Colonel Braxton ready for promotion

It's 20 years since Dessie Hughes trained his only previous festival winner but even this most realistic of men can`t stop himself thinking that Colonel Braxton will be the second.

Hughes was the jockey who brought that vital cool to the 1970s ebullience of Mick O`Toole and the pair enjoyed memorable victories with the likes of Chinrullah and Davy Lad.

Throw in that famous 1979 Champion Hurdle on Monksfield and Hughes` Cheltenham record as a rider must make the famine since Miller Hill in 1982 all the more frustrating.

But all that can change with Colonel Braxton in the SunAlliance Chase as the Irish mount a strong challenge in a race that traditionally has brought more frustration than success.

No more so than three years ago when Nick Dundee looked the proverbial good thing at the third last only to crash out. Like him, Colonel Braxton carries the John Magnier colours, is ridden by Norman Williamson, and has also long been regarded as a top prospect.

'I fancied him towin the SunAlliance Hurdle last year and I have to say I fancy him this time too. He is in absolutely super form,' Hughes conceded yesterday. 'He jumps, he stays and the ground will not be a problem. I fancy him.' Such language can be common among some trainers but not Hughes and it`s that confidence, along with the drying conditions, that will probably sway the majority of Irish in the Colonel`s direction rather than Harbour Pilot.

The Noel Meade runner put in a blinding effort at Leopardstown last time and has been working extremely well since but all the evidence suggests a preference for more give in the ground.

The whole of Cheltenham yesterday seemed to be queuing up to slag off the French five-year-old Japhet while Williamson didn`t hesitate to desert the top English hope Jimmy Tennis. Throw in the confidence from the trainer and Colonel Braxton might just be in line for promotion today.

Willie Mullins has won four of the last five runnings of the Weatherbys Bumper. Today he runs Alexander Milenium in the race and the trainer rates the horse at least the equal of any of his four previous winners. It doesn`t take a genius then to spot the horse to beat.

A late hiccup came last week when Alexander Milenium ripped off a shoe and was sore for a few days afterwards. However, he did a canter yesterday morning and Mullins expressed satisfaction with the horse`s fitness. In the Bumper, that is usually enough.

The switch of Yeoman`s Point from the Coral Eurobet Cup to the SunAlliance Hurdle has upset a lot of homework but in his absence, the smart flat racer First Ballot could be a handicap blot.

Yeoman`s Point now joins seven other Irish horses in the opener with the JP McManus colours also scheduled to be carried by Over The Bar. It`s a strong team for the top owner but Martin Pipe looks to have a stronger squad, headed by Classified.

The good weather over Cheltenham yesterday was not what Arthur Moore ordered for Native Upmanship in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Moore has won the two-mile championship with Drumgora (1981) and Klairon Davis (1996) but the trip and a tendency to take his time warming up means that Knife Edge will probably be the main Irish hope for success.

The O`Brien runner is available at 10 to 1 which makes him a decent each-way prospect but Knife Edge will have to put in a career best performance to win. He might be capable of it too but a safer win bet looks to be Flagship Uberalles. The former Arkle winner has had breathing problems and back trouble but came out during the winter to win the Tingle Creek in the style of a horse now at his peak.

The fact he is trained by the shrewd Philip Hobbs can only be a plus and Flagship Uberalles looks the one most likely to be stalking Edredon Bleu down the hill and then pouncing.

Pipe has another strong squad for the Mildmay of Flete, a race he tradtionally dominates. Tony McCoy has elected to ride Lady Cricket but those looking for an each-way alternative could do worse than examine the credentials of one of Pipe`s other runners L`Epicurien who won well at Kempton.

With the race opened up to hurdle races winners, the four-miler is a classier event than normal. Timbera and Billy The Snake head a strong Irish team but it could be Pipe is the man again with Manx Magic.