Red-hot Paul Townend relishing chance to bag first Irish Gold Cup with Kemboy

Ireland's champion jockey Paul Townend cannot wait to renew his partnership with Kemboy in Sunday's Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup as the rider, who is currently in superb form, gears up for this weekend's Dublin Racing Festival where he looks to have a scintillating book of rides.

Few jockeys can look forward to Leopardstown's two-day spectacular as much as Townend with the rider set to be on board the likes of Faugheen, Chacun Pour Soi and Klassical Dream, and that's only scratching the surface of Willie Mullins' formidable squad at a fixture worth €2.1 million in prize-money.

However it is the Irish Gold Cup which is the most glittering prize on offer for Townend, and hopes are high that Kemboy, the joint highest-rated chaser in training, can follow the curve of improvement that a number of Mullins' charges have shown from their seasonal reappearances and provide the rider with his first success in the race.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back on him," said Townend, who looked to have every chance of landing the 2018 Irish Gold Cup when Killultagh Vic dramatically exited at the final fence.

"He's going to have to improve from his run over Christmas, but it's been well highlighted that plenty of our horses have taken their first runs and then improved on their next starts. Hopefully he can step forward."

The race sponsors cannot split Kemboy and Savills Chase hero Delta Work at 13-8 for Sunday's €250,000 prize, but Townend admits the eight-year-old will need to improve from his Savills fourth to topple Gordon Elliott's classy second-season chaser.

Kemboy (blue and yelow) was fourth on his seasonal reappearance in the Savills ChaseCredit: Caroline Norris

Should Kemboy return to the sort of form that saw him land a Grade 1 hat-trick last season and provide Mullins with an 11th Irish Gold Cup this weekend, Townend could be faced with a Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup headache.

Waiting in the wings is last year's winner Al Boum Photo, a general 4-1 favourite to make it back-to-back Gold Cups this March, but the rider says he is not looking beyond Sunday when it comes to who he will ride in the race.

"We'll get this weekend out of the way first before we have to think about anything else," he said, with Kemboy the current second favourite for the festival highlight at a general 6-1.

Townend heads into this weekend at the top of his game having won on eight of his last 15 rides, finishing second on a further three mounts.

Commenting on his recent success, he said: "This is the time of the year you really want to be hitting top form and thankfully they're going well. It's an important time of year and I'm really looking forward to it."

Officials at Leopardstown are set to continue watering the chase track this week in light of a relatively dry forecast.

Clerk of the course Lorcan Wyer said via the IHRB's Twitter account on Monday: "There isn't a whole pile of rain forecast for the rest of the week. There might be a little bit on Friday – 3-4mm – but after that there might be another 5mm on Sunday morning.

"In light of the essentially dry forecast during the week, the watering programme is continuing on the chase track.

"Our aim is not to have the word 'good' in the going description for the Dublin Racing Festival."

Paul Townend's career details

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