Tony McCoy’s three choices for Cheltenham handicap: Dancing Tornado, Finger Onthe Pulse, Sunnyhillboy
Champion jockey Tony McCoy, who has been nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, has been offered to mount three racehorses on Saturday. McCoy has to now choose from the three JP McManus-owned colts that will
be running in the Saturday’s Vote AP Gold Cup. The only thing McCoy has to consider while making this decision is which of these three racehorses will add to his chances of winning the most prestigious title in the sports arena.
Out of the eighteen horses that will be running in the Cheltenham Handicap on Monday, McCoy has the option to partner with some of the strongest contenders of this event. These include the second-place finisher of the Paddy Power
Gold Cup, Dancing Tornado. Others on this list are Tom Taaffe’s
Finger Onthe Pulse and Jonjo O’Neill trained Sunnyhillboy.
Meanwhile, the winner of the Paddy Power Gold, Little Josh was not considered an option by McCoy, along with top-weight Poquelin. The former colt ran in the race about a year back.
On the other hand, the winner of the race with
Tamarinbleu in 2007, David Pipe, could also field the racehorses Great Endeavour and Matuhi.
Talking to correspondents on Monday, Pipe said, “Great Endeavour is an intended runner. He ran okay (finished sixth) in the Paddy Power, but hopefully he will put up a better show this time. He didn’t jump with his usual fluency
in the Paddy Power, but is in good form at home.
“Matuhi is at the right end of the weights if he does run. I have to speak to his owner before we make a final decision.”
The racehorses that are being considered the shortest-priced withdrawals of the event are Sports Line and French Opera with 14-1 chances.
The trainers have been allotted an extra day for finalizing their entries in the Saturday’s StanJames.com International Hurdle after receiving entries for only seven competitors at the original forfeit stage on Monday.
On the other hand, the Grade II contest has received less than ten entries, which is depressing. The deadline for the entries has thus been extended to 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
Clerk of the course at Cheltenham, Simon Claisse said on Monday that he was certain that the two-day fixture will take place (it is scheduled to start on Friday.)
“I’m very optimistic of both days going ahead,” he said.
Tags: