Ruby Walsh: Opportunity knocks for Il Ridoto in Paddy Power Gold Cup

There is something beautiful about it, especially on horseback, as you disappear in the mist with only 50 yards of gallop visible in front of you.

You know the way but are unsure it is still there, wondering what could be in the way.

You can visualise it all, but you can’t see it, and as the cold air floods into your lungs, the freshness is invigorating.

Then your hands go numb, followed by your toes, ears, and nose, and suddenly I want to be anywhere else and wish it was raining.

I hate the cold, always have, and always will, and for once, everybody else related to a National Hunt horse is in my camp. We all wish it were raining, and no one more so than Thurles Racecourse, who lost out again this week when their fixture was cancelled because of a lack of rainfall.

Thurles has no rainfall and a chance of losing its next meeting, and one imagines a shortage of cash flow, but Navan, who has the infrastructure, has watered for their marquee meeting this weekend just like Cheltenham has.

Hopefully, it won’t cause a backlash for their future fixtures because Cheltenham will move off this chase course on Sunday and won’t use it again until March, but Navan doesn’t have that luxury when the rain does come.

It’s a catch-22 for the Meath venue, which should have had the potential to stage two top-class days of action that would have rivalled, if not bettered, what Cheltenham’s three days will produce.

The Fortria mirrors the Schloer; the Troytown could be as exciting as the Paddy Power; and the novice races in Meath had the potential to be superior to those in Gloucester.

That’s nothing new, but the difference will be at the turnstiles because even though I took the red eye to Birmingham on Thursday morning, a squad of Cork men stepped off the plane with me almost 30 hours before the first race.

By Thursday night, the town was thronged with Irish people, but every Irish person here means one less for Navan to entice through their gate.

Jonbon was the star attraction yesterday, and he didn’t disappoint with a measured display of jumping to win a shade cosily. The Tingle Creek will be next up for him in three weeks’ time.

Today, the Paddy Power Gold Cup is the feature, and Paul Nicholls, whose yard hit top gear last Saturday, looks to hold the aces with Ginny’s Destiny and Il Ridoto.

Ginny’s bordered on the edge of being the leading intermediate novice chaser last season but ultimately came up short on a slow surface here in March.

With the Ryanair winner, Protektorat, anchoring the weights, it would look to all intents and purpose that Ginny’s Destiny has a gilt-edged chance to kick his open season off in perfect style.

Still, I have doubts and think the handicapper has given his stable mate Il Ridoto an excellent opportunity to bag a big one under teenage sensation Freddie Gingell.

My Noble Lord attracted plenty of market support when he made a winning debut at Chepstow in October, and he could be worth following the opener here in the Cotswolds and L’Eau du Sud should win the 1.45 if backing favourites are your cup of tea.

Outside of that, Hamsiyann, in the 3.30, is probably the most interesting runner as Tony Martin returns to the track as a racehorse trainer, having served a suspension for drug rule breaches.

We learned in the last few weeks that the IHRB couldn’t count its money a few years back, and this week we learned the BHA struggles to count and determine what a “use” of the whip is.

Alphonse Le Grande, formerly and again trained by Tony Martin, won, lost, and was reinstated as the Cesarewitch winner for Tony’s sister Cathy O’Leary.

The appeal case needs to be read to be understood, and I only have 1,000 words but the long and short of it is simple: no one knows what a “use” of the whip is, or nobody in power seems to. So, if Hamsiyann wins, the post-race interviews could be entertaining.

Navan’s Fortria, For Auction, and Lismullen card probably boasts more high-profile names this afternoon, but non-runners later this morning won't surprise me, though I hope I am wrong.

Forty Coats and Wingmen in the first, Bleu De Vassey, Mr Percy, Mywayofthinkin, and Patter Merchant in the fourth.

Bob Olinger returns in the Lismullen and should be too good for the opposition before last year's two-mile novice chase form gets tested against the open company in the Fortria.

That's Found A Fifty versus Captain Guinness and Banbridge, so Gaelic Warrior fans will be watching to see how the form stacks up. Those A-listers are only on day one of what Navan has in store.

Troytown Day on Sunday will overshadow Greatwood Day in the Cotswolds, but I have no doubt the Cullentra House team of Gorden Elliot’s will be the team to be with.