After making his much awaited from injury last week in Thurles, Kildare jockey Ruby Walsh has his sights firmly fixed on more Cheltenham glory.
The Champion Jockey suffered a broken leg when falling from Let’s Dance, but he is primed to make his comeback today in Thurles. It will be the Kill native’s first race since that fall, and it is a timely boost to trainer Willie Mullins who will look to add to his 54 winners at Cheltenham.
Mullins brings a much-vaunted but currently underperforming list of stars to Cheltenham. Certainly topping the bill is the magnificent Douvan, who despite removing his invincible cloak in last year’s Cheltenham festival when being lame, remains a top class horse and one of Mullins’ best prospects this year. The Champion Trainer has pinned him up against Altior in the Champion Chase, which is one of the most mouth-watering clashes of the festival.
Another of Mullins’ big hopes is Faugheen, though two poor runs on the spin puts the once imperious 10-year-old’s prospects in doubt this week coming. He has had plenty of time to improve from his Leopardstown showing, but Mullins stated last week that he is probably not the horse he once was. He will be taking on stablemates Wicklow Braveand Melon in the Champion Hurdle, but Buvuer Dair seems the likely winner of that race.
Getabird should provide Walsh with the ideal opportunity to get a win early on Tuesday in the Supreme Novices Hurdle. Having showed really well in Punchestown on his last run, Getabird is many people’s picks for a shoe-in ahead of Cheltenham and Irish punters will be crawling all over him on Tuesday morning if the odds are right.
Another of the impressive recent winners is Next Destination, who will contest the Ballymore Novices Hurdle following a very promising run at Naas in January. That said, he did run in a field that was stripped of Samcro, who will be the strong favourite in Cheltenham if he does start this race instead of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, as expected.
The banker among the Mullins contingent at Cheltenham would appear to be Un De Sceaux, who has proved his class time and again on the biggest stage and will contest the Ryanair Chase. He is a strong favourite ahead of Waiting Patiently and Min, both of whom could cause some threat but lack the pedigree.
It presents an interesting week for Walsh, who will be aiming to be the top jockey in Cheltenham once again, but with almost a five-month hiatus from the saddle, it would be a remarkable achievement.
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