Road To Cheltenham: Mistergif makes mark and Sir Gino takes flight

This is (I hope) a comprehensive reflection on the key novice-chasing action in Britain and Ireland since the festive period began back at Ascot in late December. It starts with the most recent results from Ireland over last weekend, rounding up that country’s results before hopping over the sea. 

To mirror this week’s Road To Cheltenham show, novice hurdlers will be up next time. 

Mistergif raised his hand for the Arkle last Saturday with a victory underestimated by the ante-post market. This must be at least partly because he isn’t entered in the Goffs Irish Arkle and is therefore presumed inferior – and yet that’s surely a reflection of Horse Racing Ireland’s early-closing system, not his ability. 

Entries for the Dublin Racing Festival’s Grade Ones were announced last Thursday, three days prior to Mistergif making his chase debut. In fact, only nine horses were entered for the 2m1f event, including – as previously advertised by Willie Mullins – that horse’s stablemates Majborough and Ile Atlantique, who’d already broken cover as top novices. 

Yet Mistergif was not an unconsidered novice-hurdling talent at Closutton. After a wide-margin success at Limerick on his debut for the yard, he was pitched straight into the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and performed with credit – jumping the last in third before finding only the one pace and passed by Firefox and Asian Master, while Slade Steel and Mystical Power fought out the finish ahead. 

Mistergif didn’t quite match that level of form when fourth in Aintree’s Top Novices’ Hurdle and then, dropped in grade at Punchestown, was trusted to help Paul Townend get on terms with Jack Kennedy in Ireland’s to-the-wire jockeys’ title race last season. It didn’t quite work out: despite being keen early without a hood, he gave his running but was edged out by Gorgeous Tom. 

On Saturday he reopposed two Supreme rivals, both stablemates. Tullyhill – who cut out the running at Cheltenham but was kicked aside approaching the last and his fate quickly accepted – was ridden, as usual, by Townend and Asian Master by improbably tall amateur Tom Costello for his parents. Mistergif enjoyed the services of JJ Slevin, the newly retained rider for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede after the retirement of Daryl Jacob. 

As usual, Tullyhill went forward and jumped out to his left – as he did when chasing home Majborough on chase debut but also (as mentioned in Road 6 - watch below) over hurdles all last season, more noticeably when racing right-handed. It’s ingrained and it inconvenienced him here, because he conceded the lead early on and had lost his pitch further by halfway as a result, never attaining the rhythm enjoyed by his main rivals. 

Westport Cove, hitherto deemed a second-division player in the Mullins super-squad, took over front-running duties before the second and jumped well, albeit he wasn’t pressurised until Asian Master started to harry four from home and then joined him two out. In both these instances, the challenger’s jumping was less fluent – particularly the latter, when Costello became unbalanced on landing. 

Despite his lesser flow, Tullyhill’s ability and tenacity got him back on terms – and he even jumped straighter between horses when looming up at the penultimate obstacle. Yet he drifted left approaching the last, Townend permitting him to be careful while surely unaware of the head of steam Mistergif had built up behind him in the straight. 

He wasn’t a part of the quintet who’d raced clear of the rest in the early stages, Slevin having settled his mount well off the pace. When poor jumping from Lisnagar Fortune and lack of comparative ability from rank outsider Nancy Miles relegated that pair to mid-division, the remaining trio continued a long way ahead. Lisnagar Fortune, it should also be noted, was the subject of a Closutton sicknote over Christmas, withdrawn due to “running a temperature”. 

Had the leading trio definitively done too much together and the more patiently ridden winner was therefore straight-up flattered, I think I’d have expected Westport Cove to fade more markedly. Nonetheless, a patient ride in a well-run race, enabling him to settle, undoubtedly clearly saw Mistergif to good effect. His jumping lacked a little fluency over the first two fences and at the third last, but he was otherwise sound and is clearly well at home over the minimum trip. 

Tullyhill is likeable and will do better stepped up in trip and/or racing left-handed, where he could alternatively be given a positive ride over shorter. It seems unlikely he’ll take top rank among novice chasers, but he can surely win a top-level handicap. Asian Master didn’t build on his chase debut but will benefit from trying further again. 

Westport Cove looks like he’s going to be a much better chaser than hurdler. He had shown promise at Tipperary behind smart mare Only By Night in November and here Sean O’Keeffe was not overly hard on him once headed by superior rivals. He can find a fair handicap. On their chase debuts, Harry Des Ongrais and Antrim Coast showed ability for a lower grade, especially as the latter wants much further than this. A distant ninth, Shanbally Kid has surely done enough to prove he can’t jump fences? 

The following day at Punchestown saw Lecky Watson triumph in a Grade Three packed full of indifferent jumping. Beaten connections were keen to attribute these failings to “sticky” ground but I remain to be convinced. 

Outside of the technique department, the winner impressed with the way he quickened from the last despite running into the bottom of it and in effect bunny-hopping through. He landed on all fours but quickly recovered momentum and drew away. 

Townend had clearly planned to be positive, but he was undermined from the first fence by his mount persistently jumping right. He’d hinted at this propensity on chase debut at Naas, yet perversely it was more marked on a right-handed track than a left-handed one. This habit caused Lecky Watson to slam on the brakes, at various points. 

Nonetheless, he was able to boss the race mainly because his opponents’ jumping was worse. Ridden into four and three out, he got his rivals stretched but a stuttering approach and right-hand adjustment two out opened the door again. Townend had to administer two reminders, eliciting a positive response on the flat but culminating in that ungainly final leap. 

“The engine is definitely in there,” Townend assessed. “The fourth last and third last are probably his best jumps, when we were going forward and being competitive. He was taking his eye off the prize a little bit throughout the race. He found a leg when he had to, which sometimes novices don’t, so he learnt plenty and I thought he settled it quickly. 

“The jump is in there, too, when you wanted it . . . it’s not bad ground but it takes a little bit of respect all the same, it’s dead enough. I think he stays, so I wanted to build [the pace] up . . . you’d be staying around that trip, or going out, rather than coming back anyway.” 

Given Lecky Watson used to wear a hood and, without prompting from cabin crew, studied the exits at several junctures at Naas, it’s quite possible some form of headgear might be reapplied. His current trajectory will likely propel him back into Grade One company at next month’s Dublin Racing Festival – he’s entered in the 2m5f Ladbrokes Novice Chase – where I’m expecting him to come up slightly short. 

Down Memory Lane looked great on chase debut, when able to dominate an inferior field with a solo up front. Since he’s been required to race competitively, his jumping has unravelled. Lacking fluency at the sixth and 12th here in particular, he nodded when careful two out but landed in a challenging position due to Lecky Watson faring worse. At the last, positions were reversed with the eventual runner-up, who was brought to a standstill by his top-clipping error. 

It's possible Down Memory Lane needs a soundish surface, but as a great philosopher once said: “Ground, schmound.” I haven’t found this wisdom to be universally true, but agree that, for a punter, a healthy scepticism on the import of the going (in those cases when connections have, cough, analysed it accurately) is often useful. 

Patiently ridden outsider of four Ifiwerearichman didn’t get involved until approaching the last. There, he had just taken Farren Glory for third when he forgot some form of lift-off is always required. Previously a rated novice-chase winner at the track over a slightly shorter distance, he’d finished nine lengths adrift of that horse when showing distinct promise behind Inthepocket at Wexford in late October. 

Farren Glory is a year older than these rivals and doesn’t strike me as an obvious candidate for improvement, at least in the short term. This was his fourth chase start and his jumping again lacked fluency – from early mistakes at the first and third, to his static landing three out, to careful jumps at the final two obstacles. He would surely have finished fourth had all completed. 

Townend also enjoyed success in the Grade Two Racing Post Chase at Naas two Sundays ago, a race upgraded from the pre-existing weight-for-age novice following the deletion of Leopardstown’s Christmas Grade One two-miler. Ile Atlantique was the triumphant vessel – one that appears much more shipshape over fences that hurdles, on which his rider spoke compellingly on the latest Road To Cheltenham show, below. 

“I think jumping fences has made him a little bit faster,” Townend said. “I probably learnt a lot getting beaten on him in the Lawlor’s last year – he quickened up quicker and better than I thought and I was committed for home then, and nabbed late on. Jumping fences is his game. I was able to get him a long way up the straight [at Naas] without committing him. 

“He’s stronger. He rides physically stronger as well this year . . . He seems to be going through with [his effort] a bit better this year as well . . . Jumping fences is a huge asset to him. He’s quick through the air and he has a lot of power, so I think they’ve made him a little bit faster. He was clumsy over hurdles – they probably weren’t big enough for him – and he was immature.” 

The pace at Naas was slow for the ability of horses involved, to the extent that 250/1 outsider Walk In Time was still grouped with them until five out and Kilbarry Saint – undoubtedly a decent mare but rated 150/1 to get involved here – was still on the heels of the main trio jumping two out. 

Connections of Inthepocket might regret not forcing the issue because he was keen on his first start since his impressive Wexford return at the end of October and intent on hanging left throughout, meaning Rachael Blackmore had to concede track position to Townend. 

Her mount kept straying from the preferred wider route plotted at this track on testing ground – described by Townend as “horrible, really hard work” that the winner went through “really easy”. By contrast, Inthepocket was already beaten when hitting the last. 

Runner-up Firefox was perhaps the more disappointing of the beaten principals. I had anticipated more positive tactics, dropping in trip from 2m4f, but he jumped indifferently and consequently put himself under pressure rather than his chief rival. 

Built as he is and with a high calibre of novice-hurdling form under his belt (particularly in the second half of last season at all three major Festivals), it’s difficult to believe Firefox won’t make a better chaser. Perhaps it will be a different story at this trip, on a sounder surface and with a more assertive ride? That’s a lot of provisos, but I’m steeling myself to keep an open mind. 

On New Year’s Day at Fairyhouse, Champ Kiely returned from a 614-day absence to make a winning chase debut at the age of nine. He’d been a smart novice hurdler two seasons ago, winning the Grade One Lawlor’s Of Naas but found a little wanting at the spring Festivals when finishing third in the then-Ballymore and finally at Punchestown. He also showed an ingrained tendency to jump right. 

Admittedly, he made his belated chase debut at a right-handed track, but he largely jumped pretty straight. He was also challenged – four in a row – for the lead over the first four fences, until mistakes from each of his three companions changed the picture. 

Chigorin was knocked back at the second, My Trump Card made such a jolting mistake at the third that he forcefully ejected Sam Ewing, and Cleatus Poolaw’s awkward landing at the same fence surely prompted Danny Gilligan to steady in behind. That left Champ Kiely with a solo until after the two omitted fences in the back straight, when Cleatus Poolaw rejoined him five out. 

His only real blemish came at the fourth last, when getting into the bottom and clearing it awkwardly, enabling his rival to head him briefly. Yet he was back in front by the next and victory was straightforward from that point, as he jumped the last two soundly and drew steadily away for hands and heels. This was a great start to his chasing career, but enthusiasm is tempered by the fact he’s already nine years of age. 

Chigorin made more than one error and was slow at times but responded to pressure for an 11-length second on his chase debut and merely fourth start overall under Rules. Chosen Witness again showed promise for this discipline, building on his debut under a considerate ride, Mark Walsh surprised by third as a result of O’Moore Park drifted left and bumped into Cleatus Poolaw on take-off at the last, unbalancing both of them. 

The perpetrator came off worse, plunging over the fence and taking a rotational fall (the same fence he exited on chase debut) whereas the broadsided victim managed to scramble over but couldn’t recover his equilibrium in time to regather his challenge for third. 

Back in fifth, Ataboycharlie ran less well than on his previous two eye-catching starts, but this was his third outing within six weeks. He may also be better left-handed. There’s a handicap with his name on it when he returns to action. 

On New Year’s Eve at Punchestown, despite being routinely outjumped whenever pressed for the lead en route, Shannon Royale got it right when it really mattered and won the near-as-dammit three-mile beginners’ chase. 

By making it a test from the front, winning rider Jordan Gainford was clearly intent on making his mount’s fitness and experience tell against his two principal rivals, High Class Hero and Loughglynn, both trained by Mullins and making their chasing debuts. 

Gainford wrested a clear lead from the second before drawing further clear but had to keep chivvying Shannon Royale into his fences just to ensure he was concentrating. The cheekpieces this horse has worn for all three chase starts, replacing blinkers latterly over hurdles, were clearly insufficient to focus his attention on the task at hand. 

Once High Class Hero had joined, or narrowly headed, him on his outer and Grand Soir on his inner approaching the 13th fence, Shannon Royale lost out in the air to one or both for three fences in a row. The pendulum swung three out, however, where the winner reached and made it while Grand Soir unfortunately took a slithering fall. John McConnell’s representative had jumped soundly and performed with great credit until weakening at that point. I hope he’s OK. 

Having jumped indifferently but managing to hang in there, Loughglynn loomed up on the outside of the remaining two on the home turn. The Mullins pair were seemingly going better than Shannon Royale, who was receiving reminders from Gainford. 

Yet he conjured the best jump two out, whereas High Class Hero hit it squarely and Loughglynn took it awkwardly and hung right on landing – enough to seal their respective fates, albeit they clearly have a future in this discipline. At the last, High Class Hero dragged his hind legs through it and Loughglynn ran into the bottom, bunny-hopped, clipped the top and pecked whereas the winner jumped it cleanly. 

Shannon Royale is clearly a thorough stayer, getting better the further they went, and there was fitting talk of the Irish Grand National. Regarding the newly fashioned 3m 6f National Hunt Chase, which has a maximum rating of 145, Ireland’s domestic handicappers held him on 140 but his British counterparts assess overseas horses concurrently and their views may differ. 

Hopping back to the Christmas action, let’s head first to Limerick where Impaire Et Passe made it two from two over fences and provided Daryl Jacob with the resounding 31st Grade One victory via which he had hoped to sign off his much-decorated career. 

It was a straightforward matter, his mount jumping soundly on the inside rail in mid-division before Jacob angled out to permit both room and options within a bunched-up field entering the straight, but still delayed his challenge until approaching the last. There he headed and jumped right across Search For Glory, who had led narrowly at the preceding obstacle but whose awkward rightward landing at the last contributed to him being mugged for second by the hard-ridden Jordans. 

The runner-up – a highly experienced French recruit from whom this was his best effort yet for Joseph O’Brien – had jumped slowly at times and was held in a pocket from the home turn until caught out by Impaire Et Passe’s change of gear. Yet he was better suited to this task than the third, who has always been a thorough stayer. 

Search For Glory’s jumping was a lot better – bar a cumbersome first leap – than when outbattled by stablemate Stellar Story (a non-runner here, having raced at Leopardstown two days earlier) in the farcically paced Florida Pearl at Punchestown previously. 

Here, last term’s (then) Ballymore fourth Good Land was shuffled back from three out and outpaced again in the straight, having angled wide into it. He’s another in need of a step up in trip. 

Discretion proved the better part of valour for JP McManus’s trio of representatives. Danny Mullins needed only one glance at the winner to realise Sa Majeste wasn’t a threat and accept his fate before two out, where his mount compounded that view by ploughing through it. That horse was the subject of loud whispers prior to bombing out in the Coral Cup last March. 

Simon Torrens made the running until the home turn at a conservative pace on Mirazur West, who put down on him at least twice and adjusts habitually right, from which point he was similarly circumspect. Brian Hayes mostly watched on from rear on last year’s Martin Pipe runner-up Waterford Wishes but pushed up briefly three out before gradually losing touch even before the next and immediately accepting his fate. Handicaps await, perhaps ideally on left-handed tracks. 

Willie Mullins has said Impaire Et Passe will miss Cheltenham in favour of targets elsewhere at intermediate trips – the Fairyhouse Grade One won by Spillane’s Tower last year or the Manifesto at Aintree. Yet in last Sunday’s show Ruby asked Townend, who partnered the horse to his debut success in a beginners chase at Fairyhouse in November, whether he would stay three miles. 

“I think he could because he will relax in a race,” replied Townend. “If I’d tipped up in the beginners’ at the second last, I would have gone home scratching my head. It was what he did from there to home he came alive with me and gave me as good a feel as he has since he was a novice hurdler . . . Again, power – he jumps fences really well.” 

With Leopardstown’s two-mile novice chase deleted from its Christmas programme – as mentioned above (but I wouldn’t have good money on it staying that way next year) – its only remaining Grade One event was the three-mile Racing Post Long Distance Novice Chase won by Croke Park. It attracted a paltry four-strong field, three of them trained by Gordon Elliott. 

The event was also delayed by three-quarters of an hour because of thick fog and, once the go-ahead was given, parts of the track remained shrouded from view, making comprehensive analysis impossible. 

The winner made most of the running despite braking hard into the first and again going markedly right at the next. Perhaps this is his method for jumping fences – more distinct than any proclivity shown over hurdles and exposed by racing left-handed for the first time over the larger obstacles? However, it’s also possible he just wasn’t concentrating. He was a bit straighter at the fourth and fifth, but otherwise this bias was on show pretty much throughout. 

His two stablemates raced on either flank and just behind, Better Days Ahead hugging the inside and travelling well while Stellar Story jumped shakily on the outer. Perhaps he couldn’t see what was in front of him either? (Red light indicates joke is intended.) Keith Donoghue’s partner made significant mistakes at the third and the tenth, leaving a horse-shaped hole in the latter. 

The critical juncture, as far as I can be sure, came when Ewing booted Croke Park into five and four out, catching his rivals flat-footed. We will never know for sure what happened at the next two fences but solely Better Days Ahead was clinging onto his coattails entering the home turn. 

To the runner-up’s credit, he rallied strongly from the last but found his path checked when the winner drifted left across him under Ewing’s right-hand reminders. Even so, switched right to finish off his challenge by Gilligan, he only failed by a head and was in front two strides after the line. I suspect he’ll prove the best chaser in the field, even if the admirable winner keeps finding a way. 

Not jumping with any fluency and sitting last throughout until overtaking Stellar Story approaching the last, Buddy One hasn’t taken to fences. It was no surprise to see his name among the 36 entries for the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle this week, the race in which he finished fourth last year. 

Wrapping up the rest of Leopardstown’s novice-chasing action, we start with the giant Jeannot Lapin who won the 2m1f beginners chase at odds of 150/1. This race was partially obscured by fog, though not to such a farcical degree as the previous day’s fare, but there seemed no fluke to his success. 

The race was marred by the death of It’s For Me. Tanking on the lead on his return from 14 months on the sidelines, he went subtly wrong on landing at the second and immediately pulled up but even Jacob’s swift reaction could not save him. 

His departure left Birdie Or Bust in front but her jumping lacked accuracy, despite being unpressurised, whereas the winner – not far behind on her outside – found a lovely rhythm and bounded over the obstacles as if they were mere Cavaletti. Pressurising the mare on the home turn, he then outjumped her as she weakened at the last and ran home strongly. 

Improving on his chase debut, Martin Pipe sixth What’s Up Darling emerged from the pack to attend the winner home, pulling well clear of the remainder but never landing a blow and comfortably held approaching the line. 

The stewards rightly asked running-and-riding questions of jockey Mark McDonagh and trainer Edward O’Grady, who were responsible for third-placed 50/1 shot No Flies On Him. Having raced towards the rear on the inside, he was carried into seventh by his sound jumping by halfway but had lost two places by three out, despite seeming to be travelling fine, and was not asked for any effort until after two out. 

That garnered an immediate response, the horse staying on when angled towards the outside on the home turn. However, he was steadied in early preparation for the last and, on the next occasion he was in shot, he was bursting through in between horses towards the inner on the run-in. The head-on camera could not enlighten us on that switch, merely showing murky figures. 

McDonagh said his instructions were to “jump off mid-division and do the best he could”. He added that “all the classier horses were in front of him and he gave the gelding two [reminders] before turning in and another couple in the home straight.” O’Grady confirmed these instructions and expressed his satisfaction with the ride, adding that the horse “has been disappointing since winning a maiden, which has worked out poorly”. These testimonies were noted and no further action taken. 

No Flies On Him had looked like a medium-term project on his previous two starts over fences this term, uncompetitively ridden behind Down Memory Lane on debut in mid-November and then, having raced wide and in rear, making a serious blunder just after halfway behind Ile Atlantique at Navan in early December. Due to his form tailing off when his sights were raised last season, as O’Grady said, it’s hard to assess what he is but we can be certain he’s better than literal. 

Back in ninth and not jumping well (particularly in the early stages), then-four-year-old Nurburgring failed to reproduce the form of his previous two chase starts but remains of interest when tackling longer trips in handicap company. 

Of Jeannot Lapin – who cost just £3,000 and yet whose dam is a half-sister to Champion Hurdler Epatante – winning trainer Gearoid O’Loughlin said: “I didn’t think he’d win a beginners’ [chase] around Leopardstown . . . but as we got closer and over the last two months, I felt he was entitled to be here, anyway. Obviously, his price didn’t reflect it. But we all had a few quid on him. His homework was very good. 

“He felt to us like he was a proper horse, really, for a small yard. I’m sure if he was in Willie Mullins’ or a bigger yard, he’d probably be just another horse but he’s a bit of a stand-out in our yard . . .  I said to Ricky [Doyle, jockey] use his jumping and hold onto him as long as you can because I’ve got nothing to take him off the bridle at home.” [link to interview] 

We’ll get a better measure of Jeannot Lapin when he’s stepped up in grade, which might happen at the Dublin Racing Festival as one of just nine entries for the Irish Arkle, Obviously, with a horse of this size, your concern would be whether he can stay consistently sound. Think Monkfish, Topofthegame and, also currently, Hillcrest, albeit this fella looks a lot quicker. He surely failed to stay in a trio of starts over three miles in point-to-points! 

Finally at this meeting, Dee Capo  got off the mark over fences at the third time of asking in the 2m5f beginners chase on the third day. He’d shaped second best when taking the fight to Ballyburn on seasonal debut at Punchestown, fading to fourth after the last, and next time at Navan had taken a tumble two out when in the hunt for second behind Ile Atlantique. 

This was no cakewalk, however, with a Mullins-trained pair of useful novice hurdlers, Chapeau Du Soleil and Quai De Bourbon, making their chase debuts in a race with a strong recent history – Fact To File, Gentlemansgame and Galopin Des Champs its three most recent winners, as well as Djakadam* and Lord Windermere more than a decade ago. [*Spots excuse to mention Djakadam as a shout-out to any long-term readers. (If extant, well done. You clearly ooze stamina.)] 

Dee Capo won against the run of play in a race dominated by talented horses on the pace, having again been patiently ridden presumably to help with his jumping. Meanwhile, former Irish point-to-point winner Chapeau Du Soleil increasingly dictated from the second and showed light years more respect for fences than he did hurdles, whilst Townend’s mount Quai De Bourbon – a French recruit and third in last year’s Martin Pipe – steered a wide and prominent course. 

In a modestly run race, the latter’s jumping became tentative mid-way, the leader pecked five out and the winner dropped to last four out, where he put down on Gilligan and had to screw it. The entire field was still in with a shout entering the straight but by the last this main trio had it between them, Dee Capo impressing by recovering his deficit on the leaders in such a short space of time. 

Quai De Bourbon came up fractionally first yet was the slowest away from it whereas the other two landed running. Chapeau Du Soleil compromised the effectiveness of his finish by seeking to hang left whilst Dee Capo was more straightforward – or perhaps merely held a fitness advantage? – and Townend’s mount rallied to the line for third, shaping as though further is in order. 

In short, there were positives to take away from all three. Only the winner is entered the DRF’s Grade One Ladbrokes Novice Chase over 2m5f, however. 

Like the runner-up, An Tobar has a 100 per cent record in Points and had shaped when novice-hurdling last season as though fences would be the making of him. He travelled strongly deep into this contest but found nil when shaken up two out. Even though this was his first run in 11 months, I fear he has a hole in him. 

Finally for Ireland in this column, we return to Limerick for the second day of their Christmas festival and the Grade Two Dawn Run Mares’ Novice Chase, won by Bioluminescence on her debut over the larger obstacles. 

Her stamina won the day, with four-time chase winner  Shecouldbeanything – who’d pressed her from the home turn – and Paggane – whose jumping warmed up after a dubious start –looking briefly threatening until she settled matters with big jump at the second last and powered away. (Shout-out to long-time leader Pebble Bleu, who was utterly outclassed and ended pulled up, but hung in there on the pace until four out.) 

“Her jumping is just unbelievable,” Derek O’Connor said of the winner, whom he’d also ridden to victory in her sole Point. “Big, big mare with a huge jump to match . . . I’d love a National Hunt Chase at the Festival for her. Unfortunately, we don’t have that anymore. I think, trip-wise, out in trip; always out in trip, because she’s a ferocious galloper and stayer and jumper . . . the more of a test, the better she’ll be.” [link to interview] 

Gavin Cromwell won the Festival’s Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase with a stayer in Limerick Lace last season, given an assertive ride in heavy ground and catching out favourite defensively ridden favourite Dinoblue. This mare looks more of a thorough stayer and perhaps less versatile, albeit she’s clearly capable of better than this in the right circumstances. 

Next, we head to Britain and Ffos Las last Saturday – a meeting created in response to the British Horseracing Board’s search for a Jumps venue unaffected by the wintry conditions that had swept both islands. There, Handstands was in front when the music stopped for his rivals as early as four out in the Grade Two Towton Novices’ Chase, transferred from abandoned Wetherby. 

Ben Pauling’s representative, carrying a 5lb penalty for his success in last month’s Grade Two Esher Novices’ Chase at Sandown when comfortably accounting for Resplendent Grey, could only throw it away from there. He never looked likely to. On the pace throughout, this versatile character largely jumped well – certainly much better than his rivals – apart from ballooning the last. Though not obviously a threat for top honours, he should make a quality handicapper. 

Lord Of Thunder, sporting a first-time tongue-tie and upped markedly in grade, was the only other novice to complete – and he was lucky to manage that, given how badly he was hampered at the seventh by the fall of Reach, who clipped the top and crumpled. Error-prone at Kempton over Christmas, that horse had signalled his fate with a mistake at the preceding fence. 

The penultimate obstacles claimed three casualties. The first was a somersaulting fall from Saint Davy, who had otherwise jumped fine. It was a similar story when he finished third behind Handstands at Sandown, only getting the downhill fence wrong but both times it was jumped. This tumble took the legs away from underneath the giant Hillcrest on landing and he unseated Sam Twiston-Davies, but they were held for third at the time. 

Indeed, this was a disconcerting display from the former Grade Two novice hurdle winner, who missed the best part of three years before this season. He lacked fluency, needed a shake of the reins after the very first fence, and hung left on the bend and into the straight. He could do with his sights lowering, but the threadbare British weight-for-age novice-chasing programme means Henry Daly has little choice but a handicap and, for this horse, that worries me. 

Cherie D’Am adjusted right at every fence, as she had when taking the Listed Lady Godiva Mares’ Novices’ Chase at Warwick last month. Here, that effort appeared to take a toll against better rivals – or else there was some other problem – as she stopped very quickly when headed on the home turn. Bafflingly, she was not then pulled up despite being tailed off and then very regrettably taking a fall, separate from the melee involving the other two, at the second last. 

Just as bafflingly, from this distance at least, there was not a stewards’ enquiry into these events. 

I acknowledge it’s not possible to get a complete grasp of what went on using the pictures shown by ITV and Sky Sports Racing, but there would have been viewers – like me – wondering what had happened, so an enquiry would have been reassuring. 

At Cheltenham on New Year’s Day, Kalif Du Berlais, who had just officially turned five, followed up his Newbury success of the previous month with a further victory in a novices’ limited handicap, this time beating just two rivals. (British system working well; schedule more fixtures.) 

The winner’s enthusiasm and fluent jumping meant Vincenzo was only able to retain the lead over the first two fences. The latter’s accuracy and that of Tedley – who’d given Kalif Du Berlais a race at Newbury but had been beaten by Vincenzo at Windsor since – was then placed under consistent pressure. Both were scruffy by comparison with Kalif Du Berlais, and mistakes of varying magnitude were drawn from each, Tedley’s the worse, at the third last. Although they recovered to press the winner on either side on the home turn, they were under pressure to do so. 

Tedley was shrugged off before two out, his first inferior effort in six starts since mid-October, whereas – to his credit – Vincenzo kept pitching until after the last. The winner was impressive from a mark of 141 and was raised 10lb for his work. 

“He was very lucky not to hurt himself the first time at Carlisle when he had a terrible fall at the ditch,” Harry Cobden remarked afterwards in his Racing TV interview with Stewart Machin, referring to his mount’s seasonal debut in mid-November. 

“Today, I just let him bowl away and I thought his jumping was fantastic – he doesn’t ride like a five-year-old. Everything was very assured. We’ve got plenty of options for where we want to . . . he’ll get two and a half [miles]. The only thing is, though, he’s only five and he probably doesn’t want lots of mileage on the clock at such a young age.” 

By contrast, Paul Nicholls’ response to this success was to stick Kalif Du Berlais into the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase against the cream of the two-mile division, as things stand. Ruby remarked last Sunday, does taking on Jonbon and a fistful of ageing chasers look any more of an ask than facing Sir Gino and Majborough? While I take the point, I don’t actually agree with it – and I doubt this is where we’ll see this novice at the Festival. 

Talking of Sir Gino, what’s left to add to the superlatives his chase debut generated when pitched into graded company and dismantling last season’s Ballymore hero Ballyburn in the Grade Two Wayward Lad over Christmas? It was a sensational display: a first timer standing off repeatedly from outside the wings and landing those jumps with total assuredness. A joy to watch. 

The only other note on his jumping came when Sir Gino got into the bottom of the first and was scruffy over it. Meanwhile, Townend had set out in front on Ballyburn to ensure it wasn’t even more of a speed test than two miles on good-to-soft on the flat earth of Kempton always would be. His mount reached and slightly screwed the first, but that was the only time he was level on points with Sir Gino at any obstacle. 

On landing at the second, Nico de Boinville had to rein back Sir Gino, who wanted to go faster, and at the third Ballyburn was big and airy. Chase debutant Rubaud – no slouch over hurdles in his own right as a four times Grade Two winner – was up with the principals at this stage, but rank outsider and eventual third Brookie was sensibly ridden at a remove from the action. 

At the fourth, Sir Gino’s natural jump took him from behind Ballyburn on take-off to upsides on landing. Then to steady him would have been to get in his way, so De Boinville let him roll ahead from the fifth where Ballyburn tried to match him and just about made it while trailing a hind leg. 

It says a lot for the runner-up’s innate competitiveness that he needed no explicit urging from Townend to try to hold his pitch. Cobden wasn’t inclined even to find out whether Rubaud could match that sort of spirit, letting the other two get on with it. At the seventh, eighth and ninth, Sir Gino outjumped Ballyburn with spectacular ease and on entering the straight, he pulled away. 

Held in second and tired by the effort of keeping up with a faster horse, Ballyburn began to jump left over the third and second-last. The contrast at the final fence was the most pronounced: Sir Gino pricked his ears with interest and measured it perfectly whereas Ballyburn essentially ran straight into it and almost ejected Townend from the saddle. A worse fate awaited Rubaud, who forgot to activate his landing gear and crumpled to the floor when lying in a respectful third. 

Sir Gino’s overall time was about a second quicker than the Desert Orchid – staged over the course and distance for more experienced two-milers 35 minutes later (whose leaders admittedly went too hard in the early stages). That race was also won by a novice in hitherto longstanding maiden chaser Soul Icon, carrying 6lb less (and discussed in the previous column). [link] 

As cited in last week’s Road To Cheltenham show, Timeform’s Tom Heslop – who supplies all the data, graphs and visualisations we use (OK, that I use and Ruby undermines) – compiled a couple of graphs in an attempt to contextualise Sir Gino’s debut effort. The first compared the calibre of his debut in ratings terms with those of Henderson’s recent other top two-mile chasers – Sprinter Sacre, Altior, Shishkin, Simonsig and Jonbon. 

The second placed Sir Gino’s initial performance rating in the context of all such Timeform ratings since 2000. There have been more than 40,000 chasing debuts in that time, of which 67 were ranked 150 or higher. In Tom’s below visualisation, which we shared in last Sunday’s show, the grey area gives a sense of the volume of these performances and convey that more horses are initially rated 150 than 151, 151 than 152, and so on. 

This illustrates that Sir Gino’s chase debut is the fourth highest to be rated during this period, behind Grands Crus at 160, Bacchanal at 161 and Galopin Des Champs at 168 – and ahead of the likes of Vautour on 158. 

Tom added the proviso that Galopin Des Champs’ initial performance figure was back-handicapped from 157 at the time to 168 once that form had worked out – part of the housekeeping process required to keep an accurate active ratings file. Figures can go down as well as up as part of this routine ongoing procedure, and the dust is yet to settle on Sir Gino’s first effort. 

In the show, you may also recall Ruby questioned why the great Kauto Star was not on that list; I will supply him with Tom’s answer this week. Yet clearly – as shown by the positioning of the chase debut Sprinter Sacre, whose peak rating was 192 – the best cannot always express this straight away or, more pertinently, don’t need to in order to win the race at hand. 

Tom also sent me one final item of interesting data on this race. 321 horses have made their chasing debut in a graded race, of which 40 won. Nicky Henderson has been responsible for seven of them, Nicholls for eight and Mullins for five – that is, 50 per cent between them. 

For this column’s purposes, the 5/1 taken about Majborough prior to Christmas in anticipation of this Wayward Lad duel.

provides us with a reasonable position for the Arkle – bearing in mind that, from my perspective at least, Sir Gino was never backable. No matter how glowing the schooling reports, punters get a better long-term return on investment from waiting to see yak proven on the track in race conditions rather than merely taking it on trust. 

As for Ballyburn, as mentioned in that same column, I saw him as a Brown Advisory candidate going into Kempton and therefore did not feel his credentials for an entirely different tempo of race were greatly damaged by this defeat. However, whether that view quite extended to thinking he was a bet at 4/1 (now 7/2) was (and is) another matter. It feels more open than that. 

Not least because now second-favourite The Jukebox Man was flawless when winning the Grade One Kauto Star Novices’ Chase over the King George course and distance on Boxing Day. If anything, this horse might have the opposite problem as he no doubt has plenty of pace. Indeed, Pauling reiterated he could yet drop this horse in trip for the Arkle were the ground to be testing – a view that Ruby has twice endorsed in his analysis. 

At Kempton, The Jukebox Man travelled strongly but not over-exuberantly behind the early pace set by Hyland and Welcom To Cartries, and jumped intelligently, palpably measuring the approach his to fences. All rider Ben Jones had to do was not press the button too soon, and thereby he earned his first success at the highest level. With this horse alone to ride, there should be more. 

None of the others could match his mount, either for class or jumping – the latter point illustrated at the very first fence. Whereas he took it smoothly, Hyland got into the bottom and jumped left (as he would consistently throughout), Welcom To Cartries was awkward, Masaccio landed flat-footed and White Rhino spent time in the air going left. 

At the third, White Rhino didn’t give himself enough space to make his left-handed adjustment safely, jumped it sideways and unseated Henry Brooke through the right-hand exit. Masaccio was already nudged along by the sixth, prompting some scruffy jumps, and was shaken up to keep in touch passing the stands first time. Although he stuck at it until hitting four out, he never quite looked likely to get involved and ultimately didn’t prove his stamina either. 

Welcom To Cartries was the next to feel the heat, niggled to stay in touch from the 12th fence and explicitly struggling from four out, where Hyland winged it. The latter has a sound technique – albeit perhaps better returned left-handed – but he lacks the frame of the winner or even Welcom To Cartries, meaning jumping appears more of an effort than scopier rivals. The winner was always just cantering beside him. Hyland’s attitude will win him more than his fair share once his sights are lowered, however. 

“It’s been a long time since we had a Grade One. I think Willoughby Court was the last one,” Pauling told Racing TV’s Rishi Persad, referring to 2017 then-Neptune (now Turners) Novices’ Hurdle winner at the Cheltenham Festival. “They’re hard to come by, to get these horses at this level.”

He added, reflecting on The Jukebox Man’s debut at Newbury the previous month: “[He] looked a different horse today. He looked a proper, measured, accurate staying chaser that jumped his fences very, very well indeed. He was quick and fast at them but not quite as flamboyant. 

“We’ve just been struggling this week with some sore heels, just on his hind legs. It’s only a little bit of a chap at the end of your finger but you can imagine how that can be sore . . . We’ve worked on them and got them better, but then you make other areas a little bit sensitive. So, it’s been a tough week. The [team] at home have been amazing.” 

Pauling added he would head straight to Cheltenham but consider also running at Aintree and Punchestown at the end of the season, if all goes to plan. “We went from the Challow last year straight there,” he said. “But we did Cheltenham and Aintree in quick succession, and he came out of it really well. I have absolute faith this horse can mix it with anything . . . He’s slow as a hearse at home but in the race, he looks like he’s got lots of class. I’m just a big fan of his, really.” 

Let’s finish with what seems like a distant memory: Ascot’s pre-Christmas meeting in which Mark Of Gold made a winning chase debut in an imploding edition of the Grade Two Noel Chase. Trained by Gary and Josh Moore, this was a strike for the other 50 per cent. 

A less obvious chaser on looks than his three rivals but better than them over hurdles, Mark Of Gold jumped the best – his only minor mistake two out – and he was bearing down on the leader at the last. Yet he wouldn’t have won had Personal Ambition and Jones not together fluffed the last. Timeform amusingly described this as his rider attempting “a tkatchev”. 

Having been prominent from the outset but with a solo on the lead from the fifth, Personal Ambition was asked to up the ante from four out – a move that left awkward-jumping Johnnywho toiling. Rare Edition, who’d raced enthusiastically, was suddenly beaten entering the straight. Given he wore a first-time tongue-tie, perhaps he has a physical issue? 

Scarcely two lengths ahead going into the final obstacle, Personal Ambition appeared to tire and wander before take-off. Having popped two out on a good stride, he and Jones couldn’t find what they were looking for. The horse plunged over the fence whilst the rider lost both reins and irons. Unsurprisingly, they were unable to regather in time. 

On his chase debut at Kempton, this column  noted Iberico Lord being “flat-footed and clumsy over pretty much every one of the first ten fences”, albeit he finished better than he started. In Ascot’s earlier novices’ limited handicap chase, he tended to run into the bottom of his fences as if he found them a damned impertinence to his afternoon gallop. Despite his three rivals not jumping much better, he was beaten when gratefully collapsing into gravity’s open arms at the second last. 

This would rightly appear to have convinced Henderson and JP McManus to revert to hurdles. He runs at Windsor this Friday and is also entered in February’s as-yet-unsponsored handicap hurdle (most recently known as the Betfair) at Newbury, which he won last year. 

Ascot’s race was won by Here Comes Georgie, from 6lb out of the handicap and registering his fourth win, and second over fences, in his past five starts for Patrick Neville. He didn’t afford runner-up Ryan’s Rocket much space on his inside in the battle from the last, but it didn’t appear to affect the result. Early leader Western Zephyr was eased off after stumbling on the home turn. 

Advised 19/12/24: Majborough at 5/1 with Bet365 for the My Pension Expert Arkle Chase 

Advised 02/01/25: Lossiemouth at 7/1 with Bet365 or BetMGM for the Unibet Champion Hurdle 

Advised 11/01/25: Corbetts Cross each-way at 25/1 with various for the Randox Grand National 

Advised 02/01/25: Gaelic Warrior at 5/1 with Paddy Power for the Queen Mother Champion Chase 

None to date, but did he mention he’s in charge of awarding the mugs?