Keith Donoghue’s William Hill blog: Stumptown sparked into life by Cross Country

Newly-signed William Hill ambassador Keith Donoghue previews his rides at Cheltenham on Friday and Saturday. 

I’m delighted to join the team of racing ambassadors at William Hill and I’m really looking forward to getting going. With Gavin Cromwell part of the team too, it should all work well and fingers crossed we can get going in the right way this weekend.

Things have been going great so far this season as I’ve had 41 winners in Ireland and one over in England. I’m getting a lot of nice winners which is great.

Riding 50 winners this season was my target so hopefully we can make that. It would be great to go on and then try and set my new personal best of 62 winners in Ireland, but if I can just keep riding winners, and get a couple of big ones along the way, I would be delighted.

Cheltenham, Friday

I’m back at Cheltenham over the next two days where I have been fortunate to taste success before, both at the Festival, and outside of it. I’ve just got the one ride on Friday aboard Stumptown in the Cross Country (3.00pm), who I won on at the track back on New Year’s Day.

This is his first time out over the cross country fences there so it will be interesting to see how he takes to it. He has won over the banks course at Punchestown, but that is a completely different course, however, we are looking forward to trying him here and seeing how he goes.

After he won on the banks course at Punchestown last season we thought about going down this route this season as it looked to bring him back to life and he was also on an awkward enough mark for them good handicap chases.

Just jumping those banks and hedges have really sparked him up. We schooled him at the track today (Thursday) and he jumped really well. The ground out there is soft, and is likely to be dead in a few places, but I’d say it will be fine for him. You have Delta Work in there, who has won twice around there at the Festival, and he is the one they all have to beat, while Fakir D’Oudairies is a Grade One winner, so it will be competitive.

Cheltenham, Saturday

On Saturday I’ve got two rides starting with Total Look in the juvenile hurdle (12.10pm) for Gavin. I was very pleased with him at Navan, especially the way he jumped and on the day you’d have to say that he won well. We are now looking forward to seeing where he fits in with the English horses. James Owen has a couple of nice ones in there so it will be a good test.

I was down doing 11 stone on him last time and I don’t do that too often so it was a tip in itself as to how we thought he would run. This will be a different test for him to what he faced the first time out, but he looks to be well worth his place in the line-up.

Later on the card I ride Theonewedreamof in the mares’ handicap chase (1.13pm). She is a great, fun horse for her owners the Golfcrest Syndicate, who are local to us back home. They are all coming over for the weekend and they are a great bunch of lads. She won well on her last start over fences at Tipperary, before having a spin on the Flat at Galway. We gave her a little break after that and she is coming in here fresh and she should run a good race.