Prime time spot for Treacy on Danoli

Racing

Racing

GREG WOOD

Ask most punters in a British betting shop who Tommy Treacy is and their best guess might be "Dick's brother". By the time of the Festival at Cheltenham in March, though, the 20-year-old jockey may be considerably more familiar, as the regular partner of Ireland's favourite hurdler, Danoli.

Tom Foley, Danoli's trainer, announced yesterday that Treacy will be in the saddle when the gelding, not seen on a race-track since suffering a life-threatening injury when winning the Aintree Hurdle in April, contests the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on Sunday. Charlie Swan, who has steered Danoli to all his greatest victories, told Foley yesterday that prior claims on his services mean that he he will be unable to maintain the partnership, and Foley quickly turned to Treacy to take his place.

Though he has had just four rides in Britain, Tommy Treacy is one of the rising stars of Irish jumping. He finished sixth in the riders' championship last season and already has 23 winners to his credit this term. He has also ridden Danoli twice before, recording a victory in a minor hurdle race and third place in a competitive Leopardstown event.

"I was waiting to hear from Adrian Maguire and I didn't hear from him at all," Foley said yesterday. "Tommy knows the horse, and he's schooled him recently, which is also a help."

Treacy should also have at least one more chance to fill in any gaps in his knowledge of Danoli after Sunday's race. "The first run will probably tell us a lot," Foley said, "but we're using it more as a nice introduction, we're not going to kill him. He'd have another run before Cheltenham, and he'll be a different horse in his next run, it always takes three or four races to get him right. That's why we have to run him on Sunday, other than that we wouldn't."

Clearly, Foley will be content simply to see Danoli finish Sunday's race safely, but while victory is unlikely, for the hurdler's many followers it will be an unexpected pleasure to see him running at all. Those who feared that he might never compete again following his knee injury at Liverpool were underestimating their hero, however.

"It's still a day-to-day job," Foley said, "and there's very few that come back and race after an injury like that. But he's determined himself to come back one way or the other. He doesn't give in."

Treacy was predictably delighted by yesterday's booking. "You'll certainly be seeing me at the Festival in March anyway," he said, "but now, please God, I might be on Danoli."

With Montelado and Hotel Minella, Swan's mount in preference to Danoli, also definite runners in Sunday's race at Leopardstown, the Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock 24 hours earlier again seems unlikely to be worthy of the name.

Twelve remain in the contest but yesterday it became clear that many are uncertain to run. Degrees of doubt surround the participation of the David Elsworth-trained pair Atours and Absalom's Lady (who is also entered in the Irish race), Mysilv, Moorish and Dato Star, although Malcolm Jefferson, Dato Star's trainer, had encouraging news of his progress.

"He is very well indeed," Jefferson said of last year's impressive winner of the Festival Bumper. "He has been schooled intensively and jumps very well." Dato Star is currently available at 25-1 for the Champion Hurdle.