Djelo secures Kempton ticket with dominant Peterborough display

A tilt at the King George looms large for Djelo after he produced a dominant front-running display to successfully defend the Sky Bet Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon.

The Venetia Williams-trained seven-year-old was a facile winner of the two-and-a-half-mile Grade Two 12 months ago and having made a fine start to his campaign by winning the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby, he was a 5-6 favourite to make it back-to-back victories in Huntingdon’s feature race in the hands of Charlie Deutsch.

While his task was undoubtedly made easier by the fact Willie Mullins’ Irish raider Saint Sam proved bitterly disappointing, with his jumping falling apart before he was eventually pulled up by Harry Cobden, Djelo was accurate at his obstacles throughout in the lead and was not hard pressed to score by four and three-quarter lengths from Alan King’s admirable veteran Edwardstone.

Paddy Power make Djelo an 8-1 shot from 12-1 for the King George VI Chase and Kempton’s Boxing Day showpiece is now firmly on the agenda.

Williams said: “Charlie said after the last all he was thinking up the run-in was the King George and keeping a bit in the tank. It’s something to look forward to now and he deserves to take his chance in the race.

“It’s the obvious thing to do now and there aren’t many other races you would consider over that time period.

“He was the youngest horse in the race here and he still has plenty of time and hopefully a long career still ahead of him.”

Djelo became the first horse since Henrietta Knight’s Racing Demon in 2006 and 2007 to go back-to-back in the Peterborough Chase, but despite being sent off odds-on with the layers, Williams admitted to some trepidation given the current form of her string.

“I’m really thrilled and I won’t deny this was one of my more nerve-wracking days at the races because clearly not all of my horses have been firing as one would have liked,” the Herefordshire trainer added.

“I won’t deny, I didn’t come here quite as confident as I should have been in light of what I have just seen. It’s hard to compare this to last year’s performance, but it was every bit as good anyway.

“The assumption was Saint Sam would make the running, but quite rightly Charlie only allowed that to a certain point and he clearly wasn’t going quick enough. Charlie needed to make sure it was the right test for Djelo and did.

“I said after Wetherby, with good horses like him, they don’t have finite distances and as long as they are quick enough for shorter but can stay further you can mix and match accordingly – versatility is a good thing.”

King, meanwhile, was over the moon with the performance of the runner-up Edwardstone, saying: “I don’t think we’re going to be retiring him after that and it’s great.

“We’re not going to be coming back in trip and I might even be going up even more, but I’ll wait to see what Tom (Cannon, jockey) says and have a think.

“I’m just delighted and relieved he has come back in one piece.”