Cheltenham Festival: Suitable ground could see Sizing Granite prosper in Champion Chase

The Irish trainer knows what it takes to win Cheltenham’s championship race for two-mile chasers – his Big Zeb prevailed in 2010 when Yorkshire’s Kalahari King was third.

Though the Willie Mullins-trained Un De Sceaux, the 2015 Arkle winner, remains a hot favourite, Sizing Granite won the Grade One Doom Bar Maghull Novices’ Chase at Aintree on Grand National day last year.

He will also benefit from the excellent horsemanship of Jonathan Burke who is the best young jump jockey on both sides of the Irish Sea and who has recovered from a hairline fracture to his vertebrae.

“It is the plan for Sizing Granite to go for the Champion Chase,” said County Wexford-based Murphy.

“The lack of rain forecast before next Wednesday would suit our horse for sure. He won on good ground when he took the Grade One at Aintree last season and similar conditions again would be down his street.

“Jonathan Burke was very adamant when he ran at Leopardstown over Christmas that the ground did not suit him so hopefully the conditions at Cheltenham will be more suitable for him. He also seems to be at his best at this time of year.”

“If you take out Un De Sceaux it looks a very competitive race – everyone else is in the same boat.”

Sprinter Sacre, Sire De Drugy and Dodging Bullets, the last three winners of the Queen Mother, feature in a 12-strong line-up that also includes Middleham trainer Micky Hammond’s stable star Just Cameron, who was a gallant runner-up to Un De Sceaux at Punchestown last year.

Un De Sceaux has won 14 of his 16 starts, with the only two blemishes coming when the horse parted company with big race rider Ruby Walsh.

n In-form Danny Cook extended his career-best score of winners to 40 when Swing Hard took Carlisle’s handicap chase yesterday.

The horse is trained by High Eldwick’s Sue Smith, who passed the £500,000 prize money barrier with De Vous A Moi’s win at Newcastle on Tuesday under Cook.

The Thirsk-based jockey is due to ride Malton trainer Brian Ellison’s Five In A Row in the novice handicap chase at Cheltenham on Tuesday.

He could also partner the Malton trainer’s Definitly Red in Wednesday’s RSA Chase in which Sandy Thomson’s classy Seeyouatmidnight carries the hopes of the North.

n South Yorkshire ‘singing jockey’ Ryan Winks is looking forward to hitting the right notes when he partners his faithful warrior Chestnut Ben at Sandown today.

The 35-year-old grabbed the headlines at Musselburgh last month after partnering Chestnut Ben to victory in the Scottish Champion Chase. A regular singer on the northern club circuit and a former cruise-line crooner, Winks treated racegoers to a rendition of Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’.

He is not ruling out a repeat performance should he secure another victory aboard Chestnut Ben, trained and owned by his father, Peter, in the Albert Hall Dance Floors Handicap Chase.

Winks said: “I’ve never been to Sandown before, so we’ll see what it’s like. I’m looking forward to it and we’re not scared of anything. When he won last time, it was my best day in racing so far.

“It was bang-on, you couldn’t beat it.”