not getting six or seven.
Horses In Britain Get More Attention
For some owners, if you're with Willie or Gordon , you're probably a smaller number; unless you're a JP , although I’m not saying they don’t do a magnificent job for all their owners. If you've got four or five horses, you probably get a little more attention to detail about your horse with a yard in Britain.
What Willie and Gordon are achieving is unbelievable; to have that number of horses and consistently place them well, they always look great. It's a testament to them. They're obviously brilliant trainers.
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