IT’S a script waiting to be written... the trainer who provided Sir Anthony Peter McCoy with his 31st and final Cheltenham Festival winner aiming to produce more of the same for the great man’s replacement as number one jockey for J.P. McManus aboard an unbeaten hurdler at jump-racing’s fast-approaching ‘Olympics.’

Twelve months on since Uxizandre, as though mindful of the importance of the occasion, gained a pillar-to-post win under an enterprising McCoy to lift the Ryanair Chase, Alan King returns to Cheltenham with a McManus-owned star, whose unblemished record this season entitles him to start the shortest-priced English runner of the entire four-days.

With McCoy relegated to consultant capacity, it will be Barry Geraghty, wearing the famous green and gold hooped colours he now calls his own, in the hot-seat.

Yanworth is four-from-four this term. Moreover, he’s already bagged a brace of Grade 2 victories. Little wonder he’s the apple of King’s discerning eye. “You look at him in his races at half-way and it’s like he’s just jumped-in,” he reflects admiringly. “He’s got a helluva engine. It’s very unusual to see a horse winning the way he’s been doing.”

King believes the making of Yanworth was in spending not one, but two seasons in bumpers. “I’m sure that was the key to him. He only had four races and he came back in a stronger horse this season,” he recalls. “Since then, he’s just improved and improved.” Geraghty has been in the saddle for all four of his hurdle successes, the latest of which came in graded company at Cheltenham on Trials Day when Yanworth stepped-up to two and a half miles for the first time.

ANOTHER NOTCH

“We did feel the trip would suit him, but until they’ve gone and done it, you never know, especially on very testing ground,” explains King. “As it was he raised it another notch in a race with a lot of depth to it.” Cramped odds only are available about Yanworth making it five-from-five in the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle on day two of the festival. “We just don’t know good he is,” acknowledges his trainer. He’ll have a better idea very soon.

King has a lengthy affinity with Cheltenham in March. Back in 1985 when still living in his native Scotland, Harry Hastings, a horse he rode out regularly at John Wilson’s yard adjacent to Ayr racecourse, gained a famous tartan victory in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

“He was a very talented horse and it was amazing to see him win,” recalls the man who went on to work as assistant for 13 years to legendary Gloucestershire trainer David Nicholson, who won the Gold Cup with Charter Party, and handled such talented horses as Barton Bank, Putty Road and Viking Flagship, before striking out on his own in 1999. Since then King has trained 15 festival winners, including dual-scorers My Way De Solzen, Voy Por Ustedes and Katchit.

“I wouldn’t be as nervous going into it now as I would have been a few years ago,” he admits. “That comes with experience.” But much does he genuinely enjoy it? There’s a smile and a pause before the answer comes. “I think that depends entirely on how your horses are running. If they’re running badly, there’s nowhere worse to be, but if you have a winner - especially a winner on the first day - it takes the pressure off a bit.”

Seven times in his career, including the last four seasons, King has topped £1 million in prize money in Britain. He’s long odds-on to extend that notable achievement this term in what has been a stellar campaign.

HEADLINE ACT

The exciting emergence of Yanworth apart, Smad Place has been the headline act courtesy of resounding triumphs in the Hennessy Gold Cup and the Cotswold Chase. “He’s had a marvellous season already,” says King. “We made a mess of him last year by going for the Hennessy without a prep run. He finished very tired and it left a mark on him. He didn’t get over it, but hopefully, we learned from our mistake.”

The Timico Gold Cup is now the all-encompassing target for the popular grey, whose bold style of racing and jumping has endeared him to many.

“He loves to bounce out and get into a good rhythm,” says the man who knows him better than anyone. “I think that’s him at his best and at his strongest. I think he’s got a good each-way chance in the Gold Cup. If he could finish in the first four I would be thrilled with him.”

King, who has everything he could possibly want in terms of facilities at his impressive Barbury Castle yard, which stands on a 2,000-acre estate owned by Nigel Bunter in Wiltshire, is one of the country’s stalwart handlers. He’s inching towards 1,200 winners over jumps and can lay claim to 27 Grade 1 successes. Adding to that tally at Cheltenham would be a dream come true.

Having twice won the Triumph Hurdle - with Penzance in 2005 and Katchit two years later - King has every chance of making it three this time around. Sceau Royal and Who Dares Wins are destined to line-up for the JCB- sponsored showpiece, but a doubt remains about the participation of Gibralfaro after his latest Kempton defeat. “They’re nice horses,” he says. “Sceau Royal has had plenty of match practice and has grown in confidence as the season has gone on. Who Dares Wins ran well at Cheltenham in the Triumph Trial, but was a bit gassy early on and got racing a bit too far from home and didn’t see it out. Better ground will suit him.”

King’s festival squad will also include Annacotty in his first season at Barbury Castle, and a horse whose love affair with Cheltenham is easily identifiable. Winner of the Paddy Power Gold Cup on the course in November, he followed-up in another Grade 3 handicap on the course in January. “He loves the place and I think we’ve learned how to train him now,” says King. “He’s in the Ryanair, but it would have to be soft for him to go for that. The chances are, if it dries up, he’ll go for the Ultima Handicap Chase on the opening day.”

It dried up last year in time for Uxizandre to do his stuff on McCoy’s behalf and return to a rapturous and emotional reception. “The ground helped, as did the first-time visor, plus he got the most amazing ride,” recalls King. “It was a great day.” Fingers are firmly crossed in the King camp that another great day is waiting. “It’s funny how it goes. This time last year I could barely find a Triumph or Fred Winter Hurdle horse and this time we could run three in one race and five or six in the other. There’s no point taking horses to Cheltenham if they don’t have a chance. You can ruin horses by taking them there and giving them a hard race to finish in mid-division. You’ve got to look at the bigger picture.”

This year’s picture makes for an impressive sight. “We’re not scraping around trying to make up the numbers; all the horses we’re taking to Cheltenham deserve to be there. They’ve been in good form all season. Let’s just hope,” smiles Alan King, “it can last for another few weeks.”