ANTE POST PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
CHRISTMAS RACING
Without question, the racing over the Christmas period was where the National Hunt season really caught fire and this writer for one, is still smouldering in the afterglow.
It was akin to that memorable evening of track and field at the 2012 London Olympics, known as Super Saturday, when we saw one unbelievable moment followed by another. To recall, Jess Ennis-Hill, the golden girl of Team GB, smashed her own British record to win the heptathlon, Greg Rutherford took gold in the long jump with a fourth-round leap of 8.31m and finally Mo Farah, who would go on to win the 5,000m seven days later, stormed to 10,000m gold.
Constitution Hill got the ball rolling in the equine version of, what I’m going to call, Super Christmas, in the Christmas Hurdle and the superlatives flowed in equal measure thereafter.
Billed as the big clash between the previous champion and the up-and-coming pretender, Nicky Henderson’s gelding left everyone a little reminder who is boss, and he now stands firmly back on top of the two-mile hurdling tree.
Showing no ill effects from two below-par public gallops in recent times, the seven-year-old went through the well-run race with all his old swagger and when presented with the 64-thousand-dollar question whether he would find as much as usual off the bridle, he provided the answer in no uncertain terms.
Whether we see him again between now and Cheltenham is entirely based on his wellbeing at home but providing he is in the same sort of shape in March, he remains the one the rest must beat. In contrast, Lossiemouth was never happy right from the start and she did well to stay in contention with her main market rival all the way to the line.
Whether she had an off day or that is as good as she is over two miles is hard to tell but there’s no doubt, she will have to raise her game significantly to turn the tables with her old rival. That said, the stiffer track at Cheltenham will play more into her strengths and even if she were to get beat a similar margin in the Champion Hurdle (two lengths), that result would still be good enough to reward those who see her as a rock-solid each-way bet at her current 7-1 quotes.
Like what occurred in The Olympic Stadium in a span of 44 minutes all those years ago, we only had to wait 35 minutes to witness the next spine-tingling moment at the Sunbury venue, coming in the shape of the King George Chase.
In what looked a stellar renewal on paper for this year’s Grade 1, it delivered the goods in terms of a great spectacle.
French raider, Il Est Francais, ensured there was no hiding place, setting very fast fractions from the outset, and it still looked like he was sure to win turning for home. Unfortunately, his petrol gauge flashed on empty at the most crucial stage of the race and in the end, he got swallowed up by Banbridge, who proved three miles was no barrier to success.
The key to the winner more than anything else was the drying ground and no doubt conditions will be the determining factor where he ends up at the spring festivals.
The following day provided the next big ‘wow’ moment with Sir Gino making the seamless transition on his first start over fences in the Kauto Star Chase.
Ballyburn set a very high bar coming into this eagerly awaited clash, but it soon became apparent that he wasn’t operating at the same level that allowed him to run a big figure at Punchestown first time out.
That said, he would have done well to cope with Nicky Henderson’s inmate even at his very best and as far as chasing debuts go, there was little to fault one of last season’s top juvenile hurdlers.
Having already threw his cap in the ring for the Champion Hurdle with his win in the Fighting Fifth, this was a brave call by connections, but on the evidence of his effort at the Sunbury venue, Sir Gino is going to be just as good over fences and he rates a worthy favourite for the Arkle – presumably his ultimate target.
As for the runner-up, he clearly wasn’t as fully effective around the sharp two miles as he was on chasing debut, and it would come as no surprise to see connections ask him to stretch out over further for the remainder of the season. His quotes of 4-1 for the Brown Advisory, therefore, seem more than fair.
However, pride of place undoubtedly went to Galopin Des Champs in the Savills Chase the day after, when he dished out the sort of display to rival anything seen at Leopardstown before.
In what looked a cracking renewal beforehand, Willie Mullins’ inmate enhanced his unbeaten record over fences at the track (6-6), in turn, causing many connections of the beaten to regroup and makes alternative plans.
Once again, the nine-year-old got into a lovely rhythm over a track that clearly suits his eye and although there was a moment after jumping two out Fact To File looked a major threat, he soon kicked in the turbo to turn his main market rival away.
On the evidence of this display, the son of Timos looks as good as ever and he rates a worthy 6-4 chance at present to retain his crown.
In contrast, his stable mate Fact To File’s chances of turning around the tables at Cheltenham seem remote and, as a result, it’s hard to get too excited about his current quotes of 4-1 for the Gold Cup. However, the way he travelled for three-quarters of the journey suggests he might have brighter prospects over the 2m4f journey trip of the Ryanair and for that reason, he makes far more appeal for that contest at current top price of 13-2.
Furthermore, his owner JP McManus maybe a proper sportsman, but at the same time he is a realist and I’m sure when weighing up all the pros and cons, The Ryanair will become his race of choice. Let’s also not forget either, he still has the likes of Spillane’s Tower, Inothewayurthinkin and Corbett’s Cross as possible Gold Cup contenders and there is more than a decent chance Fact To File will be considerably shorter in the market – possibly south of 2-1 – once connections give him the green light for the 2m4f event.
The final spectacular performance came from Brighterdaysahead in the Nevilles Hotel Hurdle on the final day of Leopardstown’s four-day meeting and the data she produced was right up there with the likes of Constitution Hill, Galopin De Champs and Banbridge.
The pre-race market spoke very much in favour of State Man despite being beaten on merit by Brighterdaysahead in the Morgiana previously, but Gordon Elliott’s mare proved the doubters wrong with a performance of the highest class.
Tucking in behind stable mate King Of Kingsfield from an early stage, the pair established a clear advantage over their rivals and as soon as the pacemaker wilted off the home turn, the daughter of Kapgarde pulled further clear with every stride.
Usurping her previous best speed figure by some margin, she now has the choice of taking on the boys again in the Champion Hurdle or staying in her lane in the Mares’ Hurdle and it will be interesting to see which turns out to be the destination of choice nearer the time.
Personally, I think it would be a travesty if she wasn’t asked to go down the Champion Hurdle route as it’s not as if Constitution Hill is totally bombproof. As for State Man, he looks to be a busted flush at this stage and in any case, owner Joe Donnelly may have a better prospect in the shape of Anzadam.
Away from the established names, last, but not least, was Romeo Coolio in the Grade 1 Future Champions Novice Hurdle and at this stage, he looks one of the leading lights in the two-mile division.
Once Karniquet almost departed the scene after a bad mistake at the second, Gordon Elliott’s inmate seized the initiative up front, and it was a position which he never looked like relinquishing.
The feature of his performance was his pin-point accurate jumping and other than the last, ironically, he gained lengths at each hurdle over his rest of the field. Despite that shuddering blunder at the last, which caused him to lose his hind end, he still posted a very smart speed figure, and he now tops the tree in terms of overall performance levels heading into Cheltenham.
Likely to head straight to festival without another run, Gordon Elliott’s inmate has all the attributes of many previous winners of the Supreme and the only surprise comes from the fact he is not much shorter in the current ante post market for the curtain raiser.
Recommendations
Romeo Coolio – ½ point each-way@10-1 – Supreme Novices Hurdle.
Fact To File – 1-point win@13-2 – Ryanair Chase.