Last season saw the Irish trainers bag nine victories at the 2009 festival and that was just one behind the all-time record of ten winners they achieved in 2006. Although, the festival extended to four days in 2005, the British have still held the aces in the training stakes and with the likes of Paul Nicholls, Nicky Henderson and Alan King in their make-up will still look to dominate the winner’s enclosure.
Nicholls, in particular, will have an abundance of talent fighting fit for the biggest National Hunt festival in the world and is likely to saddle numerous winners throughout the showpiece.
The likes of Kauto Star, Big Buck’s, Master Minded will all go to post for Nicholls and the British camp in the Blue Riband events but the Irish will have their own superstars vying for glory.
Solwhit and Go Native are the top two in the market for the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle and that could provide the Irish with a decent start on the Tuesday.
Willie Mullins will also have several runners coming over from his base in Co. Carlow with Cooldine topping his list. Also, the immense Dunguib will be travelling over for Philip Fenton and will be most Irish punters’ banker for the whole meeting in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
One division the Irish have dominated over recent years is in the winning jockey’s department. In the 2009 festival Irish jockeys won 21 of the 26 races and of Britain’s five successes only Wayne Hutchinson was the solitary professional winner as the other four were conditional jockeys.
This season is unlikely to be any different with Ruby Walsh destined to dominate the weighing room and with AP McCoy, Barry Geraghty and Denis O’Regan, to name a few, also likely to have a decent book of rides the British riders will face an uphill battle. Richard Johnson and Robert Thornton will be flying the flag for the British but yet again the festival will be dominated by the Irish.
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