By Liz Prize
Gabriel Leenders will never forget the moment in January 2023 when Gold Tweet stormed up the hill at Cheltenham to win the Cleeve Hurdle from the likes of Dashel Drasher and favourite Paisley Park.
It’s a feeling that he struggles to describe, but one he hopes to replicate next week when Gold Tweet returns to Cheltenham, this time to compete in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Yes, you read that correctly. Three years after making his international debut over hurdles, the now nine-year-old Gold Tweet is returning to Cheltenham to take on Britain’s and Ireland’s best chasers.
It might seem a little crazy to anyone who hasn’t followed his career in his native France, or to those who only remember his fourth place behind Royale Pagaille in the Betfair Chase at Haydock in 2024. The bookmakers certainly give him no chance, with odds widely available at 200/1, but that may be doing him a grave injustice.
At Haydock, he was simply not suited by the ground that had turned very soft. Obviously, you could argue that he is used to heavy ground at Auteuil and it certainly was heavy when he produced his best performance in 2025 when he finished third in the Prix la Haye Jousselin. However, the pace in France, as well as the distance between jumps at Auteuil is very different to the UK.
Anyway, while Gold Tweet has to up his game considerably if he wants to play any role in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, 200/1 is still a bit of an insult. His trainer though, is not bothered that Gold Tweet will only be an outsider. He is more concerned about getting the horse in good form to Cheltenham, as his seasonal reappearance in a hurdle race at Fontainebleau last month only produced a fifth place.
“It was a very bad performance,” Gabriel Leenders doesn’t hold back. “It really wasn’t good and it certainly meant that we had to think hard about if we should send him to Cheltenham. However, in retrospect I believe that the Fontainebleau racecourse just didn’t suit him. I also fitted him with a hood that day so that he is a little bit more relaxed but there was a lot of pace and he was just a bit lazy. He really needed that run, as he hadn’t run since the Prix la Haye Jousselin in November.”
A few days on from that seasonal reappearance, Leenders sat down with his fellow owners and while Gold Tweet does have an option to run in France on 24th March, they are now training him for the Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
“We decided to prepare him for Cheltenham because he has come on loads since that last start. It’s been really pleasing how much he has improved. He has woken up, he is enthusiastic and feels good. Look, we have thought about the Gold Cup for a while and his good run in the Haye Jousselin just confirmed our conviction that he will be suited to the race. He has a lot of experience now in races over longer distances than the Gold Cup (the Haye Jousselin is run over 3m3½f). He knows how to manage his energy and as we all saw, he loves Cheltenham. So for all of these reasons we are going to take our chance.”
Leenders also has plenty of talent elsewhere in the yard, and shared the latest on them:
GARDONS LE SOURIRE
10yo bg Fame And Glory – Place au Soleil
He spent the winter in Pau where he was the runner-up in a 2m4f Handicap chase and then got well beaten by his own stable companion Jaguar du Large in a 2m7 ½ f Handicap chase giving away 3,5 kilos.
“He is my first Grade 1 winner. I have trained him this year with the Prix du Président de la Republique, which is one of our most important handicap chases, in mind. He will make his seasonal reappearance very soon in a prep race for the President de la Republique, which I think is on the 19th of April. He has gone down in his handicap. He was the runner-up in two races at Pau this winter nd then he didn’t like the soft ground on his final start. He hates soft ground. That is why I’m taking my time with him.”
KRAKEN
6yo b g Saint Des Saints – Sanouva
Has never managed to complete a race at Auteuil and was well beaten on his seasonal reappearance in a handicap hurdle race at Angers
“I think he has a very good chance of winning his race this Saturday at Auteuil.”
MENTION BIEN
4yo b f Saint Des Saints – Drole d’Idee
Was the runner-up on her debut at Pau and produced a pleasing run when third on her first start at Auteuil in a 2m2f hurdle race.
“She is a good mare. I think she will be better over fences, but I wanted to take advantage of the heavy ground and that is why she is running this Saturday at Auteuil in Prix Turco over 2m2 ½ f. But as I said, her future is over fences.”
SHOKDOR
5yo ch g Seabhac – La Colombe D’or
Winner of a Listed race at Auteuil on only his second start over fences but hasn’t run in a year.
“He won a Listed at Auteuil, in fact he is unbeaten over fences. He will run on the 12th of April over hurdles, but his main targets this year are the Group races at Compiegne. He is a powerful individual.”
MON MARCEL
4yo b g Headman – Elucidee
Won with conviction on his hurdle debut at Auteuil in October last year
“He won the Prix Isopani, which is a good race. But we left him in peace after that as he needed some time to come into himself. He will run this Saturday at Auteuil in the Prix Virelan, where he comes up against horses that have already run this season. But he is a very nice horse, a group horse. It’s a test. If he is as good as we think, he will remain over hurdles, but if we see that he can’t win that easily, we will take him chasing with the main objective of running him in the group races later this season."
KELLE KIFF
4yo b f Masked Marvel – Meredith
Had to overcome very heavy ground on her second start in a mare’s race at Auteuil where she finished fourth after she was unable to quicken on the flat.
“She has run twice at Auteuil and both times she was involved in the finish. I think she can win a major handicap this year over hurdles and I believe that she will be even better over fences.”
PICKLAND
5yo ch g Masterstroke – Luci Di Mezzanotte
Was pulled up on his last start in the Gr1 Prix Maurice Gillois, the Grand Steeple-Chase for four-year-olds
“He has just come back to me after a little break. He was a runner-up in a 2m6f Listed over fences at Auteuil before he was pulled up in the Gr1. He will be targeting the group races at Compiegne this season.”
NITRO DES MOTTES
3yo b g Castle Du Berlais – Sara De Flee
Unraced
“He is a very good-looking horse, a very serious worker and precocious. He already has a lot of experience over the jumps and will make his debut at Fontainebleau on Monday. He shows a lot of talent.”
LA REINE DE CHOEUR
3yo bl f Chœur du Nord – Queenie’s Cash
Unraced
“She is going to make her debut at Auteuil next month. She is a very easy filly to train, she is very laid-back and a good jumper. She just finds things easier than some of the others.”
SACRED STAR
3yo ch f Goliath du Berlais – Raffles Sacre
Unraced
“She is very well bred. I very much believe that she is the perfect filly for Auteuil. She will make her debut next month. She is physically very imposing, very powerful. She is already showing signs that she is ready to run.”
NOBLE DE SANG
3yo bl g Choeur du Nord – Haie d’Honneur
Unraced
“I think he will be a group horse in the future. He looks exceptional. You can feel that he is just that much better than the others. He is not very big, but super powerful. He still needs to learn how to jump a bit better, but he is on the right path.”
NOUVEAUMONDE ALLEN
3yo b g Cokoriko – Europe Allen
Unraced
“He is a good horse. He might run on the flat before he goes jumping. He is an AQPS who seems to have a bit of talent.”
