Ummm - it's hard to interpret a result that leaves you 12th of 16 runners. However, Danielle's Journey went into the G2 race unfancied (joint-13th favourite, at 66/1), so I guess beating a 6/1 nag can be something to take away from it. For me, though - and I'm sure Sean at Realta will feel the same - I think just having a horse at Cheltenham is a dream in the theatre of dreams. As such, I'm not anywhere near as downbeat as I'd usually be with what is basically a poor result on paper. She's a good horse that just met better ones on the day.
As far as I'm concerned, my unwritten and unspoken criteria for a continued Ireland campaign has been met, as the Cheltenham challenge was the main point for me rather than the end result. There were a few slip-ups en route there, which is what raised the question mark, but there was no doubt we had a Cheltenham horse with the potential to do well - it wasn't a silly dream, which is something to be avoided as much as not aiming high enough. Yes, the build-up could have been better (and would have been had it not been for that unforgivable weigh-in miss), but this was a huge event for a fledgling club to tackle, and Sean and the gang deserve support for trying - that cold, hard figure that goes down on DJ's record is not a fair reflection of the passion that got a horse that was always going to be boxing above her weight across the water to the world's premier National Hunt meeting. I like people with fighting spirit...
PS. Both Irish horses should be out again in April before the NH season ends.
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