Horse Racing News Etc.

[dennisg]

Our top gossip column returns and is expecting Clondaw Castle to come out on top in Saturday's Close Brothers Handicap Chase at Kempton.

3.35 Kempton - Clondaw Castle
5
Horse silk
Clondaw Castle49
Age: 9| Weight: 11-8| J: J J Burke| T: T R George| OR: 154| D
8/1
Form: 91-2132
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Clondaw Castle can make a winning first appearance over three miles in the Close Brothers Handicap Chase at Kempton on Saturday.

Tom George has done well in this race in the past with the likes of Nacarat and Double Shuffle, who should run another sound race here. However, Clondaw Castle boasts some very solid form and unlike his stablemate, may have a little more improvement in him now he steps up in trip.

A proven performer on good ground, he has been admirably consistent this term, winning a very good two-and-a-half mile handicap at Newbury before producing two decent placed performances at Grade 2 level.

When achieving his win at the Berkshire course, he gave the impression he might be at least as effective over a longer trip having stayed on strongly from the last after looking a little flat-footed three out. He is the one to beat but for those looking for an even bigger priced proposition could do worse than invest on the very much in-form Chris Gordon's runner Mellow Ben.

1.15 Kempton - Diocletian
7
Horse silk
Diocletianh69
Age: 6| Weight: 10-13| J: Page Fuller| T: A M Balding| OR: 126
15/2
Form: 451
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Andrew Balding has done well when he has dipped his toe into the jumping pool and he looks to have a great chance of landing the Close Brothers Asset Finance Handicap Hurdle with Diocletian.

A useful stayer on the flat, he took an outing to find his feet over obstacles but came good at the third time of asking with an easy win at Fakenham in December. This will be a much tougher task but he looks nicely weighted for his handicap debut and will be freshened up for his two month break.

1.50 Kempton - Ga Law
2
Horse silk
Ga Law84
Age: 5| Weight: 11-3| J: G Sheehan| T: Jamie Snowden| OR: 150| D
15/8
Form: 16-1113
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Ga Law can return to winning ways on his comeback from a winter break in the Grade 2 Close Brothers Pendil Novices Chase.

Jamie Snowden has the Randox Grand National meeting in mind for this French import who won three races on the bounce for the Lambourn trainer in the autumn, including an emphatic win in a Grade 2 at Wincanton in November.

Although well beaten by Allmankind in the Henry VIII on his latest start, he ran a sound race on ground softer than he prefers and underfoot conditions have come right for him at the Sunbury course after the recent dry weather.

3.00 Kempton - Calico
2
Horse silk
Calico37
Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: Harry Skelton| T: D Skelton| OR: -| D
11/4
Form: 1
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Calico may not have beaten much when he sluiced in at Ludlow on his hurdling bow but he looked a very useful prospect and he can underline the point with a big run in the Grade 2 Sky Bet Dovecote Novices Hurdle.

Dan Skelton could not be in better form at the moment and plenty of improvement can be anticipated from this lightly-raced smart ex-flat performer in Germany.

2.10 Newcastle - Black Pirate
1
Horse silk
Black Pirateb1,t35
Age: 9| Weight: 12-0| J: B S Hughes| T: J Ewart| OR: 122| D
5/1
Form: 2/114-33
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Black Pirate can gain his first success over fences in the Vertem - Very Different Stockbrokers Novices' Handicap Chase at Newcastle.

James Ewart will be hoping a recent breathing operation will allow his charge to reproduce his very useful hurdle and bumper form on his third start over fences but is also adding blinkers for the first time and a return to a course which should suit.

The booking of champion jockey Brian Hughes, who won on him twice over timber, is another plus and despite the big weight of 12 stone, he looks to have a decent handicap mark.

3.15 Newcastle - Salty Boy
8
Horse silk
Salty Boyp55
Age: 8| Weight: 10-0| J: Brendan Powell| T: D G Bridgwater| OR: 124
5/1
Form: 43-4636
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Salty Boy has been running some good races over shorter distances this season and looks worth an interest in the Vertem Eider Handicap Chase.

This traditional slog over four miles plus tests stamina to the limit and David Bridgwater's eight-year-old has always looked as though he will stay further, even though he showed when fourth to Sevarano on good ground over two-and-a-half at Sandown on his comeback, that he has he bit of toe as well.

7.30 Chelmsford - Epic Express
2
8
Horse silk
Epic Express28
Age: 3| Weight: 8-9| J: M Harley| T: J Ferguson| OR: -
11/8
Form: 5
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James Ferguson has his team in good form and Epic Express can build on his debut effort at Lingfield last month in the tote.co.uk Now Never Beaten By SP Median Auction Maiden Stakes at Chelmsford.

Despite a very fast start, the son of Twilight Son showed his lack of experience during the race and did well to finish fifth behind Red Evelyn. He has taken the exertions well and is expected to step up on that performance here.

2.50 Hereford, Sunday - Raffles Gitane
7
Horse silk
Raffles Gitane109
Age: 4| Weight: 10-12| J: D A Jacob| T: H Whittington| OR: -
1/1
Form: 45
On Sunday, Harry Whittington saddles Anemoi in the novice handicap chase at Fontwell and promising ex-Irish point to pointer Brave Kingdom in the closing bumper.

He is also running a very interesting French import called Raffles Gitane in the MansionBet App Fillies' Juvenile Maiden Hurdle at Hereford. By Kapgarde out of the very smart Gitanes Du Berlais, she is working very well and does not look highly-tried in this.

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[dennisg]

Betfair ambassador Paul Nicholls guides you through his team for Kempton on Saturday including his two runners in the feature Close Brothers Handicap Chase.

For more exclusive Paul Nicholls content visit betting.betfair.com/horse-racing/paul-nicholls/

Here are my views on my runners on Saturday at Kempton.

Best chance. Atholl Street. 15.00. He has made big strides this season and has sound claims in this Grade 2 race.

13:15 - Ecco

He is a nice type who has progressed really well this season. He won an all-weather bumper at this track just over a fortnight ago and the drying ground has come in his favour. Ecco also ran very well when second at Kempton on Boxing Day and the trip of two miles, five furlongs looks ideal.

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13:50 - Tamaroc de Mathan

He made quite an impression on his chasing debut at Wincanton where he jumped for fun and readily pulled clear in the closing stages. I thought he then really well when runner up to Shiskin at Kempton over Christmas. I’ve been waiting for better ground for Tamaroc du Mathan ever since and everything looks set for another big run from him.

14:25 -Paso Doble

He is a promising recruit from Ireland where he won twice on the flat for Jim Bolger as a three year old. I’ve given him a bit of time since he was gelded and he may well be one for the future. To find out for sure we are are going down the route we took with Zarkandar in this race some years ago. If Paso Doble happens to win at Kempton then he will head for the Triumph at Cheltenham. If he doesn’t then we will keep him for next season.

15:00 - Atholl Street

He is another of mine that loves decent ground so I have saved him for this race since he hacked up at Taunton early in December. That was his second impressive win at the Somerset track and he fully deserves a step up in class. While he still holds an entry in the Supreme Hurdle at Cheltenham a good run at Kempton is more likely to book his ticket for Aintree.

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15:35 - Black Corton

I’ve been waiting for this better ground for Black Corton who had been working nicely with Secret Investor, gutsy winner of the Denman Chase last Sunday. I’ve left him alone in the worst of the winter while the going was heavy everywhere and he is ready to go again. Although Black Corton doesn’t get any help from the handicapper it’s encouraging that he ran tidily in this race last year and always goes well fresh. He is ready and could go very well.

15:35 - Southfield Stone

He won an all-weather bumper at Kempton the other day, has also won over hurdles at the track and all his best performances have come on good ground. As he has never run over more than two and a half miles he is now stepping into the unknown over three miles for the first time. But I’ve always felt he would stay this far, particularly round this flat track on good ground. So there are plenty of plus points.

16:10- My Way

He ran a solid race at Chepstow last time on deep ground that doesn’t play to his strengths and will be much happier with conditions at Kempton. Back in November he led over the last fence in the Badger Ales Chase at Wincanton but didn’t quite last home over the trip. This race is much more suitable, he’s a sound jumper and we will ride him positively.

16:45 - Prince Nino

He is a big, strong, backward four year old, a bit of a baby at this early stage of his career and will benefit plenty from this debut run.

16:45 - Tamgho Borget

He has joined us this winter after keeping on stoutly to win his only point-to-point in Ireland in October for Colin Bowe who has a great record of bringing on young horses.

While Tamgho Borget shapes at home like he already wants a trip I don’t want to go hurdling with him so late in the season, so we’ll see how he gets on in this bumper before making any plans. He has done plenty of work but is probably one for the future.

[dennisg]

Betfair ambassador Gordon Elliott with a guide to his runners at Fairyhouse on Saturday.

For more exclusive Gordon Elliott content visit betting.betfair.com/horse-racing/gordon-elliott/
Fairyhouse, Saturday
Best Chance: Teahupoo (13:10)

13:10 Teahupoo

"I was very pleased with his first start for us when he won a conditions event at this track last month. He possibly had fortune on his side as a horse of Willie’s (Youmdor) came down at the last when holding a slender lead. In fairness though our horse had managed to get Youmdor off the bridle and the way he went to the line suggested that it would have been close enough if both horses had cleared the last without incident. He looks like he has progressed from that last run which would suggest that he has a future at graded level and I’d like to think he will be closely involved."

13:45 Petit Mouchoir

"You couldn’t fault everybody for doing their bit to stage this race which will hopefully take place at the third time of asking this afternoon. All the way along Petit Mouchoir has long been our only hope and he should run well. On ratings and at the weights he is reasonably treated by the race conditions and this race does represent quite a drop in class following two runs in Grade 1s at Leopardstown. The first of those saw him finish an excellent third to Sharjah and while he was well beaten behind Honeysuckle next time I wasn’t that disappointed as he probably paid the price for trying to match strides with an exceptional winner. Had we ridden him differently he could have run I good deal better I suspect. I’m hoping he will run his usual solid race."

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14:17 Stranger Danger

"He is a grand horse who has run three solid races in defeat this season. I thought he showed ability on his first two bumper runs and he again ran respectably in a very similar race to this at Thurles last month when he was second to a wide margin winner. He’ll have to take a step forward to win this but I could still see him running well and we are claiming off him which should help his cause."

16:00 Campeador & Elwood

"He hasn’t progressed into the horse we hoped he would earlier in his career when a couple of last flight falls cost him victory at Cheltenham and in a big handicap at this track. There are more races to be won with him though as he showed when he was third in quite a decent handicap hurdle at Navan over this two-and-a-half-mile trip last month. A repeat of that last run should see him involved and we claiming off him which will be a help too.

"Elwood has lost his way. After a number of falls over fences he lost his confidence so we put him back over hurdles but he didn’t show much in a handicap here last month. He isn’t a bad horse on his day and he does like soft ground so hopefully he will take a step in the right direction but he is best watched for the moment."

17:10 Prevaricate

"We’ve had him since he was a store and I was delighted to see him win a point-to-point for us first time out in November. I was hoping he’d win a Down Royal bumper on his debut a couple of months ago and he did everything right but just bumped into a smart horse of Stuart Crawford’s in Dixie Flyer. He looks to me as though he has improved for that first run and I’m expecting another good run from him although this has the appearance of quite a smart bumper."

[dennisg]

Gordon Elliott has said that the image in which he's pictured sitting on a dead horse caught him in an 'indefensible moment of madness'.

Elliott first apologised in a statement released on Sunday evening and now awaits the verdict of an investigation by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.

On Monday night, the British Horseracing Authority moved to suspend Elliott from having runners in the UK pending the outcome of that investigation.

Elliott told the Racing Post: "It is indefensible. Whether alive or dead, the horse was entitled to dignity. A moment of madness that I am going to have to spend the rest of my life paying for and that my staff are suffering for.

"I will be punished, I fully understand that. But it absolutely breaks my heart to read and hear people say that I have no respect for my horses. That couldn't be further from the truth. My whole life has revolved around horses since I was a child. I know nothing else. Horses are all I have. I came from nothing and built a dream.

"When your world starts crumbling in front of you, it's a scary place to be. I just hope people can understand how truly sorry I am and find some way to forgive me for what I have done."

Cheveley Park Stud, whose Envoi Allen is trained by Elliott and set to go off a short price should he run at the Cheltenham Festival, said they are "truly horrified and dismayed by the photograph doing the rounds on social media".

They too will await the outcome of the IHRB investigation.

Elliott added: "I can guarantee that this will never happen again to any animal, alive or dead."

Gordon Elliott initial statement in full (released Sunday evening)
"Firstly, I apologise profoundly for any offence that this photo has caused and can categorically state that the welfare of each and every horse under my care is paramount and has been central to the success that we have enjoyed here at Cullentra.

“The photo in question was taken some time ago and occurred after a horse had died of an apparent heart attack on the gallops. I appreciate that an initial viewing of this photo suggests it is a callous and staged photo, but nothing could be further from the truth.

“At what was a sad time, which it is when any horse under my care passes away, my initial reaction was to get the body removed from where it was positioned.

“I was standing over the horse waiting to help with the removal of the body, in the course of which, to my memory I received a call and, without thinking, I sat down to take it. Hearing a shout from one of my team, I gestured to wait until I was finished.

“Such background information may seem trivial at this time and will not allay the concerns of many people both within and outside the world of horse racing.

“However, I feel it is important to provide people with some context surrounding this photo. To the racing community, to anyone who has worked with and loves horses and to anyone offended by this image I cannot apologise enough.

“Horse welfare and the care and attention to detail involved is absolutely at the core of everything we do here and both myself and all of my team pride ourselves on those standards.

“Again I apologise for any offence caused and ask people to consider this statement as opposed to the various falsehoods and misinformation being circulated on social media.

“At this time I would like to stress that I continue to extend my full cooperation with the ongoing IHRB investigation.”

[dennisg]

[img src="https://www.sportiRuby Walsh is both “very sad” and “embarrassed” for racing as the photograph of Gordon Elliott sitting on a dead horse continues to threaten the sport’s reputation.

Dual Grand National-winning and Cheltenham Festival record-breaking jockey Walsh describes the image – posted on Twitter on Saturday night – as “indefensible”.

Top trainer Elliott is “cooperating fully” with an investigation into the incident by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, while the British Horseracing Authority has already placed an interim ban on his runners.

Speaking on RTE, Walsh said: “A picture paints a thousand words, but I think that picture only painted one – and that’s ‘indefensible.’ When I looked at it, I felt angry, I felt embarrassed for my sport and I felt very sad.

“I was always taught that the duty of care to the animal is as much when it is dead as it is when it is alive – that is the way I was taught to conduct myself, and it’s the way I assumed most people within my sport would conduct themselves.”

Statements from Horse Racing Ireland, the BHA and the National Trainers Federation have made clear racing’s universal shock at seeing the picture, taken on Elliott’s gallops.

Walsh added: “It has huge ramifications for the sport, and I feel embarrassed for the sport and I felt very sad when I (saw) that picture that the due care and respect wasn’t given to that horse.

“As a licensed trainer, jockey or an employee of a stable yard, you are representing the horse racing industry – and the onus is on you to act in a manner that is good for the image of racing.”nglife.com/images/news/1350x759/d7624c49-2a48-4a20-973f-2022dd142e11.jpg" alt=" "]

[dennisg]

Gordon Elliott will not be permitted to have runners in Britain until the conclusion of an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board investigation into an image on social media that showed the Grand National-winning trainer sitting on a dead horse on his gallops.

Racing authorities in Britain and Ireland have condemned the image, which Elliott confirmed in a statement on Sunday evening was genuine, apologising “profoundly for any offence that this photo has caused”, while seeking to explain what he said was the context of events that led to the photograph.

The IHRB has already launched a full investigation – and while Elliott is licensed in Ireland, the British Horseracing Authority said it was “appalled” by the image and was “considering its own regulatory options”, but has now acted.

A statement on Monday evening said: “The British Horseracing Authority will not allow the Irish trainer Gordon Elliott to race horses in Britain whilst the Irish authorities investigate an image that appeared on social media over the weekend.

“The trainer admitted the photo was genuine and apologised for his actions.

“The BHA, which regulates racing in Britain, will use powers under its own rules to refuse to allow horses trained by Mr Elliott to race in Britain pending consideration of the outcome of the Irish investigation.

“The action taken by the BHA recognises that Mr Elliott is licensed in Ireland, whose regulatory body, the IHRB, is carrying out its own investigation.

“However, Mr Elliott has entered horses to race in Britain, from which point the British rules of racing apply to him.

“The decision to refuse to allow horses trained by Mr Elliott to run in Britain is therefore an interim decision which the BHA regards as proportionate in these circumstances.”

The BHA added that owners of horses currently trained by Elliott are permitted to transfer them to a different trainer and run them at a British meeting, “providing they comply with the relevant rules”.

An earlier statement had read: “The BHA is appalled by the image that appeared this weekend. We expect all those in our sport to demonstrate respect for horses, on the racecourse, in the training yard, on the gallops, and wherever they have horses in their care.

“People who work in our industry believe their values – of caring for and respecting our horses – have been deeply undermined by this behaviour. On their behalf, and on behalf of all horse lovers, we say loudly that British horseracing finds this totally unacceptable.

“The BHA is considering its own regulatory options, recognising that the Irish authorities license Mr Elliott and are carrying out their own investigation.”

Horse Racing Ireland, the national authority for thoroughbred racing in Ireland, echoed those sentiments, saying the picture was a “disservice” to people in racing.

A statement said: “Horse Racing Ireland unreservedly condemns the disturbing photograph that appeared on social media at the weekend.

“This image does not reflect the care, attention and respect that race horses receive, and does a disservice to the thousands of people who look after their horses on a daily basis. Horse Racing Ireland notes and supports the IHRB investigation into the circumstances around the photograph.

“From a disciplinary perspective, the matter is in process, so any further comment on the matter or the detail of the case at this time would not be appropriate.”

The IHRB is hoping for a speedy resolution to the case, with a spokesman adding: “As is the case with all investigations carried out by the IHRB, there is a process that must be followed – and that will be the case in this instance.

“As stated over the weekend, this will be dealt with as quickly as possible.”

Despite the controversy, it was business as usual for Elliott on the racecourse at least, as he sent out Black Tears to win the Grade Three Quevega Mares Hurdle at Punchestown – while Papal Lodge, Coach Carter and Mighty Potter were also on the mark for the Cullentra team.

Elliott also received a boost as Gigginstown House Stud owner Michael O’Leary confirmed his team – including dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll – would be going nowhere, opting to accept an apology for a “grievous but momentary lapse of judgement from Gordon”.

Cheveley Park Stud, who count hot Cheltenham Festival favourite Envoi Allen among their Elliott string, said they were “truly horrified and dismayed by the photograph”, but will wait for the IHRB investigation to conclude before making any decisions on the future.

Sire Du Berlais is prominent in the betting for the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Festival. Frank Berry, racing manager for his owner JP McManus, declined to comment on the situation when contacted on Monday morning.

But online bookmakers Betfair – for whom Elliott has been an ambassador for several years – made a swift decision to cut ties with the trainer.

A statement read: “While we recognise that Gordon deeply regrets and apologised unreservedly for his poor judgement, his actions are completely at odds with the values of the Betfair brand and that of our employees.

“With that in mind, we have decided to discontinue our association with Gordon with immediate effect.”

The four-day Cheltenham Festival is due to get under way on March 16.

[dennisg]

Top trainer Paul Nicholls with a day-by-day guide to his team for this year's Cheltenham Festival.

Day One – Tuesday 16th March
Soldier Of Love (Ultima Handicap Chase)

“Soldier of Love is in the Ultima and the National Hunt Chase. He worked this morning and the key to him is good ground. I’ve been talking to Simon (Claisse) just now and he says that the ground is good to soft just now which is where he wants it to be.

“There is rain forecast next week, and it won’t take too much to go back to being soft, so if it’s soft he’s unlikely to run. He’s a horse who’s more likely to take his chance in the spring on better ground, but we just thought it was prudent to enter him in case we had a dry spring and he’s 50-50 to run in either race.”

Eglantine Du Seuil (Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle/Coral Cup)

“She’s in the Mares’ Hurdle and she’s also in the Coral Cup, which is probably a race which might be a little more suitable for her. She was a bit disappointing the last time she ran, and it’s just been hard to get her right. She’s run a good couple of good solid races and I think she wants good ground to get the best out of her. If it was soft I’d be thinking again about running her, so she’s one we’ve got to make a decision on next week. If we did run, I’d say it’s more likely to be in the Coral Cup.”

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Hell Red and Houx Gris (Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle)

“Hell Red won very nicely at Chepstow at the start of the season and looked very promising on decent ground and then he went to Cheltenham on softer ground and after a mile he was choking. He had a breathing problem so he had a breathing operation and I had to get a run into him somewhere, so he went to Wincanton two weeks ago on very heavy ground. He ran ok, he needed the run, and when I saw he was 3-1 on in the morning I thought ‘I can’t believe this’ because I said in my Betfair column that he’d probably need the run. He ran really tidily, and he got dropped 3lbs for that which was a bonus actually. He was 134 and is now 131 and he’s done a lot of graft since and still has got a lot of hard work. If the ground was good to soft that would be perfect for him and he’s definitely there with a chance, he’ll improve a lot on Wincanton.

“Houx Gris was third in a Grade One (on his yard debut at Chepstow in January) and ran very well in very heavy ground. He won at Auteuil the time before that and although Auteuil was given as heavy ground that day – which they always do – it wasn’t that bad. He ran really nicely (at Chepstow) and I probably ran him a bit too quick after we bought him. He ran nicely, and this was obviously a nice race for him off 128. He galloped nicely this morning, and I’d say he’s got a nice chance, he’s a lovely horse.”

Next Destination has the measure of Fiddlerontheroof
Next Destination has the measure of Fiddlerontheroof
Next Destination (National Hunt Chase and Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase)

“We’ll talk about the National Hunt Challenge Cup. He’s also in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, which is a race we really want to run him in and if it’s soft we’ll run him in that. But we just put him in this race because he obviously stays very strongly. He’s a novice, obviously another plus is that Harry (Cobden) can ride him now, and we’ll probably confirm him at the five-day stage for both races, and make a plan. It’s almost certain that if it’s soft he’ll run in the Brown Advisory, but this is an option.”

Day Two – Wednesday 17th March
Bravemansgame (Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle)

“The Challow was a nice race to win at Grade One level and he won very nicely that day. He’s always been really progressive, right from the start of the season when he was beaten a neck by Soaring Glory, who won the Betfair Hurdle last weekend. I was impressed that day by the fact that Harry (Cobden) could hardly pull him up afterwards, and he ran green and jumped green and my God did he improve. Each run he’s got better and better and that culminated in him winning the Challow Hurdle at Christmas. He was really strong at the back of the last and stayed on strong, so this is the obvious race for him. He worked nicely this morning and I’m very happy with him and his preparation.

“He’s a very relaxed horse, he’s not keen. At Newbury we just kept it simple because we knew he jumped and stayed, but a good strong pace suited him well. He’s a good ride and a class horse. It’s a hard race to win, years ago Denman was beaten in the race, so it’s a tough race to win and there’s some tough horses in it, but we think he’s got a great chance and he’s a lovely horse for the future.

“He’s definitely improving physically all the time. I think the best will come from when he jumps a fence in the future, but he’s going into the race with a leading chance I feel.”

Bravemansgame clears the last in the Challow
Bravemansgame clears the last in the Challow
Next Destination (Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase)

“He’s a horse who had the best part of two and a half years off when he joined us and he ran very well over hurdles at Wetherby. He’s had two chase runs, both in Grade Two races and won his debut over fences in a Grade Two at Newbury and jumped great. Then he won at Warwick the other day, which was a bit sharp for him but he stayed on strong. He’s got bundles of stamina and the softer the ground the better for him. He’s a very smart horse, and obviously Willie’s Monkfish is going to be very hard to beat on all known form, but you never worry about one or two in novice races at Cheltenham, a lot can happen and you’ve got to jump well. He’s got it all to do, but he’s in there with a right chance, especially if the ground is soft.”

On his seven entered for the Coral Cup

“I might just run Saint Sonnet. He’s been a little disappointing over fences and hasn’t jumped his fences as well as we’d have liked. He probably got stuck in really soft ground and he worked great this morning. He’s rated 143 I think over hurdles, and he’s a classy horse, so that might just be his race. Some of the others might not get in and with Eglantine Du Seuil we’ll be going for this or the Mares’ race if we run her at all.”

Politologue, Greaneteen and Duc Des Genievres (Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase)

“I love this race, it’s a fantastic race and I’ve been very lucky to have some fantastic horses win it. Politologue winning last year was fantastic for him and for everybody connected with the horse and this year is his sixth Festival, which is amazing. If you could see him gallop this morning, he was very impressive, he comes good at this time of year and he’s in there with a chance.

“I think it was a good run (at Ascot). The ground was probably testing enough for him that day, he’s slightly better on spring ground and it might be that Cheltenham just suits him very well. He’s a horse who gives his all, there were no excuses and he was beaten by a better horse on the day. He still ran to a very high level, which he will do in this race, and you know he’s solid, he’ll go a nice gallop and will give you a nice run for your money.

Politologue enjoys the attention
Politologue enjoys the attention
“Obviously Willie’s horse (Chacun Pour Soi) looks very smart, but he’s not run at Cheltenham before and he’s got to act on the track. I don’t doubt that if he does do he’ll be hard to beat, but you should never be afraid of one and we’re going into it – being realistic – with a nice chance, but it’ll be hard.

“Whatever happens, Harry Cobden rides Politologue and Bryony Frost will ride Greaneteen. Greaneteen is going to run as well. He ran a bit free in the Game Spirit at Newbury and carried a penalty, but was just a bit free and a bit fresh. He’s a horse that if they go fast around there could run into a place. I’m not expecting him to win but he deserves to take his place.”

“Duc Des Genievres – Duc as we call him – won the Arkle two years ago and has run some tidy races this year. I feel he’s just shy of a Grade One horse and we have to decide if he runs in this or runs in the Grand Annual, but he seems to be coming together now and he would probably want some slightly better ground.”

On his Grand Annual entries

“I need to see the weights and make a plan for some of the others and see what the ground is, but Ashutor was always intended for this race after his run at Fontwell at the weekend. He’s been off all winter and ran well on the weekend over 2m 3f. He needed the run a fraction and the idea was that the run would bring him on. He has to improve quite a lot, but he’s a good solid jumper and likes a fast run race, and novices have got a good record in this race so being a handicap he’s in there with a chance. He probably has to improve, but he will definitely come on for Sunday’s run.”

Gold Bullion, Rainyday Woman and Shearer (Weatherbys Champion Bumper)

“Gold Bullion is a very nice horse. This might come a bit too soon for him after he won at Warwick, and he may go for another race.”

“Rainyday Woman is a very smart filly who won a listed race at Huntingdon the other day. She’s two from two this year and she’s intended to go to Sandown next weekend, where there’s a very good mares’ race, but I thought I better have her in this in case something goes wrong or the ground is too quick at Sandown.

“Shearer is an intended runner. He’s a very nice horse and just got beat on his debut at Hereford and then he won well at Warwick on ground that was far too testing for him. He’s had a nice break, has improved and definitely deserves to take his chance. I think he was named after Alan Shearer. Alan is well aware of the horse’s name and has followed him. Max (McNeill) who owns him wanted to call him Shearer.”

Day Three - Thursday March 18th
Hitman and Stratagem (Marsh Novices’ Chase)

“I think for Stratagem this will probably come a bit too soon for him. He’s going to go for a valuable novices’ handicap at Sandown on the Saturday before Cheltenham.

“Hitman is an interesting one. I wanted to run him last Saturday at Kempton but couldn’t because of the ground. He’s also entered at Newbury this weekend and again the ground is an issue. In the back of my mind is the fact that in a perfect world I’d probably run him at the weekend and then go to Aintree for the two and a half mile novices’ chase there, but if I miss this weekend for whatever reason, I could be tempted to have a look at this. I think it could cut up a bit with Envoi Allen and people might dodge him – so Hitman is still a possible in my mind, depending on whether we go on Saturday or not.”

Timeform

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Southfield Harvest and Storm Arising (Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle)

“He’s (Southfield Harvest) a real strong stayer and he ran well at Newbury the other day. I was a bit disappointed he went up 3lbs for being beaten, which I thought was a bit harsh, but Cheltenham will suit him – preferably a good gallop, and the slower ground the better for him.

“Storm Arising just keeps on improving. He won at Lingfield and then he sort of pulled himself up a little bit when second at Sandown and then he won very well at Chepstow the other day. He likes soft ground, we’ve kept him fresh and Bryony (Frost) will ride him, while Harry (Cobden) will ride Southfield Harvest. Both have chances in a very competitive race.”

Real Steel (Ryanair Chase)

“He ran very well in last year’s Gold Cup. Obviously they didn’t go a great gallop and he travelled into it and looked like he might win going to the last, but didn’t stay up the hill. He’s not a stayer, and I think this trip is right for him.

“He worked beautifully this morning when we took him away (to Wincanton), which was a really good sign and he looks good in his coat at the moment. He ran in the King George at Christmas and if you watch the race he jumped the last down the back going really well and travelled into the straight looking like he was going to be involved and then stopped. It transpired that he bled, which has been a bit frustrating, but we’ve got him over that and he looks good. We’ve changed our routine with him, and we’ve got him right he would go into the race with a chance.

“Those horses who have come from Willie have been hard to get used to our routine. Obviously what they do is completely different to what we do and it’s taken some of them a little while to settle into our routine, but they’re getting there now and he definitely looked the best he has done in this morning’s gallop, and I was very pleased with him – so hopefully he’ll put up a good show.

“He ran well in the Gold Cup last year and with better ground on the right trip, he could run well.”

Magic Saint is away and clear at Cheltenham
Magic Saint is away and clear at Cheltenham
Magic Saint (Paddy Power Plate)

“Saint Sonnet is going to go over hurdles. My Way won’t get in the race and Doctor Sanderson is probably the same so I’d imagine that if we were going to run anything it would be Magic Saint. He looks as though he’s crying out for a trip. He ran in the Game Spirit the other day and was a bit one paced over the last, so he probably wants a longer trip, so if I did run one it would probably be him.”

Shantou Flyer (Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase (Sponsored by JRL Group))

“Shantou Flyer is a nice old horse. He was going to run in some hunter chases with David Maxwell, but because of what’s happened with Covid we’ve qualified him for the Kim Muir. He’ll be ridden by either Harry Cobden or Angus Cheleda, who rode him the last day.

“I was a bit disappointed to be honest with the handicapper – I spoke to him about it last week. He’s 11 years old, he’s run twice for this yard off 136 and got beat both times with a claimer riding him, and the last time he ran he got put up 5lbs. I actually said, ‘I thought that was unrealistic as you’ve got to give horses a chance – he’s 11, why did you put him up 5lbs when he can’t win off 136?’ He said he’d have a look at it and has dropped him one pound. To be honest with you that’s taking the mick and I was a bit disappointed with that. If he can’t win off 136 he can’t win off 140, so he has it all to do off that mark.”

Fourth Day – Friday 19th March
Thyme White (McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle)

“Thyme White is an intended runner in this. He ran a really tidy race in the Betfair the other day and coming to the last he looked dangerous. He hadn’t run for a long time and he obviously needed the run but he has obviously sharpened up a lot for that.

“If it was a nice dry week and it was goodish ground on the last day that would suit him well. He could run well. The key to him, like when he won at Musselburgh last year, is that he loves good ground. My view was always to get a run into him at Newbury, run him in this if the ground was okay, if it was soft we might think twice about it. He will definitely be heading up to Ayr for the Scottish Champion Hurdle. That would be a good race for him.

“Christopher Wood is in at Kelso, Lucky One is in at Kelso, Pic D’Orhy could run in the Imperial Cup, Solo is in at Kelso, but Thyme White would be the main one.”

Barbados Bucks - leading fancy for Ballymore
Barbados Bucks - very promising
Barbados Buck’s, Threeunderthrufive (Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle)

“Andy (Stewart) has got some good young horses for the future and Barbados Buck’s is one of them. He has been really progressive this season. He is rated 143 now and his form keeps getting better. He has won his last three. The last day at Kempton he carried a 10lb penalty and he was strong from the back of the last and he won nicely. He is a proper staying horse and you need something here that will stay forever and he would be right in that. He worked nicely this morning. He is so laid back he will be absolutely fine (with the step up in class). We’ve progressed all along the lines with him.

“He beat the horse that day (at Musselburgh) that Barbados Buck’s beat at Southwell (Fantastikas) which won at Fontwell on Sunday. They have got quite good form with him. He is unbeaten over hurdles but you wouldn’t know what is in the locker with him as he only just does enough. He goes along with his ears pricked, jumps well and he will definitely get every bit of the trip and is another with a nice chance. This is a nice horse.”

Bob And Co (St James’s Place Festival Hunters Chase)

“He would have a good chance on his day. It’s a race we have won quite a few times. The sad thing is David Maxwell (owner) bought him to ride himself in the race. He had a few issues with his wind last season but we sorted that out. He won very impressively at Haydock the other day and it is just a shame David has got such a fantastic chance in the race and he can’t ride it. He has been sporting and said ‘get on and run him’ but he will get back on him the first time amateurs can ride again. David puts a lot into the sport and he has got some lovely horses to ride and it is a shame he won’t be able to ride him in this race. I think Bob And Co has a great chance.”

Cut The Mustard (Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase)

“She has been waiting for some better ground. It might well be her and Eglantine Du Seuil might just want to wait for better ground. We might just wait for the April meeting with them. You have got to be in there as you can’t win it if you are not in it. We will just wait and see if it is the right thing or not to run.”

Amour De Nuit, Ecco (Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle)

“Amour De Nuit would definitely get in. He has been running really nicely this season. Ecco who ran very well the other day at Kempton would get in but he is very ground dependant and he likes good ground. Saint Sonnet and Solo are also in there. There are three or four in there. The handicaps are hard to work out at the moment. You need to see what the ground is like and what weight they are. It is nice to have a couple to select that you could hope would be competitive.”

[dennisg]

Donn McClean highlights three horses of potential interest for the Cheltenham Festival following the racing in Ireland over the weekend, including Jason The Militant.

On the Radar:
Jason the Militant - Unibet Champion Hurdle
Zoffanien - Boodles Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle
Lynwood Gold - Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle Final
Jason The Militant threw his hat into the Champion Hurdle ring when he won the Red Mills Trial Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Saturday.

Run a week later than originally scheduled this year, as the Gowran Park meeting the previous week fell to the elements, the Red Mills Trial Hurdle represents one of the last opportunities in Ireland for Champion Hurdle aspirants to get their eye in before heading for the Cotswolds. Theatreworld used to win the Red Mills Hurdle regularly before he would go to Cheltenham and finish second in the Champion Hurdle. Hardy Eustace was beaten a short head by George’s Girl in the race in 2004 before he won his first Champion Hurdle, and Dessie Hughes' horse won the Gowran race in 2005 en route to winning his second.

Jason The Militant was impressive in winning the 2021 renewal on Saturday. Sent to the front from flagfall, he was quickly into a good racing rhythm, jumping well. Rachael Blackmore gave him a squeeze on the run to the home turn, and immediately his three main rivals came under pressure. Petit Mouchoir was the only one of the three who was able to get close to him as they straightened up for home but, in truth, he was never really a threat.

Henry de Bromhead’s horse got on a little tight to the second last flight, but he didn’t lose much momentum and he was quickly away from the obstacle on the landing side. He jumped the final flight well, and he kept on nicely up the run-in to beat his former stable companion by seven and a half lengths, with Darasso and Sixshooter further behind.

There was a lot to like about this performance. Visually, it was impressive and, while the 10-year-old Petit Mouchoir is not the force of old, he is a 155-rated horse, and Jason The Militant conceded 9lb to him and beat him by seven and a half lengths in a time that was over 10 seconds faster than the fastest of the other two two-mile hurdles run on the day.

The handicapper raised Peter Michael’s horse by 5lb to a mark of 158 and, while the two mares Honeysuckle and Epatante are well clear on ratings in the Champion Hurdle, in receipt of the mares’ allowance, that rating puts Jason The Militant in the mix. Remember, he was only beaten a half a length by Abacadabras in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown in November on his previous run.

He is improving too, he was racing for just the seventh time in his life over hurdles on Saturday, and he probably put up the best performance of his career. Henry de Bromhead has more obvious Champion Hurdle candidates in Honeysuckle and Aspire Tower, of course, but Jason The Militant would be fully deserving of his place in the line-up. He would add to the strength of the de Bromhead team, and he would be a lively outsider.

Cilaos Emery was impressive in winning the opening race, the Grade 3 two-mile chase, at Naas on Sunday, and his stable companion Echoes In Rain looked good in winning the Grade 2 novices’ hurdle, but it is probable that neither will be going to Cheltenham this year. Trainer Willie Mullins had already taken Echoes In Rain out of the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle before Sunday, but she could be a mare who will be worth following now through the spring in Ireland. She settled much better on Sunday than she had in the Moscow Flyer Hurdle at Punchestown on her previous run, and she could continue to progress as she gains experience.

Cilaos Emery in action
Cilaos Emery in action
Cilaos Emery still holds entries in the Champion Chase and the Ryanair Chase, but Willie Mullins said afterwards that he might campaign him at home too through the spring.

Zoffanien booked his ticket for the Boodles Fred Winter Hurdle though when he ran out an impressive winner of the four-year-olds’ handicap hurdle. The Denis Hogan-trained gelding travelled well into his race behind a good pace that Rock Chica set, moved up nicely to join the leader on the run to the final flight, jumped to the front over that obstacle and quickened clear impressively up the run-in for Hugh Morgan.

It was a nice performance by Liam Mulryan’s horse, his first win over hurdles and a good step forward from his previous run, when he finished second to Druid’s Altar over Saturday’s course and distance two weeks earlier. He does carry his head a little high, but that didn’t stop him going forward on Sunday, and the turn of foot that he showed was impressive.

The Irish handicapper raised him by 10lb to a mark of 129, and it may be that he will need another couple of pounds from the British handicapper in order that he can be sure of his place in the Fred Winter line-up.

Zaffonien’s performance also enhances Druid’s Altar’s Fred Winter Hurdle claims. Joseph O’Brien’s horse was impressive in beating him in that race at Naas two weeks ago, a race that produced the Fred Winter 1-2 in 2019 and the Fred Winter 1-4 in 2020.

Finally, it is always worth giving the Punchestown Pertemps Qualifier a second look, given that it has produced Pertemps Final winners Mall Dini, Presenting Percy and Delta Work in recent years. Monday’s race was run five days later than originally scheduled, and the winner Atlantic Shore does not hold an entry at Cheltenham – his target is the Leinster National at Naas on the Sunday before Cheltenham – but Lynwood Gold kept on well to take sixth place.

Jessica Harrington’s horse was racing for the first time here since he finished eighth in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket in October, and it was just his fifth run over hurdles, so he could progress from it. Rated 91 on the flat, the Robcour gelding will be of interest if he does take his place in the Pertemps Final line-up.

More In The Series:
February 23: Tiger feat
February 16: Raise the roof
February 9: Stars shine bright
February 2: Beach ready
January 26: Don't forget Fury
January 19: Envoi still perfect
January 12: Eye Eye Captain
January 5: Kettle still in Champion mix
www.donnmcclean.com

[dennisg]

Paul Nicholls hopes Frodon can continue his remarkable journey by writing his name into Cheltenham Festival folklore and provide his owner Paul Vogt with a poignant success in the WellChild Gold Cup.

The ultra-tough nine year old will attempt to give the 11-times champion trainer a record equalling fifth win (alongside Arkle’s trainer Tom Dreaper) in the prestigious Grade One prize on March 19th and his first since the mighty Kauto Star claimed the second of his two victories in the race in 2009.

Having carried top weight to glory in a handicap chase at Cheltenham on his return to action in October, Frodon failed to fire in the Grade Two Many Clouds Chase at Aintree, before bouncing back in spectacular fashion to claim the Grade One Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.

Frodon, who landed the 2019 Ryanair Chase at The Festival™ supporting WellChild, will have to take another step forward if he is to win Jump racing’s Blue Riband race and record a seventh course success, but Nicholls claims he would not be surprised if he was up to the challenge.

He said: “We’ve been very lucky to win it four times with Kauto Star, Denman and See More Business. It’s been a fantastic race and I’d love to win it again.

“I know his owner Paul, who sadly lost his wife Ruth recently, is really proud. It would be a massive boost if he ran well. He would be a mighty proud man just to have runner in the Gold Cup.

Frodon wins at Cheltenham again
Frodon wins at Cheltenham again
“He has been in racing a long, long time and to just have a chance in the Gold Cup will mean an awful lot to him and his family.

“He is the sort of horse that no one will expect to win the Gold Cup but if he did it wouldn’t be a surprise. No one expected him to win a King George, but he keeps surprising people.

“He was always a decent horse but I never envisaged him being quite to this level. His first couple of years he ran some good races and he won the Victor Ludorum over hurdles. He flattened off but then he found some extra form and strength.

“He just took a while to mature, that was the thing. When he got to full maturity he kept on improving. He has come a long way. He has surprised me to be honest with you.”

Victory for Frodon, who took part in a racecourse gallop at Wincanton today, would also see his regular rider Bryony Frost become the first female jockey in history to win the race, and Nicholls admits that her presence is paramount to the gelding’s chances of glory.

A special moment for the Frodon team
A special moment for the Frodon team
He said: “They are a match made in heaven and they do get on particularly well. She and Frodon have gone a long way and there is definitely a rapport between them. You wouldn’t want her not being on him. She knows him well.

“She was saying this morning how much of a turn of foot he has got. It’s the biggest race he will ever run in his life and he deserves to be there.”

Frodon may be among this season’s leading Gold Cup contenders, but it wasn’t until the current campaign that Nicholls was ppersuaded to go down such a route.

He said: “We ran him in last year’s Ryanair and he was completely outpaced all the way. We decided this year we would stay over a longer trip.

“We were debating a couple of years ago (going for the Gold Cup). When he won the Cotswold Chase (2019) that gave me the idea one day he could run in it.

“Paul (Vogt) has always wanted to have a runner in the Gold Cup which hopefully he is going to have this year. He is going to be a bit more of a livelier runner than we thought.

“At the start of the season he won that handicap at Cheltenham off top weight. That was a huge run and huge effort and I thought this is the season to do it (go for the Gold Cup). He is right up there with the best.

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“He loves the track and we are hopeful of a good run. He is always underestimated. He always gives a good account of himself and you can never rule him in or out.”

Though Frodon has adopted front-running tactics for the majority of his victories Nicholls feels that he does not have to force the pace to be effective.

He said: “It suits him to make the running but he doesn’t have to make the running. When he has won some of those good handicaps at Cheltenham earlier on, especially over a shorter trip he got better the quicker they went - he got a bit of a lead and that suited him. He jumps his way into the race. You can ride him how you find him.

“If the ground is better some of those horses that are a little bit more one-paced struggle a little bit. This horse has got plenty of boot and he can dictate things a bit. The ground helps him tactically. He doesn’t have to make the running but he loves being forwards anyway.”

Al Boum Photo wins the 2021 Savills Chase at Tramore
Al Boum Photo wins the 2021 Savills Chase at Tramore
Assessing the opposition, Nicholls expects the toughest challenge to come from the Willie Mullins-trained Al Boum Photo, who is seeking to join the likes of Best Mate and Arkle by claiming a hat-trick of victories in the race.

He added: “Al Boum Photo is the horse to beat, without a shadow of a doubt as he is the class act. After that it is much of a muchness. A lot of the horses have beaten each other. We beat Santini in the King George and he is a shorter price than us in the Gold Cup which is something I don’t quite get.

“Frodon is always underestimated a little bit but believe me he will give a good account of himself. We are glad to be in there and proud the horse has got to this point. We are really looking forward to him running.”

[dennisg]

Tiger Roll will not bid for a third victory in the Randox Grand National at Aintree next month, owners Gigginstown House Stud have announced.

The Gordon Elliott-trained 11-year-old became the first horse since Red Rum in the 1970s to win back-to-back renewals of the world’s most famous steeplechase when striking gold in 2018 and 2019.

The coronavirus pandemic robbed connections of the chance to emulate Red Rum by claiming a third National success 12 months ago – and owner Michael O’Leary and his brother Eddie have warned on several occasions since that he would not line up in this year’s renewal if they felt he was unfairly treated by the handicapper.

Tiger Roll was given a mark of 166 when the weights were officially unveiled last month and ahead of the latest scratchings stage on Tuesday, Gigginstown confirmed he will not be running at Aintree due to what they feel is a “patently unfair” rating.

Tiger Roll fends off Pleasant Company in 2018
Tiger Roll fends off Pleasant Company in 2018
A spokesperson for the owners said in a statement: “When Tiger Roll won his second Grand National in April 2019 he ran off a rating of 159. He won by just two and a half lengths at the age of nine, having previously won the Boyne Hurdle in Navan and then won the 2019 Cheltenham cross-country race by 22 lengths.

“Two years later, the horse is now 11 years old. He was beaten by 17 lengths in last year’s Cheltenham cross-country and by 75 lengths in last month’s Boyne Hurdle, so his form over an extended two-year period suggests that he is clearly not as good as he was when he won the National in April 2019.

“Despite this pretty obvious decline, the handicapper has given him a mark of 166, which is 7lb higher than when he won his second Grand National in April 2019. We believe this is patently unfair, unjustified and does not reflect the horse’s age or his form over the past two seasons.

“We made clear that if Tiger Roll was rated ‘in the 150s’ (i.e where he was two years ago), which is what his form and age now warrants, he would be allowed to run in this year’s National and go for a historic three in a row.

“However, the handicapper has decided to rate him on his reputation rather than his form – which we fully accept is his prerogative – but we have a duty of care to Tiger, and so we will not ask him to carry an unfair weight burden, especially as he gets older and his form declines.

Tiger Roll - the horse of a lifetime
Tiger Roll - the horse of a lifetime
“We therefore regret to announce that Tiger Roll will be removed from the Grand National entries at Tuesday’s forfeit stage.

“We hope he will run next as planned in the cross-country race at Cheltenham, where we hope he will enjoy himself and run well. After that, we will consider his future well-being, which may involve retirement if his handicap mark is not adjusted to more fairly reflect his age and form over the past two seasons.

“We all look forward to this year’s Aintree Grand National, which we hope can now proceed without any further speculation over Tiger Roll’s participation.

“We fully respect the handicapper’s right to determine the Grand National weights as he so chooses, but we respectfully believe that he is mistaken in allocating an unfair and unwarranted weight to Tiger Roll.

“In these circumstances, as we previously advised, Tiger Roll will not run.”

Timeform verdict on decision
Timeform’s chase handicapper Phil Turner said when the Grand National weights were announced, Tiger Roll wasn’t handicapped out of things if judged on the form of his 2019 Aintree win – but it was a big ‘if’ as to whether he retained that sort of ability.

He added on Tuesday: "It would appear his connections feel he’s deteriorated since then and, as a result, they’re clearly aggrieved to see him allotted a similar weight to proven Grade 1 performers such as Bristol de Mai and Santini. For example, he makes little appeal off a 1 lb higher mark than his own stable-companion The Storyteller on recent evidence.

“In fairness to the BHA handicapper, though, that recent evidence was very limited indeed – Tiger Roll had run just four times since the 2019 National when this year’s weights were announced (he’s since run again over hurdles) and only two of those were actually over fences.

“Given that backdrop, it would be unfair on the other horses’ connections for him to completely ignore Tiger Roll’s stellar Aintree record and, as a result, his BHA mark of 166 was understandable under the circumstances, for all it’s easy to see why some may view it as harsh.”

[dennisg]

William Muir has outlined a “road map” for Pyledriver, who he feels will make his mark in 2021.

The Lambourn trainer reports his stable star to have thrived physically during the winter and is looking forward to pitching him into the top middle-distance events during the season.

Muir has four races pencilled in from early May to the end of July, starting with Newmarket’s Jockey Club Stakes. The Coronation Cup at Epsom is the second port of call, followed by the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot and the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes back at Ascot in July, should all go to plan.

Click here for Pyledriver profile & FREE video replays
“He’s been cantering since early January and doing two steady canters for the last four to six weeks. He still moves like a ballet dancer,” said Muir.

“We won’t be doing any more than that for a while, because his first race won’t be until May, when he’ll go to Newmarket for the Jockey Club Stakes.

“We’ve got a road map at this present time. If we meet all the criteria we’re going to go for the Jockey Club, then we’re going to go on to the Coronation Cup. They will definitely be the first two if all is in good shape, and then the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot and then the King George.

“If he wins all those we’ll decide where we go after that!”

Muir senses the son of Harbour Watch has greatly benefited from the winter.

“He had a fantastic break,” he said.

“He stayed with me in the yard. His break was an exercise on the horse walker in the morning, and then he went out in the field for four hours every afternoon.

“He then went into small paddock on his own in the afternoons – which was lovely, when there were no others out – and he loved it, acting like a stallion in a stallion paddock. He thrived and put on about 55-60 kilos.

“He was still a boy last year. Now he’s turning into a man. He’s got his strength very nearly. This year, and next year, should be when he’s at his peak. I’m looking forward to it now.”

Pyledriver was a leading three-year-old colt of 2020, winning a pair of Group Twos – the King Edward VII Stakes and the Great Voltigeur Stakes – before finishing third in the St Leger over an extended mile and three-quarters.

He ended the campaign unplaced in the Champion Stakes at Ascot when dropped to mile and a quarter. Muir reflected on those last two efforts.

“I wasn’t disappointed with his last run,” he said.

“He was still a big baby and still finished seventh in the Champion Stakes and finished in front of Mishriff, and the way we rode him on the day nothing came from behind.

“We decided to ride him the same, but I feel being forward on the day was a big advantage. From that day on, he was on his holidays. We lost nothing in defeat. He did everything great for us.

“Personally I feel the Leger, in which he ran a fantastic race, left its mark. It took more out of him than we realised.”

[dennisg]

Prominent owner Philip Reynolds has vowed to support trainer Gordon Elliott, while launching an impassioned plea for people to find it in their hearts “not to destroy him”.

Reynolds has eight horses at the County Meath yard, including top staying chaser Presenting Percy, and intends to keep them with Elliott despite a photo of the trainer sitting on a dead horse on his gallops being posted on social media at the weekend.

Elliott faces an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board hearing on Friday to consider the matter, with the British Horseracing Authority also having announced he will not be permitted to have runners in Britain until the issue is resolved.

Reynolds admitted his own sense of “shock, horror, disappointment, anger and sadness” at the photo, which resulted in fellow owners Cheveley Park Stud removing their eight horses from the yard on Tuesday – including unbeaten superstar Envoi Allen.

He believes the “scars of this week” are the “ultimate punishment” for Elliott – and underlined his personal, positive experiences at the Cullentra stable.

In a statement, Reynolds said: “None of us has a monopoly on shock, horror, disappointment, anger and sadness – and having spent my life owning horses and in the pet industry, believe me, in this case, I own as much of those feelings as anyone else.

“My professional relationship with Gordon dates back more than five years. In that regard and having been to his yard a number of times, I have no hesitation saying his facilities are world class – and as a trainer, well, his record speaks for itself.

“I would love people to hear the many stories of how, and only because of his deep understanding and passion, he revived and made horses champions again.

“Not just the big names like Silver Birch or Samcro, but the many much lesser lights whose owners’ Grand Nationals were won mid-week in the pouring rain in small tracks up and down the country.

“But sadly it seems in this discourse there is little room. I know no matter what I say there will be folks who believe no punishment will be strong enough. I accept their view. Mine is from a sense of forgiveness.

“The authorities will deal with Gordon, but his trial has already played out. We have stripped him bare and flogged him in public. The scars of this week are his ultimate punishment, ones that will live him him long after we have all moved on to the next event.

“For all these reasons, and accepting this is a one-time error of judgement, I will stay with Gordon – and I hope we can all find it in our hearts not to destroy him. He’s only human.”

Like Reynolds, Gigginstown House Stud signalled their support for Elliott earlier in the week, describing the photo in question as “unacceptable” but stating their horses would remain at the yard.

[dennisg]

Once the photograph emerged via social media of Gordon Elliott sitting astride a dead horse – on the phone, his other hand raised in a two-fingered victory-like gesture – soon followed by a video of amateur jockey Rob James pretending to ride another carcass, both men were rightly condemned for their acts of callous indecency.

Both images were swiftly shared around the globe, to near-universal revulsion and the worldwide shame of the horseracing industry.

On Friday, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s Referrals Committee convenes to consider its case against Elliott, most likely under Rule 272 (i), addressing “behaviour… prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct or good reputation of horseracing”.

Whatever the outcome, it is unlikely to satisfy everyone, as proportionality will be difficult to achieve. The Committee must weigh the evident but hard-to-quantify impact on the sport’s standing against the self-inflicted devastation Elliott’s gross misjudgement has already wreaked on his reputation, his career, his business and those who rely on him for employment.

But that’s the IHRB’s business and I don’t plan to pre-empt it here. What I want to address is why the racing industry has chosen this incident, above all others, on which to visit loud, unprompted and more or less unanimous censure?

Why not in 2001, for instance, when Mick Quinn was banned for three years – reduced to 18 months on Appeal – for the neglect of three horses under his care? The then-Jockey Club ruled that the overall condition of those horses “fell below that expected of a licensed trainer”. In that moment in time, before the maelstrom of social media, his case received a great deal of coverage due to Quinn’s previous fame as a footballer.

Why not in 2011, when trainer Howard Johnson was banned for four years by the British Horseracing Authority for de-nerving a horse, leaving it with impaired sensation in a lower limb, and yet racing it eight times subsequently – thus placing jockey, opponents and staff at risk?

Why not in 2006, when jockey Paul O’Neill was caught on camera headbutting a horse and was banned for just a single day. At the time, a spokesman for the then-Horseracing Regulatory Authority made this distinction, perhaps pertinent today: “It is very important to remember this horse was not injured – the RSPCA, our vet and the trainer say it wasn’t injured…

“It is damaging to have these images broadcast and I did think at one stage he might have brought racing into disrepute and he probably has, but… it would be wrong of us to change the charge as it captured the public imagination.”

Why not in 2017, when in Ireland Davy Russell was initially handed down a mere caution for punching a horse – an act also captured on TV? Doubtless prompted by the outrage among wider society, led by animal-welfare charities and fuelled by social media, the then-Turf Club’s internal review resulted in its Appeals body over-riding that inadequate verdict with a four-day suspension.

There have also been other cases – involving hitting, punching or kicking horses – by jockeys and stable staff in Britain, Ireland, France, America and Australia – all caught on camera and resulting in bans.

I’m not suggesting that nobody in the sport spoke out against any of the above conduct – and I am sure that many more were appalled – but nothing has breached the racing bubble quite like that image of Elliott.

Perceiving an injustice, many online whatabouterists have implied an anti-Irish racism on the part of the British press. Others have alleged a preference for supposed easy targets, pointing to the industry’s comparative silence on wider news matters – like the civil court judgment and allegations made against Sheikh Mohammed, which have drawn zero official comment from Britain or Ireland.

Trainer Gordon Elliott: Issues a public apology
Gordon Elliott: The IHRB hearing is on Friday
But I’d like to stick to the point here. That point is: why did it take the mockery of two dead horses, rather than actual or perceived harm to living ones – or, indeed real risk to human life – to shake the racing industry from its complacency?

Only four years ago, Russell felt comfortable enough to berate the media for its coverage of his punching incident. “What the press have done is unacceptable,” he said. “Not just to me, but to my family as well. My family are involved as well. They were mentioned in articles along the way. It is not just me anymore. I have a wife and children.”

Only last month, on Racing TV’s Luck On Sunday programme, Russell pointedly gave the public cold shoulder to former Racing Post editor Bruce Millington, who wrote about that incident at the time. It wasn’t clear whether this childish behaviour was solely in response to that column or mingled with a wider unhappiness about the industry’s modern relationship with the paper as a whole, but the three-times Irish champion jockey appeared confident in his ground.

It was a very different Russell who struggled to explain Elliott’s behaviour to a mainstream audience on RTE’s Primetime show on Tuesday night. Wide-eyed, nervous, uncomfortable and perhaps shellshocked from having visited Elliott’s devastated team earlier that day, he did not know what to say. It was understandable that he should have sought to defend his friend and colleague, but the issue had long run far beyond racing’s usual mind controls. It had done so within seconds of that image being thrust into the oxygen of public opinion.

Yet in contrast with the cases cited above, there has been little or no attempt at defence or justification of Elliott or James from within the sport – albeit that in itself does not necessarily signify unambiguous condemnation.

Many leading figures – Ruby Walsh, Mick Fitzgerald, Peter Scudamore, Ted Walsh, Oliver Sherwood, Jane Mangan, Francis-Henri Graffard, Jamie Snowden, David Menuisier – have spoken out against these acts with an unequivocality and universality I cannot previously recall. The BHA made a damage-controlling statement as early as last Sunday, followed by the National Trainers’ Federation the following day, both having been contacted by a series of trainers urging them to do so. The Irish Trainers’ Association added its voice on Tuesday.

Why is this where the line has finally been drawn by the industry? You may have some other theories about what’s going on, but these are my initial thoughts.

Primarily and overwhelmingly, it’s the power of the image. It’s an ugly, unambiguous tableau – even if its living subject purported that his pose was absentminded and his expression unfortunately caught by the camera and misconstrued. It’s a simple image that doesn’t require explanation, interpretation or translation. It also cannot be got around in any way.

It’s uncomfortably reminiscent of those posed for by big-game trophy-hunters. Except that this is a famous and successful racehorse trainer, sitting on the lifeless body of an animal whose owners paid him to train and nurture it.

It doesn’t matter that this horse, Morgan – who died in 2019 of a suspected heart attack – was owned by Michael and Eddie O’Leary via their Gigginstown Stud operation and that they are explicitly standing by Elliott. Other racehorse owners are outraged by this scene and, emblematically, Morgan stands for their trust in whichever trainer they choose to employ.

Unlike the occasions on which practitioners have argued that their actions fell within the normal boundaries of a horseman’s behaviour – those mystical lores that civilians have no right to question – this image was instantly and democratically identifiable as improper.

In the past, commentators have been asked to accept that horsemen know best, no questions asked. “I had no anger towards the filly,” Russell explained during his brush with the authorities in 2017. “It was a matter of trying to get her back under control and trying to get her to pay attention.”

In 2011, we learned that a neurectomy is a legitimate veterinary procedure to improve the quality of a horse’s life in relative retirement – it’s just that a racing authority doesn’t accept horses, who can’t feel part of their leg, endangering human life and their own by taking part in races. Yet Graham Wylie, Johnson’s friend and chief patron at the time, defended him, saying: “The operation was done because the horse was hurting. He actually won three races after he had the operation.”

There is no defence available in this case. This is the gratuitous use of a dead horse as a prop in what appears to be a grim joke. I’m sure it’s plausible that, for some humans, regularly dealing with deadstock can lead them to be less sentimental about the details of death and gallows humour might occasionally leak out, but it is the responsibility of the person in charge to keep that in check rather than join in. To do otherwise is to forget your responsibilities and to let down your profession, your investors and – as they have painfully discovered – your staff.

Whoever took the photograph and whoever captioned it “new work rider this morning”, surely to share among a group, has also exercised a degree of premeditation that adds to the offensiveness of the act. In his initial statement, Elliott referred to the death of any horse being “a sad time” and yet the act of taking this photograph was inconsistent with that sentiment.

But how to compare? Well, to kick or hit a horse might be reactive and instantaneous but to leg up a human on a dangerously desensitised horse? That’s off the premeditation scale by comparison, surely? Distasteful and bitterly disappointing though this incident has been, it cannot fairly be ‘ranked’ above endangering human life or risking the pain or suffering of an animal. And yet it has provoked stronger, more universal disgust. Death being that great human taboo, for ourselves as well as for our fellow species, has doubtless also played its part in this reflex.

But Morgan also stands for the trust that racing fans – by being interested in the sport – and wider society – by permitting it to get on with regulating itself – invest in its participants to look after the wellbeing, welfare and dignity of the animals involved. To treat them with respect, in life and death. Once that bond is broken, the racing industry knows it can’t simply protest “the horse comes first” or “the welfare of the horse is paramount” because it won’t be believed.

Former trainer Howard Johnson
Former trainer Howard Johnson
So, perhaps those in the industry who have spoken out sense an existential fight in the air. A powerfully explicit image with a global reach, depicting a high-profile trainer, is a new frontier. When Johnson was found guilty in 2011 – and certainly in 2001, when Quinn was punished – social media was not as all-pervasive as it is now, nor were the campaigners who have harnessed its maximising potential as organised and well-rehearsed.

Morality evolves, too – what might have been seen as an appropriate response or sanction 20 years ago – even five years ago – could appear outdated and inappropriate to contemporary eyes.

There’s also the pressure-cooker element – the incremental effect of the steady drip-drip of a range of public criticism, whether justifiable or not, about the morality of the whip or racecourse fatalities or the fate of thoroughbreds once they are no longer fit for racing… Was this the unimaginable final straw? A watershed moment in the history of the sport?

Its reaction certainly suggests that the racing industry is no longer tone deaf to the shifting societal standpoint on the place of animals in modern civilisation. Perhaps it even suggests that some of its fans are shocked by this image because they do not want to be reminded so starkly of elements of this sport that they have not yet reconciled with themselves and might make them uneasy.

Yes, there is outrage and betrayal, revulsion and disappointment in what is happening here. But, if we look closely – at ourselves and not just at the image – more than anything else, there is fear.

[dennisg]

Hollie Doyle was at her scintillating best at Kempton on Wednesday evening as the jockey won five races on the spin.

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The ground-breaking rider, who claimed a rare success for Ireland's champion jumps trainer Willie Mullins less than a fortnight ago when partnering True Self to victory at Riyadh's hugely valuable Saudi Cup meeting, was back to winning ways on home soil at Wolverhampton on Monday evening, but really went through the gears at Kempton, winning five races in the middle of the card.

Doyle, who last year broke her own record for the most winners in a calendar year by a female jockey, also made history when becoming the first female jockey in the UK to ride a five-timer at Windsor last August.

She went on to win two top-class races at Ascot's British Champion Day in October including a first Group One aboard Archie Watson's Glen Shiel, and also took third place in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Kempton's midweek evening fixture may have lacked the glitz and glamour of some of Doyle's startling 2020 achievements, but there was no doubting her brilliance as she claimed five races in a row, starting with Della Mare at 15/8 and ending with stablemate 8/1 shot Madrinho, whose trainer Tony Carroll supplied three of Doyle's winners in total.

Highland Avenue (4/9 favourite) provided the highlight of night with an impressive verdict in the ‘Road To The Kentucky Derby’ Conditions Stakes for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby.

The win five-fold paid a massive 2521/1 to the SPs.


Chances of a first ever six-timer for a female rider on a single British card looked on in the closing stages of the concluding Unibet Extra Place Offers Every Day Handicap, but Doyle's well-backed mount Chinese Whisper (5/2) was collared close home, eventually finishing a close fourth.

Doyle said: “It’s amazing. I thought I had a few good chances on paper tonight, I thought Laos would run well and he did it really nicely.

“Then I had Highland Avenue for Charlie Appleby – he’s a beautifully-bred horse and I think he has got a big future ahead of him.

“It’s great to do this so early in the year. It’s all about building on last year really – I’ll just keep trying my best and doing as well as I can.”

Doyle is currently second behind Richard Kingscote in the all-weather jockeys’ championship and she added: “I think I’ve got quite a gap to make up with Richard, but I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing and see what happens.”

Hollie Doyle Wednesday five-timer - click for FREE video replays
Della Mare - 15/8
Laos - 7/2
Highland Avenue - 4/9
Sir Titan - 14/1
Madrinho - 8/1

[dennisg]

Check out all today's Paddy Power market movers including Blazer Two who is very strong on the evening card at Newcastle.

Paddy Power
Lingfield

1230 Cape Greco 13/2 from 17/2

2pm Invincible Larne 4 from 9/2

Newbury

150 On Call 9 from 10

410 Guernesy 7/2 from 5

Fairyhouse

315 Clonmoyle 7 from 10

520 Getaway Goldie 9 from 11

Doncaster

215 Luck Of Clover 13/2 from 8

430 One More Fleurie 9/4 fav from 5/2 fav

Dundalk

530 Princess Plumeria 9/2 from 11/2

730 Zozimus 9/2 from 5

Newcastle

645 Blazer Two 7/2 fav from 5

815 Manumission 11/4f from 3f

[dennisg]

Envoi Allen is reported to be settling in well after his move to Henry de Bromhead’s yard.

The unbeaten seven-year-old is arguably the most exciting National Hunt horse in training, having twice won at the Cheltenham Festival. He is three from three over fences since switching to the larger obstacles this season.

His high-profile transfer to De Bromhead’s Waterford stable came this week, as Cheveley Park Stud moved their horses from Gordon Elliott after an image of the County Meath trainer sitting on a dead horse emerged on social media at the weekend.

Also now with De Bromhead from Elliott in the Cheveley silks is smart four-year-old hurdler Quilixios, who enhanced his reputation with a Grade One victory at the Dublin Racing Festival, and fellow top-level scorer Ballyadam, who was last seen finishing second to Appreciate It at Leopardstown. Jack Kennedy is the regular partner of all three, and that is set to remain the case.

De Bromhead said: “It’s obviously not the circumstances of how you’d like to get horses, but these are the horses everyone’s trying to get and I feel fortunate that Cheveley Park have decided to send them to us. The three that are entered for Cheltenham include Envoi Allen and he seems great.

“They came down and they looked great when they arrived here, so it’s just a case of trying to tick them over and not let the change of regime upset them too much. If we can do as good a job as Gordon has done with them, we’ll be delighted.

“They arrived on Tuesday evening, and we’re just letting them settle in. They’re cantering away. You wouldn’t be working them, but they’re hacking away and they’re great.”

Quilixios has the JCB Triumph Hurdle and the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle as options, with the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle set to be preferred for Ballyadam over the Ballymore, while Envoi Allen is hot favourite for the Marsh Novices’ Chase.

De Bromhead said: “He’s a gorgeous horse and we feel very fortunate that Cheveley Park have sent him to us.

“Quilixios is in both the Fred Winter (Boodles) and the Triumph. I haven’t really firmed up on that as yet, so we’ll discuss that with Cheveley Park at the time and see what we’d like to do. He’s in both, so we’ll see nearer the time. Quilixios seems good. We’re only hacking away, but he seems to have taken it in his stride.

“I would imagine we’re leaning towards the Supreme with Ballyadam, but we’ll keep our options open.

“Jack has ridden him all year and he will ride the three of them if he is available.”

He added: “It is a big change for them and you try to keep it as simple as possible, but it is a big change.

“But they seem good and they’ve settled in really well, so we’ll just tick them over and try to get them there in good shape.”

[dennisg]

Emma Lavelle is counting down the days to Paisley Park’s bid to regain his crown in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The nine-year-old looked set to dominate the division for years to come when claiming Festival glory in 2019, but was found to be suffering from a heart problem when bidding for back-to-back victories 12 months ago.

However, Lavelle’s stable has bounced back to something like his best this season – chasing home Thyme Hill in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, before reversing that form in a thrilling Long Walk at Ascot.

The pair are set to renew rivalry in what promises to be one of the clashes of the meeting in a fortnight’s time – and for Lavelle, the race cannot come soon enough, such is the well being of her pride and joy.

Lavelle said: “Everything is absolutely great – I wish it was next week.

“We just want to try and keep everything right. I’m really, really happy with him.”

Paisley Park is the marginal favourite for the Stayers’ Hurdle at 100/30, with the Philip Hobbs-trained Thyme Hill a 7/2 chance.

[dennisg]

Timeform's Adam Houghton profiles the four star names representing Henry De Bromhead at the Cheltenham Festival, including new recruit Envoi Allen.

Honeysuckle (Champion Hurdle)
Henry de Bromhead and owner Kenny Alexander resisted calls to run Honeysuckle in last season’s Champion Hurdle, but they’ve been happy to join the chorus this year after she took her unbeaten record under Rules to 10 with a memorable victory in the Irish equivalent at Leopardstown’s Dublin Racing Festival.

Honeysuckle also won that race in 2020, but the workmanlike manner of her success swayed her connections towards the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham instead, scrambling home by half a length from Darver Star and failing to demonstrate the fast and accurate jumping technique needed to excel in a Champion Hurdle.

In pure form terms, Honeysuckle then produced a performance in winning last year’s Mares’ Hurdle which would have been good enough to put her right in the mix in the Champion Hurdle earlier on the card, albeit doubts remained as to whether she could run to the same sort of level against the very best around at two miles.

Nearly 12 months and two more Grade 1 wins later, it’s fair to say that those doubts are now well and truly in the past. Crucially, Honeysuckle put up a much more polished display when winning the latest renewal of the Irish Champion Hurdle, jumping fluently and never looking in any danger after kicking clear at the second last, ultimately winning by 10 lengths from Abacadabras and Sharjah.

That was a high-class performance which will make Honeysuckle very much the one to beat if running to the same sort of level at Cheltenham.

For context, she is 3lb clear of defending champion Epatante on Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings, while the likes of Goshen will also need to improve to concede 7lb to a mare of Honeysuckle’s calibre.

Bob Olinger (Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle)
It’s been less than a year since Bob Olinger made his debut under Rules, but he has looked potentially something out of the ordinary right from the very start, easily winning a Gowran Park bumper before making a smooth transition to hurdling this season.

Admittedly, he was beaten by Ferny Hollow on his first attempt back at Gowran in November, but there was no disgrace in that given how talented we already knew the winner to be – Ferny Hollow won last season’s Champion Bumper, after all – and Bob Olinger deserved plenty of credit for immediately running to a useful level over a trip short of his best.

He had little trouble going one place better when stepped up to two and a half miles at Navan the following month, while there was loads to like about the way he then won the Lawlor’s of Naas Novice Hurdle last time.

Settled just behind the leaders in the early stages, he quickened to lead before two out and was well on top at the finish, beating Blue Lord by six and a half lengths to add his name to an illustrious roll of honour for that Grade 1.

The big question now is whether he can emulate what Envoi Allen achieved last season by following up in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, which is shaping up to be a red-hot contest with fellow Grade 1 winners Bravemansgame (146p) and Gaillard Du Mesnil (142p) featuring amongst the likely opposition.

It’s worth pointing out that, with a Timeform rating of 140p, Bob Olinger hasn’t achieved as much as that pair to date, but he looks sure to go on improving given that his career is still very much in its infancy.

Envoi Allen (Marsh Novices’ Chase)
The circumstances that caused Envoi Allen to be transferred to the care of Henry de Bromhead earlier this week have been well-documented, while you’re unlikely to need much reminding of his racecourse achievements, either.

To sum up, Envoi Allen is the only horse in training with a longer unbeaten record under Rules than his new stablemate Honeysuckle having won all 11 starts for previous trainer Gordon Elliott.

His first two seasons under Rules both culminated with a victory at the Cheltenham Festival, winning the Champion Bumper in 2019 and the Ballymore 12 months later.

The decision was then made to embark on a chasing career this season, which was hardly a surprise given his background (winner of his sole outing in points) and physique (well-made gelding). Three months on from his debut over fences and it’s fair to say that Envoi Allen has taken to chasing as well as could have been expected, winning all three starts – by a cumulative margin of 18 lengths – without needing to come off the bridle.

Envoi Allen is already as short as 11/8-on to bring up a hat-trick of Cheltenham Festival wins in the Marsh Novices’ Chase, and understandably so. He has already shown form that would be good enough to win an average renewal of the Marsh, while the large ‘P’ attached to his Timeform rating denotes that he is still open to significant improvement.

Provided all is well with him after the late switch of yards, then it’s hard to see any other outcome than him winning again at the Festival and taking his unbeaten record under Rules to 12.

A Plus Tard (Cheltenham Gold Cup)
Henry de Bromhead and Cheveley Park Stud – the owners of Envoi Allen – have already teamed up for a Cheltenham Festival victory with A Plus Tard, who ran out an impressive 15-length winner of the Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase back in 2019.

Admittedly, A Plus Tard was unable to repeat the feat 12 months later when sent off favourite for the Ryanair Chase, finishing only third behind Min, but he has the chance to make amends when tackling the biggest prize of them all in 2021, the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

He features amongst the market leaders in the ante-post betting, too, having comprehensively answered any questions about his stamina for three miles when winning the Savills Chase at Leopardstown last time. It was a performance which screamed Gold Cup if anything, doing all his best work at the finish to reel in Kemboy – who won the Irish Gold Cup on his next start – and Melon after that pair looked to have stolen a march on the final circuit.

A Plus Tard’s strength at the line suggests another two furlongs at Cheltenham won’t be an issue, and he is clearly not just a top-class chaser but a versatile one, too, when you consider that he had the speed to beat Chacun Pour Soi – Timeform’s highest-rated chaser in training – in the Paddy Reward’s Club Chase over two miles at Leopardstown in December 2019.

Still only a seven-year-old, A Plus Tard has plenty of chasing experience for his age and now possesses a Timeform rating of 169. That level of form entitles him to the utmost respect at Cheltenham, even if he still has a bit to find to come up to the level of the dual winner Al Boum Photo (172).

[dennisg]

Tom Scudamore is determined to contain his excitement for the next five weeks after the “tremendous” performance which has given Cloth Cap a stranglehold on the Randox Health Grand National market.

Scudamore’s grandfather Michael was a Grand National winner on Oxo 62 years ago – but his father, eight-time champion jockey Peter, was then luckless in the Aintree showpiece throughout his career.

Scudamore himself has also yet to win the race – with a best finishing position of sixth, on perennial contender Vieux Lion Rouge in 2017 – while Cloth Cap’s owner Trevor Hemmings will be bidding for a record-breaking fourth success next month, and trainer Jonjo O’Neill has his own Aintree history, including Don’t Push It’s 2010 victory.

Cloth Cap has all of them dreaming, having followed up his Ladbrokes Trophy romp in November with an all-the-way success too in Saturday’s bet365 Premier Chase at Kelso.

His jockey is, however, doing his best to stay focused on what he can control – on April 10 in Liverpool, and through the intervening weeks too.

“It would be great,” Scudamore said, at the prospect of winning the National.

“But you’re trying not to get too carried away. There’s plenty of racing in between – a big week at Cheltenham coming up, for starters.

“I wouldn’t be one to get carried away too far with it – we’ll just get on, go and do the business as best we can.”

There was no hiding his delight, though, at Cloth Cap’s Kelso performance – triumphing by more than seven lengths over just short of three miles, and making a mockery of official ratings which suggested he should instead have finished last of five.

“It was a tremendous prep run – a nice race in its own right, and he beat some very good horses,” Scudamore added.

“Obviously we had a bit to find at the weights. But he did it very well, and at this stage he’s a worthy favourite (for the National).”

Cloth Cap has demonstrated significant improvement since three new factors coincided at Newbury – where Scudamore rode him for the first time, on his preferred good ground, with a switch to front-running tactics.

“The handicapper’s going to have his say on Tuesday, and if the weights were done again we’d be carrying a lot more,” Scudamore said, of a horse nestling on 10st 5lb next month.

“We’ll know more on Tuesday. But obviously it’s a lovely position to be in – we’re going to be ahead of the handicapper.

“But there’s still a fair time to go. A lot can change – we’re still five, six weeks away.”

He is mindful that others could yet prove they too are well-handicapped.

“Who knows, if Santini wins the Gold Cup by half the track, then he might be better in than us!” Scudamore added.

“But from Cloth Cap’s point of view, he can’t have done any more.”

He acknowledges that conditions will be important, but was pleased with how the nine-year-old adapted to comparative ease in the ground this weekend.

“It was good ground at Newbury,” said Scudamore.

“(But) the ground was soft enough yesterday, quite tacky, and he’s handled that fine.

“Obviously, you’d want nice ground for the National – but we’re not in control of those things.

“Jonjo and everybody at Jackdaws (Castle) had him in fine fettle, and they know what it takes.”

He is playing down his own contribution so far too – and credits O’Neill with the decision to ride the 2019 Scottish Grand National third prominently for the first time.

“That was down to Jonjo really,” said Scudamore.

“He just said ‘he jumps and he stays’. Both times he’s been able to go a gallop, and he can maintain it – he’s obviously got form over four miles, from the Scottish National.

“Jonjo thinks the horse has matured an awful lot in the last year. I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time (to pick up the ride with Richie McLernon unavailable at Newbury), and it’s worked out, so I’m very grateful to connections for that.

“Everyone at Jackdaws has done all the hard work."

[dennisg]

Nicky Martin is down to “Plan H” as she prepares the unbeaten Bear Ghylls for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

The six-year-old has won each of his four runs so far, taking a bumper by 19 lengths on his racecourse debut before going on to score a hat-trick of victories over hurdles.

His last success was a five-length triumph at Exeter in January, after which Martin found her preferred path to Festival blocked by a spell of race abandonments.

A waterlogged track prevented the trainer from introducing her charge to the Cheltenham hill when Festival Trials Day was lost, with an intended run in Huntingdon’s Sidney Banks Memorial Novices’ Hurdle scuppered for the same reason.

Despite the interrupted preparation, Bear Ghylls remains on course for his first venture into Grade One company.

“At the moment everything is going to Plan H, which we are on as it all got a bit messed up at the beginning, but we’re back on course,” Martin said.

The trainer is bolstered by the subsequent performances of several horses beaten by Bear Ghylls – amongst them David Pipe’s Make Me A Believer, who went on to win a novices’ hurdle at Cheltenham in December and then finish a half-length third in the Grade Two Leamington Novices’ Hurdle at Warwick.

“His form looks so solid, especially the race at Lingfield – the first hurdle race he won,” Martin said.

“I believe all six that were behind him have gone on and won, so the form’s looking very solid, even though he’s never run in a big race as of yet.

“His form is good, he’s in good order and he’s fresh, so fingers crossed. Everybody’s very excited – fingers crossed we get there all intact.”

Chasing the long-term plan
Though the Festival is the imminent target, Martin has a graduation to novice chasing pencilled in for the gelding when he returns from a summer break next season.

“We’ve always said that next year he’ll go chasing because he is a chaser in the making, he’s a big horse,” she explained.

“A good summer on his back and he’ll fill out again, I think he’ll respect fences a lot more than hurdles.

“That’s always been the plan, to go chasing with him next year, without a doubt.”

Midlands National aim for Amigos
From her Minehead stable, Martin also trains Welsh Grand National runner-up The Two Amigos, who was last seen finishing third in the Grand National Trial Handicap Chase at Haydock on February 20.

The Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter is the next port of call for the gelding, who remains on a mark of 144 after four successive placed runs.

“Having Bear Ghylls and The Two Amigos, it’s quite special for me,” Martin said of her two stable flagbearers.

“Especially with us being such a small yard.

“Just as long as the ground doesn’t go good to firm or something silly, which I’m sure it won’t as we’re due some rain, that (the Midlands National) is definitely the plan.”

[dennisg]

Harry Fry’s confidence in Metier’s Cheltenham Festival challenge is growing after an encouraging Wincanton gallop by the unbeaten hurdler.

Metier, formerly trained in Ireland, has had a two-month break since taking his winning sequence to three in the Grade One Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown.

Fry also anticipates ground conditions will also be suitable for his stable star in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the opening race at the Festival.

“He’s our leading light and he went very well on Thursday,” said the trainer.

“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but it was just what I hoped to see.

“The forecast is for unsettled weather in the middle of next week, and that should hopefully help us see a combination of good to soft and soft, and that would be perfect for him.”

Of his three other runners, Fry is considering a crack at the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle with If The Cap Fits – who has been chasing this season.

He added: “I’m leaning towards going back over hurdles with him. He ran well behind Paisley Park in the Cleeve Hurdle last year and we know he’s a 160-plus horse over hurdles. That would put him in with an each way squeak.”

Veteran Unowhatimeanharry will take his place in the Pertemps Final as a teenager, while Whitehotchillifili is Fry’s final Festival contender in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle.

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Amy Murphy is planning a high-profile spring campaign for stable star Kalashnikov – although his participation in the Ryanair Chase is less likely than a trip to Aintree next month.

The former Betfair Hurdle and Grade One novice chase winner lost his way a little a year ago but, following wind surgery last September, has run very well on his two most recent starts – including when third in the Denman Chase, up to three miles, at Newbury two weeks ago

Murphy said: “He’s in very good form. We were delighted, and he definitely stayed the three miles.

“We’ve obviously been riding him a little bit patiently. I think it’s safe to say he’s got his confidence back now, and he’ll be ridden much more in the thick of it the next day.

“We’re happy to wait for Aintree, but he’ll stay in the Ryanair (for now) just in case.

“It’ll be a last-minute decision. It will just depend how he trains over the next 10 days.”

Kalashnikov’s principal target at this stage is back at Aintree – where he won the Manifesto Novices’ Chase in 2019 – and Murphy will choose between the Melling Chase over two and a half miles and Betway Bowl, over an extended three.

“It will be the Melling or the three-mile race (Betway Bowl),” she said.

“We’ve no concerns about the three miles, absolutely not, definitely not round there.

“I think if anything he galloped all the way to the line the other day, looking like he needed three miles.

“It’s great to have him anywhere near back to his best – and healthwise, he’s in tip-top order, which is fantastic.”

While Kalashnikov may not line up at Cheltenham, Murphy is preparing her “proper mare” Really Super to take on the mighty challenge from either side of the Irish Sea at the Festival.

Murphy’s heroine of the Summer Plate at Market Rasen was an easy winner of a jumpers’ bumper at Lingfield during last month’s freeze-up, and the Newmarket trainer is confident she will do herself proud if ground conditions are in her favour for the inaugural running of the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase.

Really Super, who will be representing enthusiastic ownership syndicate White Diamond Racing, will need to lower some stellar colours among her rivals – currently including Willie Mullins’ two prolific winners Elimay and Colreevy at the top of the market.

Her trainer is nonetheless keen to take up the challenge.

“We definitely will (run), as long as the ground allows,” said Murphy.

“She’s a proper mare, and we gave her a little spin in a jumpers’ bumper after her winter break, just to get her back to full fitness.

“It worked really well for her. We’d planned to give her a racecourse gallop a week later, but we thought we’d take advantage of the jumpers’ bumpers while they were there.

“She couldn’t have done it any more easily, so we’re very excited about her – if it’s not at Cheltenham, then for the season ahead.

“She was a very good winner of the Summer Plate, and top of the ground is absolutely key to her.

“She wouldn’t run if it came up anything other than good to soft or better.”

The Festival is very much at the top of the agenda for the seven-year-old, though, and the only regret is that coronavirus restrictions will prevent her owners from being in attendance.

Murphy said: “It’s such a shame, because for a syndicate of that size, how many times do you get a horse going to Cheltenham? It’s not as if she’s going there as a massive outsider either.

“It’s really unfortunate. But they’ll throw a good zoom party!

“They adore her. For what we paid for her, she’s been nothing but superb. She’s won on the Flat, over hurdles and fences multiple times.

“We’re very lucky to have her.”

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Jedd O’Keeffe remains optimistic Sam Spinner can rejuvenate his career by bouncing back to his brilliant best and make it third time lucky in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at The Festival™ supporting WellChild.

Little has gone right for O’Keeffe’s stable star in two starts this season, having pulled up behind Cyrname in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby before failing to beat a rival on his return to smaller obstacles in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury in November.

Having finished fifth when sent off favourite for the Grade One prize at the Cheltenham Festival in 2018 before filling the runner-up spot in the race 12 months later, O’Keeffe is optimistic the nine year old can return to form on the biggest stage of them all.

He said: “The Stayers’ Hurdle is very much the plan and we will confirm him at the entry stage for the race. This has been the plan for quite some time. He had a bit of a setback after he ran at Newbury so we lost a bit of time and unfortunately we couldn’t get him to the Cleeve or the Rendlesham.

Join our expert panel, hosted by Ed Chamberlin, to preview the Cheltenham Festival
Join our expert panel, hosted by Ed Chamberlin, to preview the Cheltenham Festival
“Going straight to the Cheltenham Festival without a run is not perfect but he has had no issues at all since the turn of the year. His fitness seems well and he has been schooling well and he has no issue with the foot problem.

“We still firmly believe that he is a very good horse. He will be one of the outsiders there is no doubt about that and on race form this season he ought to be.

“He got an injury last year and that just shook his confidence more than anything. He has proved he has this level of ability and he likes the track we have just got to hope it all comes together. Everything has got to be right on the day.”

Tactics remain the same
O’Keeffe admits the front-running tactics that have helped make Sam Spinner so popular with racing fans are likely to deployed again on his Prestbury Park return. However, he is considering equipping the Grade One winner with a set of blinkers to help bolster his chances.

He added: “He will still be prominently ridden as all he does is gallop so that won’t change. His training has been going well and he will have his final school on Thursday. We are all ready to go.

“We are considering putting a pair of blinkers on him in the race. There is usually a stigma attached to horses wearing headgear but there is no questioning his attitude - it is to just help him restore that confidence.

“I do think Paisley Park is a very good horse as is Thyme Hill and if we could finish a few lengths behind them it would be great.”

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Nicky Henderson has announced that his dual Champion Hurdle winner Buveur D’Air will not bid to regain his crown next week.

Buveur D’Air, successful in the Cheltenham Festival showpiece in 2017 and 2018, will instead head for the Aintree Hurdle over two and a half miles next month.

The 10-year-old, owned by JP McManus, returned from a 420-day injury lay-off when second of three in the The New One Unibet Hurdle at Haydock in January.

He has remained in the Champion Hurdle reckoning, after his trainer voiced satisfaction with his well-being following that comeback.


However, on Monday evening, Henderson posted on his official Twitter account: “Having discussed plans with JP over the weekend, we have decided that Buveur D’Air will NOT run @cheltenhamraces and instead will wait for @aintreeraces

“The extra distance will suit him well. He and Epatante are in very good form, and we are very much looking forward to next week.”

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Dan and Harry Skelton continued their excellent form ahead of the Cheltenham Festival with a 35/1 four-timer at Southwell on Monday.

Harry Skelton was taking his tally for the season to 106 – and is five behind Brian Hughes in the jockeys’ title race after the reigning champion also rode a winner at Wetherby.

His brother Dan has 112 on the board and is in second place behind Paul Nicholls in the trainers’ championship, which is decided on prize-money.

The Alcester team took the honours at the Nottinghamshire track with Danse Idol, King D’Argent, Rockstar Ronnie and Embole.

The trainer said: “The horses are in good form. I know three were a short price, but that was a good performance by them all and it was a good day out.”

Danse Idol (7/5 favourite) got the ball rolling with hard-fought victory by half a length over long-time leader Northern Beau in the Virgin Bet Mares’ Handicap Chase.

It was much easier for King D’Argent (4/5 favourite), who ran his two rivals into the ground to score by 27 lengths and 30 lengths from Blacko and Glajou in the Virgin Bet Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase.

Rockstar Ronnie had no trouble justifying prohibitive odds of 1/9 in the Virgin Bet Novices’ Hurdle, despite giving 6lb away all round for winning at Kelso last month. The six-year-old made all to beat Lockdown Leader by 14 lengths.

Embole (13/2) brought up the four-timer by following up a recent Wetherby success in the Virgin Bet Handicap Hurdle, coming home nine and a half lengths clear of the field.

Skelton realises the significance of stable form ahead of a big meeting – but also what day-to-day success means, too.

“A bit of form going into Cheltenham stands everyone in good stead and puts a smile on everyone’s face – the staff, owners, everybody,” he said.

“It’s important to have a bit of form going into it, but these races today were important in their own right, for these horses that aren’t going to those Festivals.

“We’ve got to keep the ball rolling every day.”

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Thady Gosden is looking forward to “exciting times” ahead after confirming he is set to hold a joint-licence with his father and multiple champion trainer John from the start of the new Flat turf season.

The father-and-son team will become the highest-profile partnership yet, since joint-licence arrangements were introduced last year.

Among those to have joined forces already are two other father-and-son partnerships in Simon and Ed Crisford and Paul and Oliver Cole – who consolidated their new licence quickly with a piece of turf history when they triumphed at Royal Ascot with Highland Chief.

The Gosdens’ new licence should be officially in place by the end of this month, with British Horseracing Authority administration expected to be complete in time for the start of the new season at Doncaster on March 27.

Thady Gosden said: “It’s exciting times, definitely. The plan was to have it done a little bit earlier, but it’s taken slightly longer than we previously thought – getting all the paperwork in place.”

He is a regular on-course representative already for his father’s famous Clarehaven yard in Newmarket, as assistant trainer – including in Riyadh last month when Mishriff won the world’s richest race, the Saudi Cup.

Gosden, trainer of a string of equine superstars such as dual Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Enable over the past decade, won his latest trainers’ title in 2020.

He will be 70 this month, but his son said: “Things aren’t going to change dramatically. We’ll carry on as we are mostly, but it’s good to have it in place for the season coming up.”

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A referral hearing into a video of Irish amateur jockey Rob James sitting on a dead horse will take place on Wednesday, after the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board concluded its investigation.

Just days after an image of Grand National-winning trainer Gordon Elliott sitting on a dead horse was posted on Twitter, a video of James – who rode the Elliott-trained Milan Native to victory at the Cheltenham Festival last year – emerged on the social media platform.

James has since apologised for his “wholly inappropriate and disrespectful” actions, and said he was “heartbroken by the damage” caused by the video, which was taken in 2016.

A Tweet on the Irish regulatory body’s feed on Tuesday read: “The IHRB investigation into a video circulating on social media last week has concluded, and a referral hearing will take place on Wednesday. The IHRB will not be commenting further on this matter until after the hearing.”

Following a referral hearing last Friday, Elliott was handed a 12-month ban, with the last six months suspended.

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Nicky Henderson and Fergal O'Brien are on the panel for the Racing Welfare Cheltenham Festival Preview zoom on Thursday evening.

The event is sponsored by sportinglife.com and Value Bet tipster Matt Brocklebank will be on hand to share his thoughts along with Tanya Stevenson. The evening is hosted by Nick Luck.

The event will run from 7.30 to 9.30 and tickets are FREE. Everyone who signs up will receive an exclusive digital brochure.

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Soaring Glory is still not a definite runner at the Cheltenham Festival.

Jonjo O’Neill’s six-year-old was an impressive winner of the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury last time out, and is fourth favourite for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle which opens the meeting on Tuesday.

However, O’Neill and owner Pat Hickey have still to have the definitive conversation which will decide whether or not he makes the short journey to Prestbury Park from the trainer’s Jackdaws Castle base.

“I need to speak to Pat. He wasn’t mad keen on going (to Cheltenham), and I’m lukewarm about it,” said O’Neill. “We just haven’t discussed it. We’ll probably leave him in and have a look, so that’s about as much as I can say really.

“There’s no real reason as such, other than Pat’s not a big fan. He loves Cheltenham, but he’d love to be able to go with a runner and enjoy it (in person).”

Horse for the future
Soaring Glory’s Betfair win propelled him near to the top of the Supreme market, but O’Neill hopes he will be a star of the future as well as present.

“He’s a grand horse, but there’s plenty of time with him really,” he added. “If he goes then great, but if he doesn’t then we’ll wait for another day. That’s what we were saying before Newbury, and we never really discussed it since, so we’ll just see.”

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Jonjo O’Neill concedes Cloth Cap will never have a better opportunity to win the Randox Grand National after the handicapper hit him with a 14lb rise for his easy Kelso win.

The nine-year-old, who had put up a similarly impressive display to win the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury in November, finds himself 26lb higher than for that success just two runs ago.

However, as the National weights have already been announced, Cloth Cap can run off his old mark of 148 rather than his new perch of 162 – which would put him on the verge of Gold Cup class.

Not surprisingly Cloth Cap is the clear 6-1 favourite for Aintree.

“He’s come out of the race grand, which is nice,” said O’Neill. “He’s looked a better horse all year at home to be fair – it hasn’t just been the ground.

No complaints over new mark
“You can argue all you like with the handicapper and say the older horses (Definitly Red and Lake View Lad) didn’t perform, Kim’s (Bailey) horse (Two For Gold) didn’t perform – but he still won by seven lengths, so you’re only kidding yourself.

“This year you’d have to love the enthusiasm he has shown. He jumps, he stays and if he keeps doing that it would be lovely.”

O’Neill has already won the National when providing Sir Anthony McCoy with a famous victory on Don’t Push It in 2010 – while Cloth Cap’s owner Trevor Hemmings has been lucky enough to see his colours carried to victory three times by Hedgehunter (2005), Ballabriggs (2011) and Many Clouds (2015).

“We’ve got to get him there first – everything needs to go 100 per cent right before we can start getting excited,” said O’Neill. “He’ll never have the same weight again, that is for sure, so this is his opportunity. It’s nice to be in this position if we can get him there safe and sound.”