DERRYLIN trainer David Christie will have three horses running in one race at the Cheltenham Festival next week as he bids to break his duck at the famous meeting.
Ferns Lock, Vaucelet and Ramilles will all line up in the St James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase next Friday, March 15.
Christie saw Winged Leader edged out by Billaway in the race in 2022, while last year he saddled 9/4 favourite Vaucelet to finish seventh in it.
“Everything’s good. We’re all ready to go,” Christie said. “We took all three of them for a racecourse gallop after racing at Leopardstown on Monday [March 4].
“From here it’s a matter of keeping them in one piece for Cheltenham.
“Ramilles has won four point-to-points this year and he has been placed in two hunter chases. The ground has been terrible for Vaucelet all winter, but he’s coming into form now.
“It’s giving good ground for Cheltenham, which he wants, so he deserves to take his chance. All are good enough to run in the race.”
However, it’s the exciting Ferns Lock that looks a class above his contemporaries after recently claiming Thurles’ Carey Glass Hunters Chase in January at a canter for the second year running. He is now primed for Prestbury Park on the final day of the Festival and is priced at the short odds of 5/2.
“Ferns Lock is favourite for the race and touch wood everything has gone well for him. He won at Thurles very well and has improved again since then,” Christie said.
“He’s an exciting young horse. We’re slightly concerned as it’s a longer race and two furlongs more than he has run before at three miles and two furlongs. That’s an unknown for us, but he’s a high-quality horse.
“I suppose he deserves to be at the head of the betting, but anything can happen at Cheltenham. You can go over there very confident but still get well beaten.
“It’s the Olympics of horse racing, so all you can do is hope that everything goes well on the day. All you can be is hopeful, but we are going over with three nice horses.”
Nerves will be jangling as the big race approaches next week but Christie will be keeping to his normal routine for travelling to Cheltenham.
“We’ll take the horses over on the boat early on Tuesday morning and arrive in Cheltenham on Tuesday night. We’re on track, so fingers crossed,” he said.
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