Of course the UK trainers would be slow to consider the Dublin Racing Festival. Let’s be honest, they don’t want to get rolled on ahead of the biggest festival of the year.
Do you really want to go into the lion’s den a month before the Cheltenham Festival? Not in a million years.
Do you really want to walk into Willie’s and Gordon’s backyard and try and take them on? It’s not going to happen because somebody like Nicky Henderson, he knows he wants to peak his horses for those four days in March. He does not want his horses peaking in February.
He knows they’ll have too hard of a race coming over here trying to take on the big guns. Some of the best horses that will appear at Cheltenham are coming from this side of the water anyway, so the last thing you want to do is walk into their back yard and try and beat them. It’s not going to happen.
Monsieur Lecoq’s team, give them respect, they’re taking a punt on having a go in the Irish Champion Hurdle but this horse has got a bit to find to trouble the likes of Honeysuckle. Plus, with Leopardstown being a new track for Monsieur Lecoq, if you go wide on that track. you’re giving away so much ground you just can’t afford to give away, so it will really interesting to see how Monsieur Lecoq fares.
Everything Dublin Racing Festival over at Paddypower.com