Angus McNae's Racing UK Blog
	Saturday 4th January 2014

I must stick to my principles in 2014

I am no good at making, or more importantly, keeping New Year’s resolutions.

I would love to be able to tell you that I am going to go to the gym five times a week, give up booze for a month and stop having sugar in my tea, but any attempt to include those aims in my life would be destined to fail.

Instead I am making a note to myself as regard a few horses so that nothing that is written or said will sway me from my original opinion. There is nothing worse than changing your mind, only to find out that you should have stuck to your original opinion. Here goes.

War Command is not as workmanlike as so many said after his Dewhurst win. The time figure he ran was as good as the one he put up in the Coventry Stakes where everybody said he was impressive.  Visual impressions lie, time figures do not. Given fast ground that he needs, he is a live 2,000 Guineas contender at 8-1 with Paddy Power.

I must remind myself in March to back Silviniaco Conti for the Gold Cup. He is surely going to win. He stays strongly, has a tremendous attitude, has youth on his side and acts at the track. Debate will rage about the Gold Cup come Cheltenham and I must keep the faith in Paul Nichols’s charge at 4-1 with William Hill.

Champagne Fever can still win the Arkle Challenge Trophy, despite his defeat over the Christmas period at Leopardstown.

His previous win showed him to be a natural at the game and his record at Cheltenham with a Champion Bumper win and Supreme Novices’ Hurdle win is very good. He is a general 5-1. 

Ruby Walsh admitted in an interview with me that he may have ridden Champagne Fever a bit too aggressively at Leopardstown. The partnership will be on top form in the Arkle. I must forget that Leopardstown run.

My Tent Or Yours cannot win the Champion Hurdle in my view. Lots has been said about how well he battled to win the Christmas Hurdle. Yes he has fight, but you cannot battle when the petrol gauge is empty and on a stiff track such as Cheltenham the gauge will be empty long before he has to fight. I must not be swayed by the theory that he has learnt to battle.  

I must have a decent bet on Ruby Walsh to be leading jockey at the Festival with all the ammunition that trainer Willie Mullins has. Surely he is a good thing. 

The weather will have a big say as far as the weekend action is concerned, with Sandown already lost to waterlogging and Wincanton up for inspection early doors.

I was keen on the chances of Irving in the Tolworth Hurdle, which now looks as if it will be re-arranged.

I was really impressed with his win at Ascot last time out where he travelled strongly and had Prince Siegfried beaten when that horse fell at the last.

Importantly he handles soft ground well and his trainer Paul Nicholls has his horses in good form.