McNeill prepared for the Drama of a Festival runner

It is every owner’s dream to return to the Cheltenham winner’s enclosure and in No Drama This End, Max McNeill could finally have the horse to end his wait for an elusive first Festival success.

A long-standing owner with Paul Nicholls, the sponsor of the Ultima since 2015 and a member of the Cheltenham Racecourse committee, Prestbury Park is a place close to McNeill’s heart and a win for the Turners Novices’ Hurdle favourite would hold huge value for him.

McNeill said: “This is a little different to previous years and I don’t remember Walkon and Grumeti (both second in the Triumph Hurdle) being talked up as much as No Drama This End.

“I would love to have a Cheltenham winner, and I’m trying to play it down a bit, but I would love it if No Drama This End won this race.

“The psychology of it is interesting as for 15 years or so I’ve been having runners at Cheltenham, a few good horses and a couple of seconds but nothing quite like this and I’ve always been on the sidelines for some of these types of conversations, but now I’m a real part of it.”

The Festival claims of a horse compared to Denman by his team are obvious given the taking nature of his hurdling success to date, including when landing Grade One honours at Newbury.

And in a bid to distract from some of the pre-race discussion surrounding the six-year-old, McNeill departed for the tranquil surroundings of the European ski slopes ahead of what is sure to be an emotionally-charged week in the Cotswolds.

“You try not to think about winning as you could end up disappointed on the day,” continued McNeill.

“We’ve tried to let the horse do the talking on the track and we’ve gone away skiing to take the mind off it.

“I was really nervous for his last two races and in particular Newbury, as I was thinking about it all through Christmas. You’re just hoping he can run well as the bubble can be burst at any moment, but we know we have a good horse and his future is going to be over a fence.

“What I’ve learned over 20 years owning horses is to try to play it down in your own mind, because if you go there too excited you can get disappointed. Just to be there will be fantastic.”

One man who could whet McNeill’s appetite for the possible experience ahead is Andy Edwards, who was swept back to some of his earliest memories of Cheltenham when L’Homme Presse stormed home in the 2022 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase.

“You can’t help but think about where your journey started to get there and I remember my first Cheltenham Gold Cup when The Thinker won for Arthur Stephenson, I’ll never forget it and I was in awe,” explained Edwards.

“It was really breathtaking when we won the Brown Advisory, it was like being in a bubble. I was so proud of him, I gave him a drink and eventually gave Venetia (Williams, trainer) a hug and walking in with your horse and the reception they get, it could make you fall to your knees such is the emotion of it.

“You are pinching yourself remembering you used to get the train and bus to this place as a young man, now you’re stood in the centre of the cauldron that is the Cheltenham winner’s enclosure

“To hear people shouting your horse’s name from the terraces as it was, it’s probably the closest racing gets to football and you have no idea really where the noise is coming from, it’s just a magnificent blur.

“You have the joy and jubilation but the whole journey for me from Arthur Stephenson and The Thinker to then being in that winner’s enclosure, the memories came flooding back and it was surreal.”

Edwards returned to the Cheltenham Festival two years later for another special moment, which he shared with his daughter, as L’Homme Presse finished an honourable fourth to Galopin Des Champs in the 2024 Gold Cup.

“When you walk along that chute from the pre-parade into the centre of the parade ring, you are walking into an incredible amphitheatre which really takes your breathe away,” continued Edwards.

“For the Gold Cup I walked in arm-in-arm with my daughter and I just had to turn and say to her ‘are you ready for this, because this will be something very special’.

“It was the most incredible feeling and that was before the race. If you’ve been a racing fan all your life, you can’t help but be in love with the place.”

Another man who knows all about the excitement and jubilation of a Cheltenham Festival winner is Bryan Drew, who 11 years on from Moon Racer providing a moment he will treasure forever, is dreaming of more success.

“Moon Racer winning the 2015 Champion Bumper was something I thought I would never achieve and was a special day,” said Drew

“When you look at the number of horses who actually get to the Festival, it’s a select bunch and your first winner can leave you dazed. The bumper can be the most muted of all the celebrations on track but we couldn’t believe it and celebrated accordingly.

“We had a train booked home at 6.45pm and I think I got a cab for about 10 of us at around 11.30 later that night – the train had left a long time before we had finished.

“When you win your first race at the Festival you can only pinch yourself, you really can’t believe it. You start off thinking ‘wouldn’t it be great to have a runner at the meeting’, then you think ‘wouldn’t it be fabulous to be placed’ and then you dream of winning.

“You have to remember to enjoy it, savour every moment as each winner could be your last one and winners at Cheltenham are what you are in the game for really. I can remember the emotions like yesterday, but it would be lovely to have them again.”