RACING PREVIEW:GARDE CHAMPETRE, with Nina Carberry on board, makes his 15th appearance at Cheltenham when he lines up for the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase today.
The 12-year-old has been a tremendous servant to owner JP McManus, winning fives times over the cross-country track at Prestbury Park. He will be making his fourth successive appearance in this particular race, having won in 2009 and finishing second on the other two occasions.
Trainer Enda Bolger reports Garde Champetre to be all the better for a warm-up outing over hurdles at Naas last month.
“He’s in great form. The ground is a little bit on the firm side, but I don’t think it will trouble him. He’s won on firm before. We’re looking forward to it,” said Bolger.
“The conditions of the race suit him, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed and it’s the right race for him.”
On his last visit to Cheltenham at the Festival in March, Garde Champetre had to settle for second place behind Sizing Australia in the cross-country chase.
That horse’s trainer Henry de Bromhead is giving Fort George his first race in public over these kind of obstacles. “I’m looking forward to seeing him. It’s his first go in it, so we’ll give him a taste of it and see what he makes of it all,” said de Bromhead.
Cue Card and Grands Crus are set for a mouth-watering early-season clash in the Steel Plate And Sections Novices’ Chase.
As well as the two big guns, further strength in depth is added by Martin Keighley’s Champion Court, a Grade Two-winning novice hurdler and another who already has winning experience over fences. Zaynar runs for Nick Williams and James Reveley while Nigel Twiston-Davies is represented by Sybarite.
