Rachael Blackmore: my rides on day one of Cheltenham

It was brilliant to win the first race on the first day of last year’s Cheltenham Festival on Slade Steel, and it’s great to have such a good ride in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle again this year.

Workahead ran well on his first run for Henry [De Bromhead] when he finished third behind last year’s Champion Bumper winner Jasmin De Vaux in a maiden hurdle at Navan in early December, and he showed the benefit of that experience when he won a good maiden hurdle at Leopardstown at Christmas. 

That race has worked out well since.  The runner-up William Munny won a listed hurdle at Punchestown three weeks ago, the third horse, Springt De La Mare, is two for two over fences since, and the fourth horse was Redemption Day, the Punchestown Champion Bumper winner who won his maiden hurdle at Naas on Sunday.  It’s strong form.

Workahead hasn’t run since then, but that was always the plan, to go straight from there to the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, to go to Cheltenham as a fresh horse.  He’s a very uncomplicated horse and his work has been really good in the lead up to this.  Everything has gone to plan with him so far.  It’s going to be a brilliant race, but his form really stands up.  He should take everything in his stride and hopefully he’ll be bang there.

The Short Go runs in the Ultima Handicap Chase.  It’s obviously another really competitive handicap chase, and it’s not ideal that he’s coming here on the back of a fall, but that was in the Troytown Chase back in November, and he’s in great form at home.

He put up one of the best performances of his life on his only run at Cheltenham, in a handicap chase at the October meeting earlier this season, when he finished second behind his stable companion Senior Chief. That was on the Old Course too, on good ground, over this course and distance.  So we know that he likes the track.

He has a light weight on his back too, and we’re hoping that he can run well. 

Obviously the fact that Lossiemouth is running in the Mares’ Hurdle now makes it a more difficult race to win, but I still think that July Flower can run a really big race.

She stayed on well to win a Grade Three mares’ hurdle at Leopardstown at Christmas, she came away from Kala Conti on the run-in, and Kala Conti was clear of the rest.  That was her first run in six and a half months, it was her first run since she finished third in the French Champion Hurdle at Auteuil in May.

She is a classy mare.  She had Home By The Lee,Irish Point and Mahler Mission behind her in the French Champion Hurdle, when she finished just over a length behind Hewick.  She comes here in really good form, and I hope that she can go well.

I’ve picked up a great ride in the Fred Winter Hurdle for Willie Mullins, Murcia, who races in the Kenny Alexander colours.  I’ve had great successes in these colours in Cheltenham, so it will be lovely to put them on again there.

Murcia won a listed hurdle in France last June on her final run there.  She was a little disappointing on her first run for Willie in the Grade Two juvenile hurdle at Leopardstown at Christmas, but she was much better in a rated novice hurdle at Naas last month on her second.  She stayed on well to take second place, just a neck behind Bacchanalian, who won a Grade Three race two weeks later.

That Naas race is often a good pointer to the Fred Winter Hurdle.  Band Of Outlaws, Aramax and Brazil all won both races, and Jazzy Matty and Byker came out of the 2023 renewal and finished first and second in the Fred Winter Hurdle.  Murcia goes to Cheltenham on an upward curve, and I hope that she can run a big race.