Harry Redknapp has revealed the four horses he will be back at this year’s Cheltenham Festival.
The ex-Premier League manager turned racehorse owner became a Cheltenham Festival-winning owner for the first time last year.
There were joyous scenes when Skakem Up’arry carried his colours to victory in the Plate 12 months ago and the 11-year-old could return to defend his crown.
The Ben Pauling-trained chaser also has an entry in the Ultima Chase and though his top novice chaser The Jukebox Man is out injured, Redknapp also has a share in Yellow Car who is set to tackle the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
Speaking exclusively to BetVictor , Redknapp said: “Last year, if you’d have told me I’d come away from the Festival with a winner and a second, I’d have been delighted.
“I’d always dreamed of having a Cheltenham winner so when Shakem Up’arry won it was an amazing day for me. Then to go back the next day with no real expectations and nearly have another with The Jukebox Man was special! It was a great couple of days.
“Shakem Up’arry is a lovely, lovely horse and he’s been a great servant. Ben Jones has been riding him well and Ben Pauling has always done brilliantly with him. He had a fall earlier this season and was slightly disappointing at Warwick I thought, although Ben was quite happy with him.
“He went to Lambourn last weekend and apparently he worked as well as he ever has. He seems to be one of those horses that really comes alive at this time of year, so hopefully he’ll head to Cheltenham in great form.”
Redknapp revealed which horses he’ll be backing this year, siding with popular short-priced selections for his accumulator.
“This year I think I’ll be having the accumulator that everybody will be on,” said Redknapp. “I’ll be on Constitution Hill, Kopek Des Bordes, Jonbon and Galopin Des Champs. If I had to be greedy and go for a five-fold then I think I’d throw in Majborough to win the Arkle as well!
“Whether I win or lose, I love Cheltenham. It’s the highlight of the racing calendar for me. The atmosphere and the people there make for an amazing couple of days.”
Redknapp has built an impressive team of horses since his days managing Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham, but revealed he initially turned down the chance to own Yellow Car.
“Graeme McPherson actually phoned me up saying he had a nice horse called Yellow Car and would I be interested,” he said.
“He won a Grade 2 at Doncaster in January but I read the message and thought, “no, I’m not going to buy another horse.”
“Then there was a knock at the door and it was the young lady who does our cleaning. She was complaining about a car she’d been given as a replacement for the day while her car was in for a service.
“I looked over at it and it was bright yellow! I thought, “this is an omen.” So I went back and bought 50% of the horse and now he’s going for the Albert Bartlett!”
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