Harry Cobden’s Planet Sport Bet blog: Not feeling the pressure of the Jockeys' title race
![Harry Cobden](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.planetsport.com%2Fimage-library%2Fland%2F700%2F498811_harry-cobden-pr-1-nov23.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Just a week to go to the Cheltenham and Harry Cobden is back to discuss his Jockeys' Championship chances and a few early thoughts from jump racing's biggest Festival.
I’ve had plenty of support from lots of different trainers on top of all of the rides from Paul [Nicholls].
It’s going really well and I guess the most important thing is to stay injury free at such a busy time of the year.
Sean [Bowen] will undoubtedly get lots of opportunities at and away from Cheltenham, so I’ve got to keep my foot on the gas between now and the end of the season.
Sean won’t lie down easily and I want to keep the gap as large as possible as I know there will be days when I’m not riding and he will be.
In all honesty, I’m not feeling the pressure of the championship at all and, if anything, I think it’s making me ride better.
I’m very confident in what I’m doing and think I’m probably riding as well as I ever have.
I’m very lucky in that most of the horses I’m riding are in the form of their lives, which is obviously helping my title chances, but there is a long way to go and I’ve just got to keep riding winners and staying out of harm’s way.
Cheltenham Festival
I’ve got loads of good rides next week, but, if I had to narrow it down to one that I’m most looking forward to, it would be Stay Away Fay in the Brown Advisory.
It looks a very winnable race and I think he’ll improve a lot from his last run.
He would have learnt a lot from that mentally as well as physically and we know he goes well at the track having won last year’s Albert Bartlett.
The other I’d give a good mention to is Captain Teague in the Albert Bartlett.
He’s in really good form at home and I’m sure he’ll have no problems with the step up in trip.
Although the ground was really testing for the Challow at Newbury, I probably went a bit early on him.
He ground it out really well, though, and he’s the type of horse that runs well in the race.
READ MORE: Cheltenham Festival 2024 guide: When is it, times, big races, top horses, trainers, jockeys and more