Listen to the full Cheltenham preview with Donn, Hayley and Ruby Walsh via the podcast above
The 2014 Cheltenham Festival goes to post on Tuesday March 11th and to preview the biggest week of the racing calendar, we were joined by our regular pundit Donn McClean and champion jockey Ruby Walsh.
Walsh has ridden 38 Cheltenham Festival winners since 1998, including Hurricane Fly in 2013. But he told Ger that there is no special preparation for the race.
"At the end of the day, I know it's Cheltenham. The first is a two mile novice hurdle and the second is a two mile novice chase. But just because it's Cheltenham doesn't mean the race is any different," said Walsh who is the bookies' favourite to be leading jockey at this year's festival.
Walsh feels Hurricane Fly is almost guaranteed to be a winner next week and Donn thinks Walsh will benefit from riding exclusively for Willie Mullins, which means all his horses are from the same yard.
In terms of the track conditions, Donn expects "good ground" and "good to soft" on the first day, with a dry weather forecast everyday leading into the Festival with the exception of tomorrow.
As for tips for punters, Donn explained why he is going for Wicklow Brave over Vautour in the SkyBet Supreme Novices hurdle and why Jezki is good value in the StanJames Champion Hurdle.
Donn gave his tips for the final three days of the festival and we also heard from Ladbrokes' Hayley O'Connor which you can listen to via the podcast.
