Horse racing trainer Jonjo O’Neill is hoping that confidence can be restored for star horse Easysland in the Cross Country Chase at Cheltenham's Festival Trials Day this weekend.
The J.P. McManus-owned horse is preparing for a return to the Cheltenham Festival in March and is looking to claim a second victory in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase after winning the race back in 2020.
O’Neill is currently concerned with the nine-year-old’s desire despite showing good form this season.
Speaking exclusively to Betfred, he said: “He [Easysland] runs at the weekend at Cheltenham in the Cross Country and the plan is to go back there with him again [at the festival]. He’s in good old form but he hasn’t really shown the spark that we’d like him to show – we’re looking for that at the weekend so if that happens it’ll be full speed ahead again.
“He’s had a few problems along the way so we’re hoping for a good show. He loves the Cross Country, he loves the jumping, the in-and-out and the messing around, so we’re hoping for a big shout at the weekend and hopefully we’ll be more confident.”
READ MORE:
- Cleeve Hurdle test will reveal how strong Paisley Park's Cheltenham chances are
-
Flooring Porter missing the Cheltenham Festival would be a huge blow
-
Jack Kennedy backed by Davy Russell and Ruby Walsh to come back stronger.
The trainer says that preparations for all the horses at Jackdaws Castle have been hindered by the poor weather in the UK in recent months, whether it be downpours or the hard frost we have been experiencing over the past couple of weeks.
“A lot of horses haven’t ran to their potential really, it’s hard to get a buzz for it at the moment so we’re hoping for a bit of a clear run but you need to be showing something pretty soon to see where we’re going.”
With the glamorous Cheltenham Festival just seven weeks away, O’Neill looked back on the times he was able to win the coveted Gold Cup as both a jockey and a trainer. In 1986, he rode star thoroughbred Dawn Run to hoist the famous trophy and it is a memory that will never leave him. He also recognises that he does not have horse in his stables up to the high standard set by Dawn Run 37 years ago.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a Dawn Run in the yard at the moment, which we would like to have obviously. Hopefully we have a few nice ones coming along and might take her place. But that was a magical day, everything happened to go right and when everything goes right it’s fantastic, and when it just goes slightly wrong it’s not very good.”
“We wanted to go back for the Hennessy but we couldn’t go back so it was all systems go for the Gold Cup and he just happened to come at the right time, and everything went according to plan – it’s easy when it does. It’s a magical thing to happen, he’s a very honest horse, he stayed well. AP [McCoy] knew him really well, the two of them were a match made in heaven because neither of them would give up.”
There is always a buzz for the Cheltenham Festival. The buzz generated is different for each person, and for O’Neill it’s the quality of the horses on show. The 70-year-old is besotted with the biggest star on the scene at the moment, Constitution Hill.
“That’s where you get the buzz from, [seeing] exciting horses like that. Constitution Hill looks like a complete freak, [he’s] brilliant.
Then in 2012 he trained another J. P. McManus-owned horse, Synchronised, to win the Gold Cup.
He said: “That was a fantastic day because he was a great little horse and he’d gone to Ireland and won the Lexus [Chase], and he came back and he was quite thick for a good while, we couldn’t quite get him right.
Everyone is always fascinated with what it takes to ride a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner and O’Neill gave a lowdown on what a hopeful jockey needs to do.
“You’ve got to stay and you’ve got to have pace and you’ve got to jump – you cannot make mistakes in the Gold Cup or any Grade 1 races because there’s just no room for them,” he added.
“There are top class horses and that’s what makes it so exciting and gets the bristles up [on the back of your neck]. When you see good horses, it’s a pleasure.”
Looking ahead to the ‘greatest show on turf’ O’Neill feels it’s still early days to determine which horses will be competing but he is hopeful that there will a few from Jackdaws Castle involved for the four-day meeting in March.
“We’ll have a few runners in the handicaps and might have a few runners in the novices but it’s very hard to pinpoint anything at the moment.”
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
