Gordon Elliott on Carlito Brigante
"The better the ground, the better a performance I would be expecting to see from him so I am just hoping that no more rain materialises and the track dries out."
Day one of the Cheltenham Festival sees Cullentra House Stables with three runners at the Prestbury Park venue. Cause of causes runs for the Timeform Betfair racing club in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle and we get Gordon's thoughts on all of his runners here...
13:30 Cheltenham - Cause of Causes
We were disappointed with his run in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury in February, where he finished a well beaten 16th of 21 runners behind today's favourite My Tent or Yours. The tacky ground and the slow pace of that race certainly didn't suit him and with a faster pace and a more suitable surface likely here, I would be hoping for a better performance.
There is no doubt that this is his toughest assignment to date, however I do think that if he can put his experience and the battling characteristics he has shown this season, to good use here he could be very competitive. He ran very well here in the Racing Post hurdle last November finishing third of 18 runners behind Olofi, and he was only beaten 3 ¼ lengths at the finish. We know he handles the track, regular pilot Davy Condon is booked to take the ride and with soft ground forecast I'd be hopeful of a good performance.
16:40 Cheltenham - Mae's Choice
She's been in good form at home since finishing a relatively disappointing fifth of eight runners behind Nicky Henderson's Ma Filleule, in a Grade Two mares hurdle at Warwick back in February. Prior to that she had been running well, and she won a Grade Three hurdle at the Punchestown Festival in 2012 under Paul Carberry, who is booked to take the ride again.
I have no doubt that Willie Mullins exceptional mare Quevega will be very hard to beat, and if she could manage to finish in the first five or six I would be very happy. She will need to produce a career best effort and will need to improve significantly on what she has shown to date to get into the frame. However I'd be confident that the trip of 2m4f and the forecast soft ground should suit her, and if she takes to the track I'd be hopeful of a good run.
17:15 Cheltenham - Carlito Brigante
He has been in great form since his recent run on the all-weather at Dundalk, and this race has been the target for him all season. He loves it around here, and seems to come to life when he runs at this track. He won a competitive novice chase here over a similar distance in October beating Paul Nicholls' Domtaline by a short head, and he was a very good winner of the Coral Cup back in 2011 off an OR of 140.
He gets in here off a mark of 137 and he looks well treated on the face of things, and my only worry would be the forecast soft ground. The better the ground, the better a performance I would be expecting to see from him so I am just hoping that no more rain materialises and the track dries out. His regular rider Davy Russell takes the ride, and his experience will count for a lot in a race of this nature. I'd be disappointed if he couldn't go close, but his dependency for good ground will play a large part in any chance he may have.
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