Ex-Jockey Daryl Jacob Tips Irish Trainers to Rule Cheltenham Festival Again
Former jockey Daryl Jacob has predicted Irish-trained horses will again dominate this year's Cheltenham Festival, according to an interview published by SportsBoom.
Former National Hunt jockey Daryl Jacob has predicted that Irish trainers will once again dominate the Cheltenham Festival, which begins next week, in comments given to SportsBoom.
Jacob, who retired last season having ridden more than 1,000 winners, said the strength of Irish Grade One form made another dominant showing likely. He pointed to the quality of Irish novices and novice hurdlers moving into the chasing ranks as evidence the trend would continue.
Last year Irish-trained horses won 18 of the 27 races across the four days of the Festival, including 12 of the 14 Grade One contests. Trainer Willie Mullins alone recorded eight Grade One wins and became the first trainer to surpass 100 career winners at the meeting. British Horseracing Authority chief executive Julie Harrington previously described the extent of Irish dominance as damaging to the sport.
English hopes
Despite his prediction, Jacob said English trainers Nicky Henderson, Paul Nicholls and Ben Pauling could provide competition. He highlighted Henderson’s team, which includes Champion Hurdle favourite Constitution Hill, who missed last year’s Festival through illness, Champion Chase favourite Jonbon and Triumph Hurdle contender Lulamba.
On Mullins specifically, Jacob said rival trainers needed to match the standard the Irishman continues to set, describing him as being “at the top of the tree” in terms of sourcing top-class horses. Mullins’ Galopin Des Champs is again expected to challenge for the Gold Cup, aiming for a third consecutive win in the race.
David Powers’ Cup
Jacob also spoke positively about the David Powers’ Cup, a new initiative that awards jockeys points based on their finishing positions in ITV-broadcast races, with a top prize of £500,000. He said the competition, currently led by Harry Skelton, has helped bring jockeys’ personalities to a wider audience and praised the level of engagement from riders including Harry Cobden, Nico de Boinville and Sean Bowen. Jacob noted he would have relished competing for the prize during his own career, particularly during a season in which he won around 80 per cent of the Grade One races he contested.
The interview was issued and credited to SportsBoom.