Gavin Cromwell gives five horses to follow including 33/1 Cheltenham Festival hope
The Meath trainer also gave an update on Gold Cup winner Inothewayurthinkin
Gavin Cromwell is preparing to unleash some of his big National Hunt guns over the coming weeks, but says Punchestown will need to get more rain if Inothewayurthinkin is to make his seasonal reappearance in the John Durkan next month.
The Gold Cup winner will be aimed at the blue riband at Cheltenham once again next year and is set to tread a similar path to the Cotswolds over the coming months.
Cromwell said in his season preview for William Hill: "Inothewayurthinkin will of course be aimed at defending his Cheltenham crown this season. He looks great after the summer, he’s training well and he’s coming forward all the time.
"At the moment, the plan is for him to start his season in the John Durkan again, but he’ll need more rain as we haven’t had much yet. He’s on target for the race in his training, now we just need the weather to come.
"Last season, he went from the John Durkan to the Savills Chase and then the Irish Gold Cup before heading to Cheltenham. That route looks a good fit and its tailor made for horses like him. I don’t see any reason for us to change from that path this time round."
The Meath trainer also gave his five horses to follow for the season, including one who is currently 33/1 for the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham. Hello Neighbour was a standout juvenile for Cromwell last season, winning the Grade 1 for four-year-olds at the Dublin Racing Festival after a Grade 2 success, also at Leopardstown, on St Stephen's Day. He finished sixth in the Triumph after being sent off at odds of 7/2.
Here are his five horses to follow for the season:
Bud Fox: This is my bumper horse to follow for the season. He’s only a four-year-old, so I think we’re likely to stick to bumpers with him this season. He’s already won a bumper at the Punchestown Festival last season and hopefully he can be progressive this term. Nothing is set in stone, but if we go down the bumper route then we’ll stick to it for the whole season.
Secret Force: He’s my juvenile hurdler to follow. He’s won on both his starts for us, on the Flat at Listowel then over hurdles in Punchestown. He was very good the last day and jumped really well. He loves jumping and has a really nice pedigree, so hopefully he can be progressive.
If You Believe: I think he’s going to make into a nice novice hurdler to follow this season. He’ll be up in trip which should suit. He won a four-year-old point-to-point in the spring, had one run in a bumper and should be a good novice hurdler this season, although he’ll be a chase in the making.
Aspurofthemoment: He’s one of two chasers to follow. He should be competitive in some good handicaps this season having run well for us all throughout the year.
Backtonormal: The other chaser of ours to follow. He is probably the more exposed of the two, but he’s an experienced horse. He’s up off a mark of 143 after he won a big handicap at the Dublin Racing Festival. He’s training really well, he’s a nice horse and hopefully he can build on last season.