SUCH has been the impact Kielan Woods has made to the British racing scene in recent years that many racing fans may not be aware that he’s an Irishman through and through - though he’d be delighted if he nutmegs any horse from the boys in green at Cheltenham.

Woods can regard Cheltenham as a home game, based with his wife and family in a successful pre-training yard over the hill and not very far away from Prestbury Park and has been part of the British racing scene for more than a decade.

From Athlone, he rode his first winner at Thurles in 2009 when attached to the yard of Caroline Hutchinson, who Woods describes as his mentor. Within two years he was riding winners for Charlie Longsdon’s Oxfordshire yard - first at Huntingdon in January 2011.

For Kielan, he got the racing bug young confirming: “I was off injured at the time but remember watching Istrabaq win his first Champion Hurdle on my grandmother’s TV”. As well as, he hopes, a busy week in the saddle he also faces an anything but a quiet week out of it as the family still in Athlone will be arriving for the week.

Woods has two Cheltenham wins to his credit - both in the Grand Annual Chase, first on Croco Bay in 2019 and then three years later on Global Citizen - both of whom have a special place in Kielan’s story.

Global Citizen was retired to his yard and was owned by The Megsons - with whom he has an ongoing relationship.

“I was retained by them when Global Citizen won the Grand Annual, and although their horses are no longer with Ben Pauling, I have maintained my links with them and will be wearing their silks at the Festival,” he said.

Excites most

With so many plans dependent on the weather, Woods cannot be sure exactly what his book of rides will look like but wherever he turns up Sixmilebridge, trained by Fergal O’Brien and with the options of the Arkle, the Brown Advisory or the Novice Handicap Chase, is the one that excites him most.

He’s unbeaten over fences and his most recent, in the Scilly Isles Novices at Sandown, was a Grade 1 - and he is already a winner at Cheltenham having conquered the New Course in December.

“He’s the standout for the Megsons. Where he runs is totally ground dependent but if it turns out heavy and attritional it might be worth going for the Arkle but he’s more likely to run in the Jack Richards Novice Handicap.

“He was only put up a pound for winning the Scilly Isles and the race is run on a track over which he has already won.”

He added: “We’ve two others for the Megsons. Jipcot (a winner at Leicester in January) runs in the Plate and has a live chance while Tellherthename (set to have his first run for Dan Skelton) is on course for the County Hurdle and would have a live chance if it all comes right.

“Beyond that it’s partly a case of where Ben Pauling has more than one runner in a race that I hope to pick up a few.”

Talk to Woods and you soon realise it’s the one that got away which still hurts. At the Festival two years ago he rode a certain The Jukebox Man in the Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle on Gold Cup day.

He made the running, made a mistake two out, was still three lengths clear at the last but started to fade and in the final strides suffered the heartbreak of 33/1 outsider Stellar Story going by and burgling the prize by a head.

“That really took a little time to get over,” he said. “That night I went home and almost didn’t want to get on a horse again. But you have to get over these things.”

Woods got a heroe’s welcome back from his fellow jockeys when after 51 consecutive losers he rode his first ever winner at Wincanton on Universal Secret a few days ago - now he just needs to add Windsor to his winners’ tally for a full house of tracks.

So how does he sum up the prospect of riding in another Cheltenham Festival?

“Everything is exaggerated - win and you feel on top of the world - get beat and everything leaves you thorough the floor. It’s our Olympics and where we all want to be. I’ve been lucky enough to come down the winners’ walkway in triumph after a couple of handicaps and that’s special enough. But watching the likes of Paul Townend and Mark Walsh walk back in triumph after a big Grade 1 leaves me feeling jealous.” Hopefully he’ll be on that winners’ walk a few more times.