Power looking forward to Supasundae

Jockey Robbie Power is confident Supasundae is a much improved horse heading to Cheltenham for the Stayers’ Hurdle next week compared to the one that won at the Festival twelve months ago.

Speaking at the BoyleSports Cheltenham preview night, Power described the improvement he has seen in the current 4/1 shot for the Stayers’ Hurdle: “I’ve often heard Aidan O’Brien talking about Galileo getting better with age, well Supasundae is my Galileo.”

He added: “Last year he didn’t want to go out to the gallops, he did nothing. He gradually got better in the Spring before winning at Cheltenham and then he didn’t travel well for Aintree.

"At Christmas at Leopardstown, the last hurdle was omitted and I think it cost Supasundae the race against Apple’s Jade.

"It’s unbelievable how much a horse can change in the space of a year and the only thing that would make him vulnerable is heavy ground, so hopefully he gets good or good to soft.”

Power also told BoyleSports that Sizing John’s defeat at Leopardstown at Christmas can be excused ahead of his bid to retain the Gold Cup: “It was just too soon after the John Durkan to run him at Christmas and we’ve made no secret of that. Jessie made the decision after Leopardstown to send him straight to the Gold Cup and 99.9 times out of 100 she makes the right decision.”

“He’s got his swagger back and his work at home has been so good I couldn’t get off him. Jessie didn’t even ask me the question in the end because I was never going to get off him as long as he was healthy and well. He’s got a couple more bits of work to do but at the moment we couldn’t be happier with him.”