Scudamore still thrilled with Arkle triumph

“It just gives you enormous satisfaction,” said the rider, who is now just six successes short of a first century of winners in a career which continues to gather momentum.

“But I’m more happy for everyone else at Pond House, the lads and lasses who do the hard work. They have a real spring – a good vibe.

“They should get the plaudits, I just ride the horses. It’s embarrassing.”

Scudamore, 31, was speaking after spending yesterday analysing every Cheltenham race with his boss David Pipe – including those races where promising horses like Red Sherlock and Kings Palace, did not perform to their optimum.

Yet, while the grey Dynaste’s win in Thursday’s Grade One Ryanair Chase was, arguably, the most satisfying of the jockey’s career, the outsider Western Warhorse’s Arkle win last Tuesday was the most exciting – and unexpected.

A still nervous horse who unseated Scudamore on the way to the start at Kempton on Boxing Day, the jockey remained unconvinced when Western Warhorse made a winning chase debut at Doncaster in January. Now he has no doubts.

“There was no fluke over the performance,” he told The Yorkshire Post.

“You could run that race 100 times and he would win 100 times. If you take him out of it, all the right horses were in the field.

“If Champagne Fever and Ruby Walsh had beaten Trifolium, everyone would have said that it was a very good Arkle. The more I look at the race, the more of a thrill it becomes. If he backs it up, he’s going to be a very, very good horse.”

While Western Warhorse showcased Scudamore’s strength in a driving finish, his calmness on the well-backed favourite Dynaste reflected his all-round tactical acumen. Twelve months ago, he probably hit the front too soon on the horse. This time, he bided his time before pouncing at the last.

It silenced those who quibbled over Dynaste’s battling qualities after last year’s defeat and the grey’s disappointing run in Kempton’s King George behind Silviniaco Conti.

The horse required extensive work on his muscles just to get him to Cheltenham.

“He had a couple of problems which they had to sort out. That’s David’s job. I don’t ask questions – I just get on with it,” said Scudamore, whose 15-year career had yielded just two Festival winners prior to last week.

“In some quarters, the horse has had a bad press, which was a bit unfair. Some have said he’s been in and out. He’s actually been very, very consistent over the last two years, winning a big race at Aintree and now this.

“He’s very versatile; I guess he’ll race at Aintree next month. He’s much more settled. I think he can win over any trip. He’s special.”

As for Ballynagour’s runaway win one hour 20 minutes later in the Byrne Group Plate, Scudamore’s verdict was telling.

“It was the easiest ride I’ve ever had at Cheltenham,” he said.

“As boring as it sounds, it’s plain and simple down to the fact that I have got better horses to ride. David has got better horses.

“In the past, I might have thought my chance for the week had gone after a horse like Red Sherlock was beaten. This year I had another good ride to look forward to in the very next race. It makes a difference. You need a very good horse, but you also need a bit of luck.”

That final imponderable, luck, brings Scudamore to the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup and The Giant Bolster who was a close third to the Irish pair of Lord Windermere and On His Own in a frantic charge to the line that saw a possible outcome change complexion several times in the final strides.

Though David Bridgwater’s horse, now placed in three successive Gold Cups, was pushed widest of all, the jockey says Lord Windermere was a worthy victor as Jim Culloty of Best Mate fame became just the fourth man in history to ride and train the winner of the race.

“I definitely got bumped from On His Own jumping right at the second last,” explained Scudamore. “But Bolster, he’s a funny so-and-so. He’s made a mistake two out, he’s been bumped, and then he’s upsides going to the last. Who knows? Everyone’s saying he was unlucky, but the best horse won on the day.”

It is a view shared by Tim Easterby, the Great Habton trainer whose Hawk Hill won the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle and will now be given time to recover.

“He’s going to be class,” said Easterby whose Trustan Times returned to form when fourth in the Pertemps.

“From working for my father Peter, and riding horses like Sea Pigeon before Champion Hurdles, you know you need an extra special horse to win at Cheltenham. That’s why it was 15 years between Barton and Hawk Hill – I’ve not had that many horses with a chance.”