Jordan Gainford Q and A: Cheltenham picks, DRF reflections and more
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Fri 6 Feb 2026
Top Irish jockey Jordan Gainford reflects on the Dublin Racing Festival, discusses Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins, and looks ahead to the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.
Gainford was speaking to BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest Cheltenham odds
Bet £10 get £50 in Free Bets with Boyle Sports
Bet £10 get £50 in Free Bets + Money Back 2nd to SP Favourite.
Dublin Racing Festival reflections
I think we saw everything run to form. There were a lot of standout performances. There was an impact on the Monday crowd, it drew a big crowd on Sunday though and it didn't take from the overall performances.
It’s a massive event now. It's such an important part of the build-up to Cheltenham and it comes at just the right time. More than half the races are Grade 1s, legends are born and Irish bloodstock is dominating.
All the stars are still on show, it puts a lovely colour on the racing as it leaves everything spot on for Cheltenham.
The atmosphere around Dublin was mental. No-one can afford to miss it or avoid it.
There's top racing, top trainers, top jockeys and a super crowd. The reception for some of the big winners was massive but not just the big ones, the handicaps, everything, it was huge.
Fact To File was the standout performer of the Festival - and Majborough put on shoes against Marine Nationale
It is hard to look past the Irish Gold Cup really - Fact To File was brilliant.
Fact To File really shone. Everyone was saying that he wouldn't stay and this, that and the other. He showed that the trip is not a problem. He jumped super on testing ground and he really did put a good gap between him, Gaelic Warrior and Galopin Des Champs.
Gaelic Warrior ran a cracker considering how keen he was early on in the race.
I did like what I saw with Majborough to [in the Dublin Chase]. He was amazing to watch, especially with all the talk from Barry O'Connell on Marine Nationale.
To see what Majborough did and where Marine Nationale finished just shows you how good a performance it was. He’s rightly the favourite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase in March.
Narciso Has was a different class in the Juvenile Hurdle and has to be the one to beat in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham.
The Savils Chase might have taken it out of Galopin Des Champs - but he is still a superstar
Maybe a little. But, having won two Gold Cups would probably take a bit out of any horse really. He is a super horse, he was beaten by a super horse last year at Cheltenham and he is not getting any younger. But that doesn’t take away the fact that he is a superstar in his own right.
Come Cheltenham, I think with Willie Mullins we’ll see a different horse.
I think he can make it three Gold Cups at Cheltenham this year. But overall, Willie Mullins does have the ammunition for the race. I think it'll be between three horses and I think the three horses who will contest the Cheltenham Gold Cup will be the three who filled the places at Leopardstown.
I’d take the English pair, The Jukebox Man and Jango Baie, into consideration, but again in the King George I thought four horses were very tightly bunched on nice ground at a fast tight track.
They were too well bunched in Kempton whereas at Leopardstown, Fact To File really showed class, he showed grit and as he went through the line, he was flicking his two ears - he wasn’t troubled at all.
The way he won, the Ryanair is the race to go for with Fact To File but he could easily turn up in the Gold Cup
It's going to be interesting. He was obviously a very good winner last year in the Ryanair. Heart Wood was in second and Envoi Allen getting no younger in third.
The Ryanair would seem the race to go for, but the way he won at Leopardstown I can easily see him being supplemented.
I’ve ridden a couple of winners for JP McManus - wearing his colours is always special and everything he says makes sense
Four Grade 1 winners tells its own story. As we see every year, he spends a lot on French recruits, the store horses he buys, the number of races he supports, the sponsorship of races. With what he puts into racing he deserves everything he gets out of it.
I've been lucky to ride a winner or two for him, so when you put on those colours it feels special.
I've ridden a couple of winners for him, not big winners, but as I said when you put on those colours it just feels special.
When JP comes on in an interview you listen to what he says. Everything he says makes sense.
Mark Walsh is a top-class jockey and I wouldn’ t swap him for many others despite Harry Cobden being picked up by JP McManus as retained rider
Mark has been top class. I’ve just seen a thing on my phone come up - ten years ago, he won the Irish Gold Cup and a decade later he’s won it again on Fact To File.
That just shows he's very solid. He's a great rider and what I like about Mark Walsh is he lets the riding do the talking. He is very solid.
Harry Cobden is young, he's hungry, he doesn't do much wrong and everyone has their own opinion. But Mark Walsh is top class and I wouldn’t be changing him for too many.
He's very good, he's cool. Whether it's a meeting midweek on a Tuesday in Fairyhouse or whether it's the Dublin Racing Festival, Mark Walsh will always be in the same humour and that means a lot.
Willie Mullins is a genius and you love listening to everything he says
He knows just when to peak. He’s magic. The stats were maybe saying he was a bit slower this year than other years, but he's a genius. He's champion trainer for how long now, and I think come Cheltenham we could see a difference in some of these horses again.
As I said, Galopin Des Champs, he finished third at Leopardstown but you could never rule him out.
He's a genius at getting his horses to peak and he's a brilliant man for the game. You love listening to him and everything he says as well.
Let's see after Cheltenham [winning the British and Irish trainers’ title] and that’ll be Willie’s thinking, I’m sure. I read an interview there that it's in his mind so I'm sure he'll give it a good go.
It's going to be all up to Cheltenham and then Aintree, and I'd say he'll give it a good stab if he gets good results there.
DRF was a sickener for me
In total this season I’ve had 19 winners in Ireland and one in England. It was nice to ride a big winner in England in Newbury and Coral Cup Day with Highland Crystal in the Fillies Juvenile Hurdle.
In Ireland it's very competitive. If you hit 30 winners in the year you can call it going OK.
It was a little bit disappointing over the weekend for me. I wasn’t that busy. Casheldale Lad being a non-runner at Leopardstown was a bit of a sickener.
I thought he ran a great race at Christmas, only beaten five lengths behind two good mares, giving them 5lbs.
Things didn't go to plan, but I think the ground went against both my runners on Monday. We are keeping the head down and working hard for the rest of the season.
Leopardstown is my favourite track in the world
I'm actually riding a bit over in France at Auteuil this year for Noel George. That’s a fantastic track. The racing over there is just solid. Narciso Has came from France.
I was lucky enough to ride in a couple of Grade 1s at their last big meeting in November. It’s proper end to end stuff.
My favourite track though has to be Leopardstown. It's a proper fair track. You turn down the back there and there's five or six fences in front of you.
It's amazing really. The best horse usually wins.
Working for Gordon Elliott is working for one of the best people in racing
Look, he gave me two Grade 1 winners. He gives me most of my winners throughout the year. There's plenty of us there fighting for places behind Jack Kennedy, obviously.
It's great, you're riding good horses every day, you're schooling every day, you're riding work, you're working with the best people in racing.
It’s a competitive place. If you do something wrong, you learn fairly quickly and it's the best way to be really.
The biggest lesson I have learned at Elliott’s yard
Discipline. If you're asked to be there for 7am then be there at a quarter to seven. Keep your head down, listen to what he tells you and do what you're told. That’s the most important thing.
If you work with him, he works with you and it's a fair level playing ground.
Gordon is finding his feet now - he can absolutely challenge Willie Mullins for the trainers’ title this season
Yes, he is. He has a great team of horses and as he said, they're youngsters on the whole.
His novices like Romeo Coolio are a great bunch this year. But some of the older horses too shouldn’t be forgotten. Teahupoo is a solid yardstick and he has a lovely bunch of bumper horses.
He had a 1-2-3 in the bumper on Monday evening. I think they're very nice.
I can't see why not [challenging Mullins]. He’s gone very close before. I think they're really staying in form. Even the horses that were hitting the crossbar previously, they're coming back and they're staying solid all year, which is very important.
There’s a good break now to Cheltenham, so I think that’ll freshen up some of the horses and I think he'll have a good stab at that too.
Winning the trainers’ title would be life-changing for Gordon Elliott
It would be massive for him. It’s life-changing. It's something that the man dreams of and he tells you that himself.
The operation that he's built up now from basically scratch, it's huge. His set up is massive, he has a great bunch of owners. His staff are second to none and it would just mean the world to him.
I think we'd all be really delighted for him because he's a great man to work for.
He is so consistent. He’s won three Grand Nationals. To come along the way he has from where he started, and still winning grades, shows you how good he is.
Jack Kennedy is magic - breaking your leg six times and still coming back every time means he is mentally tough
He's magic. I am very good friends with Jack. All of us in the area are very close.
He works very hard. He's a champion for a reason. He's very good to all of us and never holds anything against anyone. He gets on with the job.
Like Mark Walsh, he could ride a winner on a Tuesday and he could ride in a Dublin Racing Festival, it makes no difference to him.
He’s very level-headed, he has a brilliant attitude and mentally he's very good.
To break your leg six times and to keep coming back, keep riding better as ever takes a lot. What Ruby Walsh said about Jack last week in Cheltenham was a serious statement.
He said mentally and physically to come back every time in this sport is huge. Mentally it's very hard and that's the toughest thing.
He's very humble, his attitude is the best part of him. He’s just hungry, he loves riding winners as we all do. He’s just a gentleman all round.
It’s great to see a new face in Darragh O’Keeffe near the top of the jockeys’ championship
Jack is in front now, holding it ahead of Darragh O’Keeffe. I’m good friends with Darragh, he's a great character. He's one of the best in the weighing room.
It’s lovely to see someone like him coming along, someone new, a new face and he's hungry. I think he's had the most mounted ride for the last couple of years in Ireland in the weighing room.
But I'm sure when Willie is really ticking all the boxes now, Paul Townend won't be far away either.
Jack Kennedy can retain his title, though
I really do think so. He's getting great support. He’s getting plenty of outside rides now as well. When he gets those opportunities, he’s taking them with both hands.
Tiger Roll has to be his best-ever horse
It’d have to be Tiger Roll with his two Grand Nationals, Don Cossack would be right up there. But look there's a few stars there now, Teahupoo, Romeo Coolio, big profile horses.
When you see them in the yard you say, ‘Jesus.’ It's mad to see, really.
Two horses to look for from Gordon Elliott’s yard - including a Champion Bumper tip
The horse that finished third in the Bumper at the DRF, Charismatic Kid. He did everything right at home. It was obviously his first run and it wasn’t long after changing the yard. So he could be one that could be a decent price for the Champion Bumper if he goes down that route
It will be interesting to see what Romeo Coolio does go for. I thought his performance was very good, he's fairly tough and he showed that at Leopardstown.
After the DRF it was all about maybe a step up and trip, so I would say two and a half miles.
But then again it'll be interesting to see whether Willie's lad, Kopek Des Bordes comes back for the Arkle or not.
Maybe if he's missing, Romeo Coolio could stay at two miles.
On performances I'd love to ride Romeo Coolio. Him or Teahupoo - one or the other.
My favourite horse I have ridden
My first Cheltenham winner, The Shunter, will always be special. I didn't know until two days before I was riding him.
The real standout though has to be Hewick. He was the one in fairness, he won a Bet 365, then travelled the world with him to America and to win their Grand National was magic. It was very early on in my career, he won a Galway Plate as well. They were three massive days.
He was a bargain. He’s very straight forward. He's not very big, he's a small horse. He just doesn't know when to stop really. He's a huge heart. He's a great mind.
He's a good one - a freak really.
The other horse I love is El Cairos who is set for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. I really love him.
With Hewick, they’re talking about going the Stayers’ Hurdle route. Look, he's a serious horse. If you saw him you'd say, ‘Jeez, how did he ever run in the Gold Cup?’
He is not big, but he’s a big part.
My ultimate ambition in racing is to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and to be the champion jockey
To be honest, everyone wants to win the Gold Cup and be champion jockey. If you're not dreaming of them, you're not really in the game. They are the targets. I was lucky enough to ride in the Gold Cup. It was probably the best race I ever rode in to be honest.
I'll keep my head down, try and ride as many winners as I can and take every chance as much as I can.
Every horse deserves their time, and you need to put every bit of time and effort you can into them and hopefully the dreams will come through after that.
Ruby Walsh was an inspiration growing up - now Jack Kennedy is the superstar
I think Ruby Walsh was just magic, along with Davy Russell. As for now, Jack Kenendy is the superstar.
I think he's a fantastic rider. No matter what horse he gets on he's just very, very good.
My best tip for Cheltenham
I’d have to say Teahupoo. He's a superstar.
I don't know my Cheltenham plans until late on - but it is still the Olympics of our sport
To be honest, I won't know where I stand until the declarations really. I’m hoping to pick up something in the Handicaps. That'll be great. We’ll just keep our head down, keep knuckling.
There are no rides to be sure of. It’ll be just get over there hopefully, and see what we can pick up.
Yes, absolutely, that is the Olympics. That's where you want to be. Everyone loves riding winners there.
There’s a real bond between jockeys but we all know the game comes with its risks
Yes. Look, that's the game we're in. In fairness in this house, we come home from racing and we're all friends. But once we get into the weighing room, things change and that's the way it should be.
To be honest, I have plenty of mates, but I live with Sam Ewing and Danny Gilligan. Owen Staples is moving in shortly.
Jack's only over the road. We're all great friends and I think, at least I hope, I've lots of friends in the weighing room!
Darragh O’Keeffe is a great character and he deserves a good shot at the jockeys' championship
I'd say when you go in there, Darragh O'Keeffe is one to really brighten up your day whether you're down in the dumps or not. He’s a great character, a great fella and I wish him the best of luck in the championship because he deserves it.
I’ve never flown with qualified pilot and jockey Sean Flanagan - but I have been flown in a plane by another jockey
No. But he’s on to me a good few times to do so!
But I've actually been lucky enough to have been in Paddy O’Hanlon’s airplane. Paddy won the Irish Grand National a couple of years ago.
He flew us to Perth one time and it was a bit eventful. There was a little bit of turbulence. It was a little bit bumpy taking off here and there, but we lived to fight another day thank God.
I used to play rugby as a scrum-half and I’ll be going to Paris to watch Ireland play France in the Six Nations this week
It's going to be interesting. First time playing on a Thursday night.
Paris would be cool to go to and I actually think I’ll get to go. I'll be looking forward to it.
When I was younger, I used to play rugby at scrum half. My dad would be a big supporter. When I go home there’d be rugby on the telly.
I was actually at a Leinster match on Saturday when they won. But I'd actually follow Munster more so!
I actually started out playing rugby with a guy called Charlie Tector and he was a 10 the other night for Leinster but he usually starts 12.
I know him quite well and kind of really follow him now.
He is a very good 12. He actually scored a try the other night and it was disallowed. But the week before he got man of the match and scored a try.
He’s one to look out for now coming forward.
Bet £10 get £50 in Free Bets with Boyle Sports
Bet £10 get £50 in Free Bets + Money Back 2nd to SP Favourite.
FREE Racing TV Calendar, Notebook and Pen Bundle!
Racing TV encourages responsible gambling - to find out more click here to head to our dedicated website page.
Related posts
Dave Nevison's Friday tips: 16-1 chance can gain overdue win
Saturday tips: Dave Nevison fancies an 18-1 chance in the William Hill Hurdle
Five horses to follow on Saturday from our experts
Henderson only concentrating on Southwell for Constitution Hill
Philip Byrnes cleared of deliberately falling off horse
Todays top offer
Bet £10 get £30 in free bets with BetVictor
T&Cs Apply
Featured offers
Get £50 in free bets when you bet £10 with Coral
T&Cs Apply
Claim Now
Bet £10 get £40 in free bets with TalkSportBet
T&Cs Apply
Claim Now
Bet £10 Get £30 in free bets with Betano
T&Cs Apply
Claim Now
Bet £10 get £50 in Free Bets with Boyle Sports
T&Cs Apply
Claim Now
Copyright 2026 Racing TV - All Rights Reserved.
Please bet responsibly
Copyright 2026. All rights reserved