F EATURE SPOTLIGHT ON TRAINERS
Honeysuckle “She really is a magnificent mare. It’s incredible what she has achieved. She won us our first Champion Hurdle, so we were ecstatic about it. There is always pressure with any of them, but I suppose especially more so with her, as she was unbeaten going into it. After she jumped the last, I thought she would win, but even then, I didn’t dare believe it. She has so much ability and has a will to win and a great attitude, which is what you want in every horse. We’ve not discussed which way we are going yet with her.”
Put The Kettle On “She has such a great attitude and is so tough up the Cheltenham hill. She’s probably overshadowed by Honeysuckle, the poor thing. She seems to be a good few pounds better around Cheltenham than anywhere else. She seems to love it there, but I can’t put my finger on why. I’d say the Shloer Chase – November 14 at Cheltenham – will be high on our agenda again and then we’ll see from there. I’m not sure how much we have to do with her between then and the Champion Chase, which is where I imagine she will end up.”
Minella Indo “He was brilliant in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He is a real galloper and that is what he did. A bit like Put The Kettle On, he is a better horse at Cheltenham and comes alive there. He won the Albert Bartlett as a novice and that’s where he lost his maiden tag. The next season he just scraped home in a beginners’ chase at Navan and then he was just chinned in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase. Last season his form was similar, but he steps it up at Cheltenham. On the morning of the Gold Cup, he was watching the racing as there was a TV up near the stable, and he started kicking his door – he was full of himself. I’d say all roads will lead back to the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Ultimately, we’d like to get back there and win it again, but we’ve not firmed up any early-season targets yet.”
Bob Olinger “The plan with him is to go chasing next season. He was brilliant in the Ballymore and looks like a really exciting young horse. I think he is one of the best novice hurdlers we’ve had. I’d say we’ll start off looking at races between two and two-and-a-half miles and then see how we are getting on. He does a lot of loose schooling at home, so hopefully, he should be fine over them.”
26 KALENDAR
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