Walsh has a strong chance of flying start at Cheltenham
Mark Walsh has an enviable book of rides at the Cheltenham Festival this week and could make a strong start on Tuesday
Clane jockey Mark Walsh could be set for an electrifying start to the Cheltenham Festival after declarations for the opening day in the Cotswolds were confirmed on Sunday morning.
Walsh has been handed an impressive book of rides for the first day of the Festival and as the leading rider at the moment for the JP McManus stable, that is likely to continue throughout the week.
Among active jockeys, Walsh has the third most wins at the Festival with 14, still some way behind the leader Paul Townend, on 38, but only three behind the jockey in second place, Nico De Boinville, and he will have plenty of opportunities to catch him.
The Festival gets underway with the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and Walsh is currently second in the betting on the Willie Mullins trained Mighty Park.
Walsh will look to emulate the success he had on the opening day of the 2022 Festival with his good friend, and Kildare trainer, Padraig Roche when he is on Saratoga, the favourite for the Fred Winter.
The top two in the market for the Ultima will wear the McManus colours, with Walsh opting for the ride on favourite Jagwar ahead of Iroko.
Walsh has no ride in the feature race on the first day, the Champion Hurdle, but is on another strongly fancied horse in the second last of the day when he is on the Emmet Mullins trained McLaurey.
The quality of rides will continue throughout the week and it is looking like Walsh will be on strong favourites for the feature races on Wednesday and Thursday, Majborough in the Champion Chase and Fact To File in the Ryanair.
After winning last year’s Gold Cup on Inothewayurthinkin, Walsh is likely to get the chance to claim back-to-back titles on the Gavin Cromwell trained nine-year-old.
Before all that excitement, Walsh warms up for the biggest week in National Hunt racing with four rides in Naas on Sunday.
