Johnny Ward

I NEVER THOUGHT I’d be counting my blessings that I don’t have to go to the Cheltenham Festival.

I’ve been at a few Irish meets post-lockdown and, while it isn’t exactly a labour camp in North Korea, it wouldn’t be classed as much fun. Cheltenham without people will not be nearly the same. That terrifying obstacle-laden walk from the old press room to the parade ring, which can take several minutes and cost you a good suit, will for the sullen hacks of 2021 be without incident.

They may even yearn for what it was.

The lure of the Festival without racegoers – that there will be no social element to the proceedings – has had a remarkable influence on entries this year, the handicap lists having been made available today.

Even the Brits aren’t as bothered. The fall of entries for the handicaps are startling: Ultima – 23%, Grand Annual – 11%, PP Plate – 19%, Kim Muir – 32%, Fred Winter – 28%, Coral Cup – 26%, Pertemps – 19%, County Hurdle – 10%, Martin Pipe – 18%.

When you consider how unattractive it is taking on the likes of Shishkin, Envoi Allen, Monkfish and Chacun Pour Soi, to name a mere quartet, there are a lot of would-be Cheltenham runners not going this year, as if in some gesture of unity with the absent patrons who make it what it is, drink heroic levels of substandard stout and meet friends for life.

There is one positive to the lack of handicap entries: it will necessarily lessen the ceiling for lower-rated numbers, which might be of assistance to trainers not at the top rung who would like a runner at Cheltenham.

If the pubs were open in Ireland, Cheltenham would be amazing fun this year. Instead, winning owners lucky enough to prevail during what was once and might still be the greatest sporting show on earth will presumably celebrate on Whatsapp.

These are depressing times and we cannot but be a little envious of the developments in Britain on the vaccine front, while our politicians, who are clearly weary too, plod along and have seemed reluctant to give us any news even vaguely positive.

Perhaps we need to be reminded of our patriotic duty and all of that, with Irish winners to cheer on in three weeks’ time, the boys in green red-hot favourites to win the Prestbury Cup again, something we seem to nearly take as a formality nowadays, for all that it isn’t.

However, it’s been pretty hard to compare where we’re at this season in terms of British runners and Irish ones, since they’ve barely taken each other on at all, and there might be a punting angle there.

Generally, the Triumph Hurdle stays at home. Between Scolardy in 2002 and Burning Victory last year – and remember Goshen was two million lengths clear then when falling at the last – Willie Mullins endured 17 years of failing to win the juveniles’ hurdle, during which time the British trainers won the race ten years running earlier this century. Alan King won it twice in that time and I really like Tritonic, who had his first hurdles run for the likeable Scot.

There are lots of positives about this horse. He was rated 99 on the Flat, a high level for a hurdler, but he took pretty seamlessly to the jumping game at Ascot, when leaping with alacrity and strong at the finish. Rarely has a first-time out horse off the Flat looked so polished in a juvenile hurdle.

Zanahiyr is hard to fault and Gordon Elliott’s regard for him is telling but it shouldn’t be forgotten he ran to the guts of 20lbs below what Tritonic achieved on the Flat.

Tritonic is going to run on Saturday at Kempton in either the Adonis or the Dovecote. King said he’d have been happy if he had finished a good second at Ascot, but he was powering away at the line. I find it really hard to pick a hole in him and the 12-1 with William Hill could look an opportunity badly missed come Saturday evening.

Should he do the job at Cheltenham, it’s my round.

Recommendation (scale 1-5)

Tritonic to win Triumph Hurdle

2pts each-way 12-1 Hills