ONE expression you will ordinarily never hear Jonjo O'Neill saying at Cheltenham Racecourse is, 'Get me out of here.'

The former two-times champion jockey loves the place so much he married his second wife Jacqui there in January 1997, nearly 11 years after it was the scene of his greatest day in racing aboard Dawn Run in the Gold Cup.

But when he makes the short journey from Jackdaws Castle to the world-famous course next, his best chance of adding to his 16 winners at the meeting will be a young unbeaten horse called Get Me Out Of Here.

Owned by O'Neill's landlord JP McManus, the six-year-old has racked up five victories in a row and heads to the Festival as the horse most likely to beat Irish superstar Dunguib in the Spinal Research Supreme Novices' Hurdle.

"There are no easy races at Cheltenham, but if goes there as fit and as well as he was in the totesport Trophy at Newbury last time he'll put up a good show," said O'Neill.

"He had won his bumpers and his novices hurdles nicely, but it was when he won at Newbury with Richie (McLernon), when they didn't go a great gallop and then sprinted down the straight and he jumped really well, that I thought for a novice he was pretty good.

"After that we were waiting to go for the Ladbroke Hurdle before Christmas, but that was off so we decided to give him a break because he'd been on the go from early on.

"It was a big task for him at Newbury, but he travelled through the race well and did everything well against good handicappers."

"Dunguib looks fantastic, but there's the old saying, 'Never be frightened by one horse.'

"Cheltenham's Cheltenham so let's find out who's the best."

O'Neill won the Gold Cup twice as a jockey, firstly aboard Alverton in 1979, and now nothing would give him more pleasure than winning the race as a trainer.

His hopes this year depend on Albertas Run, who won the RSA Chase at the 2008 Festival, but the presence of Kauto Star in the line-up could see him switched to the Ryanair Chase.

O'Neill was delighted with Albertas Run's last run, when he chased home the flying grey Monet's Garden at Ascot.

"He ran really well but Monet's Garden is a very good horse on his day," he said.

"We were very happy with our fella and we're just hoping the ground's not too soft at Cheltenham because he'll run a blinder.

"He's been a great horse for us over the past few years and he would have won a King George but for Kauto Star.

"I suppose Get Me Out Of Here is our best chance because he's the up-and-coming horse, but don't forget about Albertas.

"He's a very good horse when things are right for him.

"He isn't the biggest, but he's got a massive heart and always does his best."

Isn't That Lucky, who charged up the run-in to finish second in the Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase last year, could pay another visit next week with the Byrne Group Plate among his options.

He has been handicapped by a breathing problem when beaten on his past two runs, but O'Neill said he hoped an operation to fix the problem had worked.

"He's a good horse and is probably well handicapped, but the 'wind' problem hasn't helped," he said. "Because of that, he's better on better ground."

City Theatre would be best served by soft ground, but Sunnyhillboy would prefer conditions to dry out.

"The ground is very important to Sunnyhillboy," he said.

"He flew around a small track like Ludlow last time but we'll see if he can do it at Cheltenham."

■ Tomorrow: Carl Llewellyn on Nigel Twiston-Davies' team