G-Mac and Koepka Off To The Races As They Chase Cheltenham Festival Dream

Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka are making the trip Kempton races later in February watch their horse in action that they hope can land a huge win at the prestigious Cheltenham Festival.

The duo, who both play for Smash GC in the LIV Golf League, own smart four-year-old hurdler Givemefive - who aptly enough smashed the field with a dominant 18-length victory last month at Warwick.

Up-and-coming young British trainer Harry Derham says the duo will watch their horse run in the Adonis Juvenile Hurdle at Kempton on 24 February as they stop off on their journey from Florida to the Middle East - with LIV Golf Jeddah scheduled for 1 March.

A good performance there will see all eyes on the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival - which would be some going for not only the 29-year-old trainer but also first-time owner Koepka.

“They are going to come because they are flying from Florida to the Middle East and are going to stop over, hopefully watch ‘Five’ run really well and then carry on to the Middle East,” Derham told Racing TV.

“I don’t think Brooks has ever been racing, but he’s a first-time owner who has had a horse who has won two races so is obviously enjoying it.

“He’s really enthusiastic about it and he and one of his best mates, Daniel Gambill, own the horse with Graeme. 

"They are obviously loving it because they have a really exciting horse and it will be good to give them a nice day out at Kempton – and hopefully ‘Five’ will read the script.”

It will be an exciting stopover for the LIV Golf duo, with their charge Givemefive already as short as 14/1 in places for the Triumph Hurdle.

If there's another solid performance at Kempton, though, those odds will tumble and they will feel they have a genuine chance at Cheltenham - the pinnacle of jumps racing.

“Givemefive is going to run in the Adonis and depending on how he gets on there, he could run at Cheltenham,” Derham added. 

“The Adonis will tell us more. He was really impressive last time out, but that form didn’t work out yesterday.

“I don’t think he has done enough to run in the Triumph straight away and officially on ratings he has a stone to find with the favourite, which sounds quite a lot, and the Adonis will tell us. 

"I’m not using the Adonis as a stepping stone though, and for a trainer who has only been training a year, it is an enormous deal to have a runner in that race and we will go there all guns blazing.”