Primed to be the Best

14 April 2012

It was meant to be yet another Festival where the British racing public continued their ongoing love affair with Best Mate. In 2002, they hailed Henrietta Knight's gelding as the new star of the chasing scene. In 2003, they lauded him as the first back-to-back Gold Cup winner for more than 30 years, and Cheltenham went into raptures last year when he emulated Arkle by winning three in a row.

But even the mighty Arkle couldn't manage a fourth consecutive Gold Cup win and, now that broken blood vessels have ruled Best Mate out of Friday's big race, the 200,000 people bound for Cheltenham this week are holding out for a new hero.

Here are some of the best human and equine characters who look set to make the headlines at jump racing's biggest event of the year.

Ruby Walsh

Whisper it softly, but AP McCoy is no longer an automatic choice in any debate about who is the best jump jockey on the planet. Cool and polished with a demon finish, Walsh commutes between Ireland and Britain and shows the added skill of a diplomat in keeping a clutch of big trainers happy. Paul Nicholls supplies him with a string of stronglyfancied rides, including Azertyuiop, which make him a worthy favourite as he bids to be top rider at the Festival for the second year running.

Martin Pipe

He wrote the book on training Festival winners and, with 32 in the bag and only one blank year in the last decade, he heads into this week with a typically powerful team. He has had his ups and downs with officialdom this year, with one hefty fine under the non-triers' rule and another for refusing to let one of his horses be dope tested. Pipe is favourite to be top trainer again, though his arch rival Nicholls looks bound to push him all the way.

David Johnson

The Essex financier has invested fortunes in Pipe's stable and been repaid with a raft of big-race wins which have left even JP McManus trailing this season. Johnson bets in telephone numbers when he feels the price is right, and he left a big hole in the betting ring with a touch on Well Chief in last year's Arkle Chase.

AP McCoy was aboard in the race and recalls that the man known as DJ had no concerns about the diminutive gelding's lack of chasing experience. He said: "He might not have trusted me, but he certainly trusted the horse because he backed it to win about 600 grand!"

Cornish Rebel

Walsh feels that "when his mother was handing out the brains, Best Mate was at the front of the queue and this fella was at the back". However, despite his quirks, this gelding has inherited a large chunk of his big brother's ability. A strike rate of six wins from nine starts makes impressive reading and the canny Walsh can be relied on to shield him from the battle for the lead in Wednesday's SunAlliance Chase.

What will happen if he gets to the front remains to be seen, but at 12-1 he represents an interesting eachway option as he bids to uphold the family reputation.

Nina Carberry

Female riders have had a thin time at the Festival since Gee Armytage rode a double in 1987. Granted, one or two have managed a victory in races confined to amateurs, but this 20-yearold-student is in against the pros and thriving.
Karanja in Wednesday's Champion Bumper provides her best chance of emulating her older brother Paul, who has notched five Festival wins. Unbeaten in three, Victor Dartnall's gelding boasts the best form of the British team and Carberry's 5lb claim could prove a big asset if things get tight.

Azertyuiop

How can you oppose a horse who has won every one of his 17 completed starts over fences? With great difficulty is the short answer, but Azertyuiop might just puncture Moscow Flyer's air of invincibility in Wednesday's Queen Mother Champion Chase.
The fact that the big two are joined by Well Chief means the three highest-rated chasers in training will line up for the most pulsating four minutes of the 2005 Festival. Tactics and clean jumping will be crucial, but Azertyuiop is a magnificent sight when allowed to force the pace and will give Moscow all the trouble he can handle if he poaches a lead on the final bend.

Barry Geraghty

As a teenager, leading trainer Noel Meade described him as "a cocky little bastard". Now, at the still tender age of 25, he owns a farm, a pub, a nightclub and the rides on some of the most powerful jumpers on either side of the Irish Sea.
Moscow Flyer is the ace in his pack, but Macs Joy and Kicking King give him a powerful hand in the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup, too. "When you hit that line in front then you explode and join in with the crowd," he says. "A score on the board at Cheltenham is as good as it gets."

Baracouda

If he performs up to his best, the star French stayer will be hard to beat in Thursday's Ladbrokes World Hurdle. And if he gets turned over, stand by for a possible Gallic tantrum from his trainer Francois Doumen. Elegant yet edgy, Monsieur Doumen was in his element when his son Thierry was aboard but, despite two wins this season, seems less than convinced about Baracouda's new partner AP McCoy. The champion is unperturbed, though. "He's the shortest-priced favourite of the week and deserves to be," he said. "If he's at his best then he should win - it's that simple."

Kicking King

Two weeks ago he was history, with owner Conor Clarkson saying "there's no way we can get him there" and trainer Tom Taaffe adding "it would be unfair to rush him". A Lazarus-style recovery sees him back in the picture - which is terrifying to those who layed him at 1000-1 - and his commanding King George win marks him as a natural heir to Best Mate's throne. Clarkson named his horse after a character from his daughter's learning module, Letterland. It could have been much worse. The alternatives included Munching Mike and Harry The Hairy Hat Man.

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Cheltenham

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Primed to be the Best

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