Cheltenham: Carrigtwohill trainer Terence O'Brien targets glory with Answer to Kayf
Joy for Terence O'Brien and John Shinnick. Picture: Healy Racing
THE Cheltenham Festival gets underway on Tuesday and the greatest show on turf will provide plenty of thrills and spills over four brilliant days of racing.
Cork’s Paul Townend has a magnificent book of rides including the favourites for the Gold Cup (Galopin Des Champs), Champion Hurdle (State Man) and Champion Chase (El Fabiola).
The beauty of national hunt racing is there will always be fairytale victories and Carrigtwohill’s Terrence O’Brien sends over Answer To Kayt who looks a live contender in the concluding race of the meeting the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle.
Padraig Butler from Timoleague sends over his stable star Da Capo Glory for the Coral Cup. Cork jockeys will have plenty of opportunities for the week so hopefully, Gavin Sheehan, Darragh O’Keeffe, Adrian Heskin, Jonathon Burke, Paul O’Brien, Michael O’Sullivan, David Noonan and Jody Townend can make it to the famed winners' enclosure at Cheltenham.
It is a glorious domination for the Willie Mullins battalion right now and the champion trainer has 14 favourites throughout the week including Ballyburn, El Etait Temps, Meeting Of The Waters, State Man, Lossiemouth, Embassy Gardens, Fact To File, Sa Majeste, El Fabiola, Readin Tommy Wrong, Galopin Des Champs and Dino Blue. One thing is for certain though they all won’t win but they look well placed to win the feature race on three of the four days with the aforementioned, and State Man, El Fabiola and Galopin Des Champs.
Paul Townend already has 28 Cheltenham Festival winners including three Gold Cups. He looks to have a glorious chance of extending that record as Galopin Des Champs is currently trading at even money favourite and has looked imperious. Unfortunately, the festival is going to be without Constitution Hill who has been ruled out of the meeting due to injury. But this has given Townend a glorious chance to win a first-ever Champion Hurdle aboard State Man who is currently an odds-on chance for victory.
Incidentally, State Man is owned by another Cork man Joe Donnelly who combined with Townend for two Gold Cup victories with Al Boum Photo in 2019 and 2020. The Lisgoold rider will also ride El Fabiola in the Champion Chase while also riding a host of top-class novice hurdlers and chasers across the week.
Expect the Mullins-Townend juggernaut to dominate next week.
There will be huge local interest in the performance of Answer To Kayt which is owned by Denis and Ann O’Connor and trained by Terrence O’Brien in Carrigtwohill. This would be a real fairytale for connections and preparations have gone well.
"Everything has gone to plan so far and we couldn’t be happier with our horse. Obviously, there is great excitement building as the horse is owned locally here by the O’Connors. We run in the very last race of the meeting and Answer To Kayt will get the boat over on Tuesday.
O’Brien is enjoying a terrific season and his horses have been running well all year.
"We have about 40 horses in training between point to pointers and horses inside the rails. Sometimes you have to be patient with horses and Answer To Kayt is a prime example. He had injury problems and he never ran as a five-year-old or six-year-old. He disappointed in a couple of hurdle races so we put him away for the summer. When we brought him back in he was a different horse, winning a maiden hurdle at Limerick. His form progressed and he is improving all the time.
"We couldn’t be happier with the horse and it’s very exciting to be going to Cheltenham with a runner. Our horse would definitely like to see a bit of rain so fingers crossed."
Another local horse heading to Cheltenham is Da Capo Glory who is trained by Padraig Butler from Timoleague. This is another group of owners living the dream and it's all systems go for the festival.
"Myself and my brother JJ will drive over the lorry and get the ferry on Sunday. I have four horses in training and this is just a hobby really. The horse is owned by the Red Strand Syndicate who are mainly from around Clonakilty.
"We had a syndicate meeting and decided to take our chance. We need everything to go our way and we are 33/1 outsiders but hopefully we can be competitive with a bit of luck in running."
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