BRITISH hopes on the Cheltenham Festival have been given an enormous enhance with Hillcrest confirmed to run by coach Henry Daly.
The big horse – who his coach says is just too massive to measure and weighs 109st – is the overall 3-1 favorite for the Albert Bartlett.
Daly had been teasing punters by saying the large runner would possibly swerve the Festival in favour of Aintree subsequent month.
But talking on the Nick Luck Daily podcast, Daly confirmed Hillcrest, owned by the household of late billionaire Trevor Hemmings, is all go.
He stated: “We got here to the conclusion if the horse is properly, which I feel he’s, the plan is to run within the Albert Bartlett.
“We know we get the journey, we all know we don’t thoughts the monitor, the bottom is ok, something good by to heavy.
“Why wouldn’t we now have a crack if we all know he’s OK? Which he’s.
“We schooled him recently and he jumped nicely.”
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However, Daly, who has 4 Cheltenham Festival winners, did hearth off a phrase of warning about his secure star’s leaping.
He stated: “I feel he’ll miss one. I can’t recover from that. But if we will solely miss one and never three that shall be a bonus.
“I haven’t discussed who will be riding him.”
Daly stated Fortescue may very well be declared for the Ultima and, rain dependant, Rapper will go in one of many Ultima or Kim Muir.
But actually it’s all about Hillcrest.
The beastly horse nicknamed Rodney has raced 5 instances over hurdles, successful 4 of them and unseating within the different.
That mishap got here at Cheltenham in January, however in his run previous to that he was a convincing winner on the similar monitor over the extremely fancied I Am Maximus, skilled by Nicky Henderson.
Hillcrest was given a quote of 16-1 for subsequent Friday’s Albert Bartlett then, however is round 3-1 now.
He is vying for favouritism with Gordon Elliott’s Ginto after Minella Crooner, the ante publish fav, was dominated out yesterday by damage.
Speaking beforehand about Hillcrest, Daly stated: “He is gigantic. When he arrived within the yard, which was three years in the past, he weighed 693kg and my horse’s common racing weight is 520kg.
“My measuring stick goes to 18 hands and it won’t go over him – he’s very tall.”
For context, 18 fingers is round 6ft, and that measurement is taken from the bottom to the place the horse’s neck joins its again.
Standing totally upright there’s a great probability Hillcrest reaches comfortably over 7ft – about the identical top as wrestling star The Big Show.
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