FEATURE HARRY COBDEN
“If Sean wins, I’ll be the first man to shake his hands”
still got a lot of faith in the horse and I think he will outrun his odds. “If Galopin Des Champs has any chinks in his armour at Cheltenham, then Bravemansgame will find them out, as he ran his heart out in it last year.” Victory in the Gold Cup would top any other success Cobden has so far achieved at the Festival, but he believes Stage Star represents his best chance of a winner at the meeting, after backing the eight-year-old to return to his brilliant best in the Ryanair Chase. Cobden said: “If Stage Star is in good form. I think he is my best ride of the week. He is a fantastic horse and his Paddy Power Gold Cup win in November was brilliant. “He was not right last time at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day, but he is so much better around Cheltenham than anywhere else, as he is just very effective at the track. “Paul is the best target trainer in the country and he will have him on point for the Ryanair. If he was going there straight from his Paddy Power run, he would have been favourite.” Experience over the fences at Cheltenham can be crucial for any chaser, especially novices, and Cobden feels both Stay Away Fay in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase and Ginny’s Destiny in the Turners’ Novices’ Chase can use that to their advantage.
“Sean is a good mate of mine, and I’ve sat next to him for the last seven years in the weighing room. It promises to be a good old battle for the title.” Last year, Cobden had to settle for second in his pursuit of a first Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup success with Bravemansgame, who has filled the runner-up spot in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase, Betfair Chase and Ladbrokes King George VI Chase so far this season. Despite most perceiving Galopin Des Champs as a near certainty to become the latest dual winner of the Blue Riband of chasing, Cobden feels Bravemansgame, who will bid to give Nicholls a record-equalling fifth Gold Cup, has been somewhat overlooked. He continued: “Galopin Des Champs is the one to beat, while Fastorslow is a quality horse, and Shishkin is decent, but Bravemansgame is in that bracket. “I think Galopin Des Champs should be favourite, as he dominated the race last year and he has looked brilliant this season. “Our season probably hasn’t gone to plan, but Bravemansgame is fresh and well and he will go there with a massive chance. “First time out this season at Wetherby, I thought he ran a great race, but he just blew up near the end of the race, but everyone knows that, and the race at Haydock probably came a bit soon afterwards. “Plenty of things went wrong in the King George, as he got hampered by Shishkin, and I nearly fell off him, then he ballooned the last as well, which probably didn’t help him. I’ve
Albert Bartlett is the likely route he will go, although he is still in the Baring Bingham as well. I thought he ran a hell of a race in the Challow, as he had some good horses in behind him. He doesn’t do a great deal in front and I’ve actually learnt a lot about the horse in his last couple of runs. “I was gutted at Cheltenham in November, as I thought he was an absolute certainty. I’ve still got faith in him and I think he is a classy horse. Getting on the scoresheet at the Cheltenham Festival means that little bit more than most winners on the calendar. However, for Cobden, it could be even more special should they count towards a first Jump Jockeys’ Championship, something he thought at one point was beyond him. He added: “Back in October, when I was more than 40 winners behind, I thought winning the title was getting a little bit unrealistic, but I’ve had a bit of luck and I had a hell of a run through January, while December was good as well.
“I thought it was a bold thing to do to run him in the Cotswold Chase, but he didn’t have a massively hard race and he has got to be the one to beat. They were proper horses he was against last time. He is one of those horses that just keeps improving. He is an awesome horse and it would be great if he could be a dual Festival winner. “I think Ginny’s Destiny is another fantastic horse and Paul has done a great job training him this season and all the horse has done is improve. I think I’ve built up a real bond with the horse as the season has gone on. It is going to count in his favour that, as a novice, he has had four starts over fences around there. “The reason he has done so well this season is that he is so straightforward and that is testament to the horse. I am confident about his chances going into the race. He is a lovely horse to have, and if things go to plan, he will run very well.”
He said: “I thought Stay Away Fay was utterly brilliant in the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham last time, and Paul seems to think he will improve a lot in fitness, which is always encouraging to hear. The experience around Cheltenham over fences should help him massively. “If Stage Star is in good form. I think he is my best ride of the week”
“Getting another Festival winner or two would be great, but the title battle will
The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle has proven to be a happy hunting ground for Cobden, who believes Captain Teague should go well in attempting to secure him a record-equalling third victory in the race should connections opt to go down that route. He added: “I would say that if the ground wasn’t too soft, the
be a good ding-dong, and I’m sure over the last six weeks of the season, it might get a bit more serious.
“If Sean wins, I’ll be the first man to shake his hands. I think it is exciting, and it is good for racing as it is a good story, whichever one of us ends up winning it.”
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