An astonishing four winners on the final day secured Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown Stud the leading-owner award at Cheltenham 2014 and Road To Riches is set to lead the Ryanair boss's formidable team of festival hopes back to the Cotswolds in six weeks' time.
It is nine years since War Of Attrition cemented the high-profile businessman's relationship with National Hunt racing by landing the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the sport's 'blue-riband' event remains O'Leary's prime target.
Road To Riches has been a transformed character in the last six months since the Noel Meade-trained star overcame some digestive problems.
A big-race hot-streak comprising of the Galway Plate last summer, the Nicholson Chase at Down Royal in November and most importantly, an impressive Lexus Chase success at Christmas, currently makes him a general 8-1 second-favourite for the Gold Cup.
“The Gold Cup is everyone’s Holy Grail and it is definitely very significant for us,” said Eddie O’Leary, bloodstock advisor to his brother. “The horse has been on a break since the Lexus. The key to him looks to be keeping him fresh. Even though he’s been going all year, he has been kept fresh the whole time, and is starting to build up again now.”
Don Cossack has been another Grade One hero for Gigginstown already this season and remains a Gold Cup entry too although Eddie O'Leary confirmed: "The plan if all goes well is that Don Cossack would go for the Ryanair. But there's an awful long way to go to Cheltenham yet. We're taking nothing for granted and it could depend on nothing happening to the other fellah . . . ."
Gigginstown's maroon colours were carried by 13 runners at the 2014 festival, with a famous four – Tiger Roll, Very Wood, Don Poli and Savello – exerting a remarkable degree of dominance on the final day.
Top owner
Early betting on who will be top owner at this year’s festival saw Betfair make JP McManus a 7-4 favourite with
Rich Ricci
on 15-8 while Gigginstown is a 5-2 third-best, clear of the 20-1
Graham Wylie
.
The O’Leary team hope to have up to 20 runners at Cheltenham with Road To Riches and Don Cossack backed up by a powerful team of novice stars including Don Poli, winner of the Martin Pipe Conditional Hurdle last year, but now a joint-favourite with Kings Palace for the RSA Chase and also a clear favourite for the four mile National Hunt Chase.
Gigginstown’s strength appears to be in the novice chase division with any number of running permutations yet possible although they could become clearer after Sunday week’s Grade One Flogas Novice Chase at Leopardstown.
Both Don Poli and the Drinmore winner Valseur Lido are entries for that race and O’Leary said: “I would presume one of them will run in that and that will be a call for Willie (Mullins.) It’s too early to say who will run in what race at Cheltenham. Don Poli is favourite for the two races but we also have Wounded Warrior and Thunder And Roses as options for the four-mile.
Leopardstown
“Willie will decide too if Tell Us More runs in the Deloitte at Leopardstown or goes straight for the festival. We also have Sub Lieutenant and Identity Thief in the Deloitte as well so we will see. But I would imagine the Neptune is the race for Tell Us More at the festival if he gets there.”
Outlander is another Neptune option for Gigginstown after his Grade Two success at Leopardstown last weekend when eclipsing the owner's apparent principal hope, No More Heroes. However the latter remains on target for the three-mile Albert Bartlett.
“He scoped rotten after the race so thankfully we have a reason for that performance,” said Eddie O’Leary. “He never travelled and never jumped a hurdle but now we know why so we hope the Bartlett is still on for him.”
The Weatherbys Champion Bumper was a race often bypassed by Gigginstown's best young horses in the past.
A change of tack looks likely this season however with both the dual-winner, Stone Hard, a 12-1 shot in some ante-post lists, possibly being joined in the Day Two finale by another Willie Mullins-trained hope, Valerian Bridge, a triple-bumper winner last Autumn.
