“Our only runner at the Festival will be Feathered Gale.”The start of jump racing’s showpiece meeting is only 48 hours away and most trainers’ thoughts are at Prestbury Park. “I’m looking forward to the meeting,” he said, “but it’s so competitive I’d be happy to come out with any winner.”The pounds 50,000 bonus offered by yesterday’s sponsors, the bookmakers Sunderlands, to the connections of a horse winning both the Imperial Cup and any race at Cheltenham is safe this year Regency Rake will not be at the Festival “He’s off back home,” the trainer’s wife, Mary, said. “I just couldn’t get to where I wanted to be,” Maguire said, “but perhaps it helped me not to be too close too soon.” The victory was a fine reward for an agile display of horsemanship by Maguire, who goes into Cheltenham with his tail up after an unsettled start to the year. And as he hung in on me away from the other horse in the last strides I couldn’t use my whip. My horse was a good horse to keep going and stick his neck out.

But it was very close at the end and I certainly wasn’t sure I’d won.”
Coulthard looked the winner as he motored clear of the favourite, Dr Jazz, after the penultimate flight. Regency Rake had some ground to make up at that point, having been slightly hampered on the bend. There wasn’t time to think about getting it back with the other horse coming again. Second was Coulthard, who had landed in front over the last and was bumped by the third, Dr Jazz, as he renewed his challenge up the hill. After the race the winning jockey, Adrian Maguire, revealed he had ridden his frantic finish half-bareback “I lost my right iron on the flat after the last. He’s either good enough or not but I don’t think he’ll let me down. He jumps well, he’s strong, he’s quick enough.”If he proves that quick, Bailey knows she will have to do yet more serious thinking on whether to turn her maybe into something more positive..

The race is precisely to hunter chasers what the Gold Cup is to steeplechasers and victory for Castle Mane will hardly be less of a fantasy.The owner, Charles Dixey, bought the chestnut with the white socks purely for fun but he has proved to be a formidable competitor. Unbeaten in his six point-to-points, he had his first outing in a hunter chase at Warwick last week and won stylishly. If that confirmed his presence in this year’s Foxhunters’ at Cheltenham it persuaded some observers to look to future Festivals and more significant races – like the Gold Cup itself. Bailey is refusing to be carried away.”He has not come up against this class of hunter chaser before,” she said.

“It’s impossible to say how he will cope and, while we don’t bet, it’s been surprising to see him installed as the 100-30 favourite It’s exciting but I don’t feel a great deal of pressure I think the horse will do the talking. Some people have questioned his ability to get the distance and then his speed but he’s done everything asked of him and he could win the Gold Cup.”Not that she will have time to answer interrogators if Teeton manages to collect the blue riband on Thursday. He has the turn of foot, he can make the distance and his jumping should be good enough.Williams, understandably, will receive most of the plaudits if he wins, but the importance of his eight years in the care of Bailey and company will not be underestimated.”Teeton Mill has the credentials to win at Cheltenham, I think. She will be much too busy seeing off Castle Mane, who has followed a similar route to point-to-point glory, in the Foxhunters’. He turned out to be better than she or her father could have imagined.”When the The Winning Line came in with an offer for him it was simply too good to refuse,” Bailey said.