Bryan Cooper playing Gold cards close to his chest

With Gigginstown Stud’s powerful team behind him, Bryan Cooper is as low as 7/1 third-favourite to be crowned top jockey at next week’s Cheltenham festival but, inevitably, it is his choice of Gold Cup mount which is attracting most attention.

Cooper has repeatedly stated he will probably leave a decision on what he will ride until declaration time two days before the race.

Even though Don Cossack is 4/1 favourite in some ante-post lists, many layers betting on which horse Cooper eventually winds up on reckon the Kerryman will plump for Don Poli instead.

“The question I am getting asked a lot at the moment is whether I will ride Don Cossack or Don Poli and my honest answer is that I haven’t decided yet” he reported.

“Don Poli has won both his starts this year and he’s going into Cheltenham very fresh. On the other hand Don Cossack has had a very good year, bar the King George at Kempton, where he was unlucky at the second last.

"It's so hard to choose between them, so I need to take my time and make sure I make the right decision," Cooper added. Gordon Elliott has indicated he is unlikely to use cheek-pieces on Don Cossack, especially so if the ground comes up decent. Gigginstown's spokesman Eddie O'Leary has said recently some sort of headgear could be an option for the famously laid-back Don Poli.

However Willie Mullins isn't known for using cheek-pieces or blinkers on his horses and indications are that they won't be used on Don Poli next week either.

Cooper is behind only Ruby Walsh and Barry Geraghty in the festival leading jockey betting. Cooper scored on Don Poli in last year's RSA and famously scored a hat-trick of wins in 2013. However he suffered a broken leg at Cheltenham in 2014, an injury that kept him out of action for six months.