Cheltenham Festival - Warren Greatrex intent on repeating World Hurdle triumph with Cole Harden

Now Warren Greatrex hopes that history will repeat itself when his fantastic front-runner Cole Harden bids to defend his Ryanair World Hurdle title – the day three highlight at the Cheltenham Festival.

Like Blaklion, this is a horse which caught the eye when winning Wetherby’s West Yorkshire Hurdle in 2014 and Cole Harden faces a stiffer task than 12 months ago when he made all under an inspired Gavin Sheehan.

The reason is two-fold. First Sheehan’s ‘catch me if you can’ tactics are now known to his rivals. Second, the Colin Tizzard-trained and Tom Scudamore-ridden Thistlecrack has been unbeatable this season.

Yet, despite disappointments on the first two days of the Festival, Greatrex remains optimistic. The drying ground, and a long lay-off since January 1, means Cole Harden goes to Cheltenham in better shape than last year.

“He is better as there is more fuel in the tank. He is bigger and stronger and his work is good and if anything he is starting to relax,” said the trainer, whose Lambourn stables were once home to the legendary trainer Fred Winter.

“I totally respect Thistlecrack and I also think Alpha Des Obeaux would have a good chance.

“Thistlecrack has never met Cole Harden on good ground and if he does he is going to need to be a champion because this horse doesn’t know when to give up.

“They crabbed the form of the World Hurdle last year, but he beat them hands down with plenty left and if I can get him there better with a bigger tank they are going to have to be their ‘A’ game.

“Thistlecrack has won a Grade One novice on good ground on a flat track, but is he going to appreciate coming down that hill on good ground at Cheltenham when his lungs are bursting and my man is a few lengths clear?”

While some may pick holes in the form of the seven-year-old this season after suffering reversals in both starts, Greatrex is more than satisfied with how this campaign has gone despite the lack of success.

He said: “He is almost the forgotten horse, but that is probably the way I have campaigned him. Last year he had four runs before Cheltenham and it took a bit of persuading to the owners to let me do what I have done this season as they want to see him run, but if you keep running in bad ground you are asking for trouble.

“His training doesn’t tell me he has got worse than last year, if anything it is better – it’s just unfortunate that he is just not the same horse on soft ground.

“From my point of view now you’ve done it once, you want more. It’s where you want winners and the feeling is incredible, but it goes very quick. I still think last year’s performance was brilliant.

“There are not many front-runners that win the World Hurdle. To do it again for his sake would be great.

“From a personal point of view if I get him to win it this year for me it’s a bigger achievement than last year.”

As for the tenacious Blaklion, his victory compensated connections for the disappointing defeat 24 hours previously of The New One in the Stan James Champion Hurdle.

In a race in which Sandy Thomson’s Seeyouatmidnight faded to seventh, his old rival Blaklion found plenty up the final hill to fend off Shaneshill by half a length, with a further eight lengths back to the well-backed favourite More Of That.

It also vindicated trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies deciding to stay loyal to Ryan Hatch, the young conditional who rode Blaklion to victory at Wetherby.

Even though he could not utilise his conditional rider’s three pound weight allowance, Hatch – who grew up in Gloucestershire – rode like a seasoned pro in a race that has been won in the past decade by three subsequent Gold Cup winners. “That was unbelievable,” said Twiston-Davies, who watched the race in the Cheltenham paddock from where he roared his horse home.

“He’s done all his winning on heavy ground but I had a nagging feeling that, because he’s small, better ground might suit him and I think it has.

“Funnily enough, he hasn’t put a foot wrong since he fell here back in November at the Open meeting.

“It’s horrible. We don’t like falls – none of us do – but it’s been the making of him.

“He’s so scopey, he can go long at a fence, he can go short – he does everything right now. I wasn’t worried about the fact that he had a hard race last time out at Wetherby – it’s up to me as a trainer that it doesn’t leave a mark.

“Ryan rode him beautifully. He should have been claiming three pounds but he wasn’t. What a good ride – I’m delighted for him.

“We were in a bit of a pocket at the bottom of the hill and he’s a stayer so I was a bit worried then. He quickened well and the gaps opened well for him so it was all good. Ryan is very patient in a race and very good over a fence – I usually let his ride do the talking.

“Let’s hope Blaklion keeps on improving. He’s not as big as Young Hustler, who won this race in 1993 or Imperial Commander (who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2010) but you can’t argue with what he’s done today.

“I hope he makes up into a Gold Cup horse. I was inconsolable last night as I really thought The New One would win but this has made up for it. I got a bit excited at the end of this race but that’s Cheltenham – we all desperately want to win.”

Just like Warren Greatrex and the Cole Harden team in today’s big race.

Cheltenham winners ...

HOW they finished on day two of the Festival:

1.30: A fourth Grade One for Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh as Yorkhill springs a surprise to deny Yanworth.

2.10: Blaklion, victorious in Wetherby’s Towton Novices’ Chase, wins the RSA Chase under Ryan Hatch and compensates Nigel Twiston-Davies for The New One’s Champion Hurdle defeat.

2.50: Gordon Elliott gets on the board as Diamond King takes the Coral Cup under Davy Russell for owners Grahame and Diana Whateley.

3.30: One of the all-time great comebacks as Sprinter Sacre regains the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

4.10: Any Currency’s cross country success is a first Festival win for Yorkshire-born trainer Martin Keighley who used to work on the Cheltenham ground staff.

4.50: A win at last for champion trainer Paul Nicholls and jockey Sam Twiston-Davies with Diego Du Charmil.

5.30: The Bumper win of Ballyandy completed personal doubles for Nigel Twiston-Davies and son Sam.