Minella Indo and Rachael Blackmore go back a long way at Cheltenham. Three years ago almost to the day, he was her breakthrough Grade One winner, an unconsidered 50-1 shot in what turned out to be one of the strongest novice hurdles of recent years. Allaho and Lisnagar Oscar, in third and fifth, were Grade One winners themselves at future Festivals, and Blackmore too soon moved on to even better things.
His Festival form figures are 1-2-1. He loves the track and thrives in the spring. And yet, for the second year running, when Minella Indo goes to post for the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday, Blackmore will be doing her utmost to beat him.
