It’s been a great season so far for Daryl Jacob, highlighted by two Grade 1 wins at Leopardstown on Blue Lord and El Fabiolo. It all augurs well for his prospects of more big winners at Cheltenham in the silks of owners Simon Munir and Isaas Souede

Positivity is very much Jacobs’ mantra. “I don’t like negativity, It’s not me. People moan about this and that, and obviously there are things that don’t go to plan, but that’s life. It’s a waste of time to sit around mulling over things, I am very happy and I like to look forward.”

His effervescent approach permeates throughout our conversation and there appear to be plenty of reasons for the 39-year-old to be adopting that mindset.

“I love my job, I’m the luckiest man in the world,” he asserts. “I ride for terrific owners and trainers and get to sit on some lovely horses.”

It has been that way for sometime, as Jacob recalls his first Cheltenham Festival winner on board Zarkandar in the 2011 Triumph Hurdle.

“I had started to forge a nice relationship with Paul (Nicholls) and started to pick up some spare rides,” he recalls. “It was the Adonis at Kempton where I got the call to ride the supposed second string, Zarkandar.

“He jumped and travelled nicely and won well. I got to keep the ride for the Triumph itself as Ruby was on board the favourite, and he did the same thing again! It’s every jockey’s dream to win at the Cheltenham Festival, and that feeling was magical.”

Jacob goes on to explain how a now much-missed figure from the weighing-room inspired him and lit his passion even more for the big stage;

“Just as I was starting out properly, I remember watching my great friend, the late Kieran Kelly strutting his stuff on Hardy Eustace and I thought it was fantastic - I want a piece of that. Kieran meant a lot to me, so trying to emulate him was something I really wanted to do.”

Another ‘piece of that’ is exactly what Jacob got when Lac Fontana won the 2014 County Hurdle.

“That was a Festival that had mixed emotions, as a few minutes after I won on Lac Fontana, I left Cheltenham Racecourse in an ambulance!”

Freak injury

Jacob is referring to his freak injury when he was thrown onto the tarmac next to the Best Mate enclosure, as his Albert Bartlett mount Port Melon bolted before the start of the race.

“I had numerous broken bones after that, but as I said, I like to concentrate on the positive things in life, and Lac Fontana winning half an hour earlier was terrific. He was such a tough horse, and a proper stayer at the trip. I remember arriving at the course on Friday thinking we had a good chance as I knew Paul had him trained to perfection.

“The pressure was different then - I was number one jockey at Ditcheat, so the expectations were there for you to deliver, and so naturally I was over the moon with the result.”

Concertista provided Jacob with his most aesthetically pleasing moment to date as far as Festival frolics go; The 2020 Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle turned into a procession as the duo waltzed clear to win by 12 lengths. “She was a class act. She was so slick over obstacles, and gave me some thrill. I wasn’t expecting her to go and do that, but at the same time it didn’t surprise me.

“She ran a blinder in the race at a huge price on her debut for Willie (Mullins) and then I got to sit on her on her seasonal reappearance at Fairyhouse and she was disappointing, but I thought the deep ground over two and a half miles caught her out that day. After that she started to improve and then really came to hand when it mattered most.”

Coming up the famous Cheltenham hill in the double green silks of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede is something that makes Jacob very proud, given the loyalty the owners have shown to him.

Recalling how the relationship started up, Jacob explains: “I got a bad injury, it was taking a while for everything to heal, so naturally my morale was a bit low. I got a call from Simon Munir one day and we really hit it off and the relationship went from there. I had left Paul’s, then not long after Barry Geraghty moved onto the J.P. McManus role, so it was all a bit of a perfect storm and it all snowballed from there.”

“Look, Simon, Isaac and their racing manager Anthony Bromley are the best people I could ever wish to work for. All my best days have been built around trust, and with those gentlemen it is reciprocal, and in abundance. I want to put it on record how thankful I am for what they have done for me.”

Stalwarts

Bristol De Mai has been one of the stalwarts for connections who remains one of the most popular horses in training, and Sceau Royal, who Jacob has ridden to success on 15 different occasions is his winning-most horse. They are two horses who have lifted Jacob and are synonymous with the green silks.

“I love them both to bits, and they have provided me with some stunning days. They owe us nothing, but I probably owe them a lot!”

It wouldn’t be an unfair statement to suggest those horses are in the twilight of their career, whereas there are a young breed of horses coming through which really excite Jacob, who has enjoyed heading back to his country of birth, and with great success in recent times, including Grade 1 success on Blue Lord over the Christmas period. Jacob goes on to share his thoughts on him and selects some others to take note of.

So there are lots of lovely horses for the future that Jacob will hopefully be associated with, but what next for the man himself? He’s ridden a winner at every National Hunt track in the UK, and has the coveted chalice on his curriculum vitae which is of course a win in the Grand National, courtesy of Neptune Collonges.

“I am aware I’m heading towards 40, but hopefully I can stay healthy and will have a few more years in the saddle. I’m very happy with what I have achieved and fingers crossed there are more great days to come.

“I’m not sure what I will do when the time comes for me to call it a day, but whatever I decide to do, I will make sure I can do it with a smile on my face.”

Maybe the 2023 Cheltenham Festival will provide some more of those great days and smiles, where Festival win number four could be just around the corner.

DARYL JACOB on:

BLUE LORD

He’s maturing all the time, he is much more the finished article now, despite his defeat at the Dublin Racing Festival. He was excellent at Christmas. He is versatile in regards to trip; at Clonmel on deep ground he showed he got two and a half miles well, yet is clearly very happy over two miles. In my view, to win something like Champion Chase you need to be able to stay, but he could easily go over the longer trip for the Ryanair Chase.

EL FABIOLO

Winning the Goffs Irish Arkle on him was one of the biggest thrills I have ever had. I have always held the horse in high regard but this was the first time I got to ride him on the racecourse. He is very inexperienced but he was very professional. He is a big, strong, powerful horse with a high cruising speed. He has a lot of stamina too. The more racing he gets, the better he will be. I see Jonbon every week in Nicky Henderson’s. He has improved a lot but El Fabiolo has improved an awful lot. The rematch will be very interesting.,

JAMES DU BERLAIS

He’s not short of speed, but I am sure he would get three miles over fences if he needed to, even though he did not run to expectations at the Dublin Racing Festival. Willie thought enough of him to run him in a Champion Hurdle a couple of years ago, but then he managed to finish runner-up in Grade 1 over three miles after that, so he clearly has options. I like his attitude and the way he jumps.

GOLD CUP BAILLY

This lad jumps for fun. He’s three from four over fences and is making up into a smashing staying chaser. All his wins have come on very soft ground but I would be happy to ride him on spring ground as he is a lovely mover.

O'TOOLE

When this lad split Kilcruit and Sir Gerhard in a Grade 1 Bumper, we thought we might have a real superstar. He has been a bit of a slow burner and has taken a while to get the hang of things. Perhaps mentally more than anything he has been slow to come to hand. Fences could be the making of him, and I was delighted with how he jumped at Newcastle. Staying chases will be his game in the future.

NUSRET

Comment taken from sportinglife.com

He did it really well at Kempton and picked up nicely from the second last to the last, considering Jamie Moore got three lengths on me. He winged the last and just idled when he got to the front.

It was a performance that I was hoping to get off him, I’ve always held him in high regard. The ground was a big difference, he likes good ground.

He’s come out of the race well and we’re not 100% sure on his next race. I see he’s well up in the Fred Winter betting but that’s not a confirmed target, He could well wait for the Grade 1 4YO Anniversary Hurdle at Aintree. The flat track will suit him well at Liverpool and he’s one to look forward to in the spring.

Daryl Jacob is a Sky Bet ambassador

This article is taken from The Irish Field Cheltenham Magazine 2023. CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR COPY