Sean Flanagan’s William Hill blog: Cheltenham is here!

I love going to these big meetings. Although I do have some nice rides at this year’s meeting I don’t really have a championship horse to ride this year. Sometimes that takes a bit of pressure off as you can enjoy watching the better races and I’m looking forward to doing that.

I’m looking forward to seeing Ballyburn in the Gallagher (Novices’ Hurdle) as I was massively impressed with him at Leopardstown last time. I think he could be special going forward and looks like a really good chaser in the making.

Tuesday

Palamon (4.50pm)

It’s obviously a very competitive race, but we are getting in here off a nice light weight. He is a very strong stayer and that is what you need in this race as they go a ferocious gallop. They are only juveniles, and I find that they often go a bit quick for them in this race. It is going to be testing ground, but if he can get into a good rhythm with his jumping he will definitely be coming home strongly.

He didn’t jump with much fluency on his second start at Punchestown, but it was very testing ground that day, whereas at Naas the last day the ground was a bit nicer and he floated on that better, and jumped a bit better.

He is a big enough price, and I don’t know if I can see him winning, but I can see him being in the first five. I thought his last run was a good one, and he should come on again for that. I think this race was what he was bought for. If he happened to have gone and win a maiden hurdle first time out then maybe he would have been a Triumph Hurdle horse, but he didn’t win and he has gone down this route, but it might not be the worst place in the world for him. I’m looking forward to riding him.

Wednesday

Fameaftertheglory (4.10pm)

He is a horse that won a bumper impressively, and he was a horse that we thought that was going to go on and do nice things, but he just didn’t. The cross country fences seem to have sparked a bit of life back into him. He had a good run over the cross country  fences at Cheltenham in a handicap in November and he half backed it up the last day at Punchestown, and the banks course there takes a bit of jumping.

He is going to be a long way off the likes of Minella Indo and Galvin on form, and off level weights it is not ideal, but he is a good ride and he will give his owners a good day out. He could sneak into a place at a big price with a bit of luck. You have to look at the likes of Minella Indo, Delta Work and the likes in that they are all older horses, and he is a much younger horse. I don’t know if he will have anything close to the ability that some of those horses have had, but at the same time he has younger legs which might be a little help.

The King Of Prs (4.5opm)

He was progressive enough in his couple of wins in a novice chase at Wexford and then he won a nice race at Limerick at Christmas time. He would need everything to go well, but he is in off a lovely weight and he could go well. The ground was quite dead the last day at Thurles and he just seemed like he didn’t sparkle. I spoke to Keith (Donoghue) afterwards and he said rode a little bit flat. He must be going okay at home now though as otherwise they wouldn’t be sending him over. He has got a bit to find, but he probably coming there with a bit of a chance. He was a bit idle the last day, and he jumped right at one or two of his fences, and maybe the cheekpieces will help him concentrate that bit more.

He will come up that hill no problem and he has got a light weight, which will help. You can take your time on him a bit as well which will help him come home.”