Charlie Deutsch felt the buzz of the Cheltenham Festival long before he ever had realistic designs on riding at it.
He grew up “about 40 minutes up the road” and used to visit the track regularly with his father, while a close friendship with the Twiston-Davies family meant that by his early teens he had already experienced the high of Gold Cup success at close-quarters, trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies saddling the winner of one of the great renewals in 2010.
“When I was young we’d go over to the Twistons’ and just mess about on the odd weekend,” the 25-year-old tells Standard Sport.
“We’d go and watch their runners at Cheltenham and I remember when Imperial Commander beat Denman and Kauto Star, the atmosphere that day was just incredible.”
Should Deutsch trouble the winners’ enclosure himself after tomorrow’s race, in which he rides Royale Pagaille, one man will be at the forefront of his mind.
Marcus Evans, the jockey’s godfather who was “more like a big brother”, was tragically killed in a road traffic accident earlier this year at the age of just 55.
“He was a larger than life character who sort of represented the Cheltenham enthusiast really,” Deutsch says.
“He was more than an enthusiast, he was obsessed by Cheltenham. He used to drive me mad because it was all he would talk about, in the summer even.
“I’ll be thinking of him and he would’ve loved it if we could get a winner there.”
The Venetia Williams-trained Royale Pagaille finished a distant sixth in last year’s race on ground that was quicker than ideal and any rain between now and the off would significantly enhance his claims.
“If he gets into a rhythm, we know he stays and he'd have a right good chance, I think,” says Deutsch, having felt the horse at his best when defying top weight to win a second successive Peter Marsh Chase on soft ground at Haydock in January in what was rated a level career-best performance.
But if his horse is merely matching the lofty achievements of previous campaigns then Deutsch is surpassing them, having earned rave reviews all season as perhaps the sport’s most improved rider after a host of high-profile Saturday winners.
Typically modest, he puts the improvement down to “good horses coming along” but admits he feels as if he is operating on a different level this year and will line up at Cheltenham full of confidence as a result.
“At the start of the season I hadn't won a Grade 2 before and now I've won a couple and a Grade 1, so that's great,” he adds. “Then to win a big handicap, I'd never won big a handicap like a Ladbrokes Trophy. So, this year's definitely a cut above."
The Cheltenham Festival will be broadcast live on ITV1 from 12.40pm – 4.30pm on Tuesday 15th - Friday 19th March. For more info visit greatbritishracing.com
