<\/p>\n
While much of the build-up to the Cheltenham Gold Cup has centred around Irish heavyweights and defending champions, there is a growing sense that Harry Redknapp\u2019s colours could yet crash the party.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Image: Ben Jones, Ben Pauling and Harry Redknapp (left-to-right) with The Jukebox Man | Credit: Megan Dent Photography, The Jockey Club<\/p>\n
Harry Redknapp\u2019s unbeaten chaser The Jukebox Man heads into jump racing\u2019s blue-riband event with serious momentum and even stronger belief from the man in the saddle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t swap him for any other horse in the race,\u201d jockey Ben Jones declared to Racing TV ahead of the Festival showpiece.<\/p>\n
It is not the kind of throwaway confidence often heard in a race of this magnitude. The Gold Cup is brutal, attritional, and rarely forgiving, but The Jukebox Man arrives with a flawless record over fences.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With four runs and four wins, the latest being the King George at Kempton over Christmas, he is now a genuine top-level operator on the sort of upward curve that gets punters talking.<\/p>\n
Jones, who has partnered the horse on each of those victories, clearly feels the bond.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit annoying that it\u2019s on the Friday and I\u2019ll have to wait all week to get my leg up on him, but it\u2019s very, very exciting. He\u2019s never let me down, and I\u2019ve won on him every time I\u2019ve sat on him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Gold Cup is the week\u2019s showpiece, and this year\u2019s renewal adds another gripping chapter. Galopin Des Champs is back in a bid to reclaim the crown he lost to Inothewayurthinkin in 2025, with both stars lining up once again. The pair sit prominently among the favourites, while their reputation is already cemented in the \u201cmodern greats\u201d conversation.<\/p>\n
But Britain is desperate for a breakthrough. It has been a long wait since Native River carried the home flag to victory in 2018. The drought has lingered, and hopes now rest on a handful of challengers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nicky Henderson\u2019s Jango Baie spearheads the domestic challenge on paper alongside Welsh Grand National winner Haiti Couleurs \u2013 yet even the former tasted defeat behind The Jukebox Man at Kempton over Christmas.<\/p>\n
Redknapp has rarely been far from a headline. He guided Portsmouth to FA Cup success, managed West Ham and Tottenham for extended periods, and even charmed the nation on I\u2019m a Celebrity\u2026Get Me Out of Here! \u2013 but now he\u2019s daring to dream of landing jump racing\u2019s ultimate prize.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Sporting Life at trainer Ben Pauling\u2019s yard, he kept his trademark humility ahead of the Cheltenham Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival, but you can sense the belief.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a dream to have a horse to run in the Gold Cup and go there with a chance. I\u2019m not saying we\u2019re going to win it, but we\u2019ve got a serious horse. It\u2019s an open race, and I think we\u2019ve got as good a chance as anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t #wouldnt #swap #horse #race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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