Leading owner Rich Ricci, has elected the talented Getabird as his best chance of a winner at the upcoming Cheltenham Festival stating “My nap for the Cheltenham Festival is Getabird as he is our best novice, but I’m not sure which race he will run in”.

The Willie Mullins’ six-years-old was the chief protagonist for the Champion Bumper 12 months ago before his season was shortened by injury and again this year he heads the ante-post lists for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle after he made light work of his rivals in the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle at Punchestown earlier this month.

“He was very good the last day and I think he surprised everybody by his turn of foot” spoke Ricci

Although he is as short as 9-4 for the Festival curtain-raiser, Ricci is not ruling out the possibility of Getabird stepping back up in trip for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle the following day.

He added: “I still think Getabird, on better ground, is better over a longer trip.

“That would be some race - Samcro, Next Destination and Getabird in the Ballymore - but on the other hand he shows enough gears for the two miles in the Supreme and I’ve always felt you need to be a two-and-a-half-mile horse to get the Supreme (trip).