Adam Houghton chats to Alan King as Edwardstone spearheads a small but select team for the trainer at Cheltenham's November Meeting.
Alan King has enjoyed some memorable days at Cheltenham’s November Meeting over the years, perhaps none more so than when Annacotty won the Paddy Power Gold Cup back in 2015.
Not only was it his first win in that prestigious contest, but it was a success made even sweeter by the fact that Annacotty was out of the mare Mini Moo Min, who had provided King with his first ever winner as a trainer at Towcester back in December 1999.
In the build up to the 2015 Paddy Power, King was praying for rain for a horse who was already a Grade One winner over three miles. Like so many other National Hunt trainers, he is singing from the same hymn sheet again this year – although not to the same extreme – ahead of the biggest meeting staged at the headquarters of jumps racing outside of the Festival in March.
In October, King saddled just 27 runners over jumps in Britain, his second-lowest tally for that month since 2012. Those who did turn out did the yard proud – King sent out eight winners at a 30% strike rate – but the quicker-than-ideal ground across the country meant that they weren’t seen in significant numbers and not seen at all at Cheltenham’s Showcase Meeting.
Instead, it’s this weekend that King has circled in his calendar every year as the starting point for some of his best prospects and 2022 will be no different so long as the weather cooperates.
King explained: “We never run anything really at the October Cheltenham meeting and this is the first Cheltenham fixture we usually get started at.
“Hopefully, the ground is okay because it’s still quick in a lot of places. It’s getting there and the rain is starting. And it’s not that most of mine want it deep or bottomless – we just want it safe.”
That is a line we’ve heard from King already this year, but this time it pertains to his small but select team of jumpers heading to Cheltenham this week rather than Trueshan, the flagbearer for the Flat operation at Barbury Castle and now said to be enjoying a nice break in the field.
The selective approach has paid off handsomely in recent years when it comes to King and the November Meeting. For context, he has saddled four winners from just 20 runners at this fixture since 2017, giving him a 20% strike rate which only Henry de Bromhead (3/10) has surpassed among the active trainers who have saddled at least 10 runners at the meeting during that period.
One of those victories came in the 2018 edition of the Shloer Chase won by Sceau Royal and once again it’s that Grade Two which will provide King with perhaps his best chance of success at this year’s November Meeting.
This year King will be pinning his hopes on Edwardstone, who developed into a high-class novice chaser as he won five of his six completed starts last season. He crowned his busy campaign with victory in the Sporting Life Arkle, in the process becoming King's first winner at the Festival for seven years having saddled 86 losers in the interim.
A thoroughly likeable sort, Edwardstone steps into open graded company for the first time over fences on Sunday and King issued a positive bulletin ahead of his return to action.
He said: “Edwardstone seems in very good form and his preparation has gone well. He schooled on Monday and he’s due to have his final bit of work on Wednesday morning. We’re looking forward to getting him started.
“The Shloer was always the place we wanted to go. We’ll get that run out of the way and then decide what we do with him for the rest of the season. I’m very happy with him at home, so let’s hope he runs well.”
The schedule for the rest of the season could be a familiar one should everything go to plan on Sunday. Indeed, it could look much like it did for King’s former stable star Voy Por Ustedes, who won the Arkle himself back in 2006.
The Shloer Chase didn’t exist when Voy Por Ustedes returned later that year, but he was a fixture in the other big two-mile chases in his second season over fences, running in the Tingle Creek Chase, Desert Orchid Chase and Game Spirit Chase before gaining a second Festival success in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
Those races could all come into the equation for Edwardstone this season, with the Champion Chase the ultimate goal. At least, that is the hope, with a step up in trip being the alternative should his limitations be exposed against the best around in this division, starting on Sunday when former Champion Chase runner-up Nube Negra features among the potential opposition.
King said: “I won’t go up in trip unless I have to. Let’s see what happens on Sunday, but he’s got a lot of stamina in his pedigree and he’s relaxing much better now. Deep down, I hope we don’t have to go up in trip, but he’ll tell us.”
Also on Sunday, King will be trying to win the Unibet Greatwood Hurdle for the third time in six years. His two previous winners, Elgin (2017) and Harambe (2019), make up half of his tally at the November Meeting since 2017, while none other than Edwardstone finished fifth in the 2020 edition.
Watch that run and you’ll understand why Edwardstone learning to relax better was so important, simply proving too keen for his own good as he passed the post around seven and a half lengths behind the winner.
King will be hoping for better from at least one of his two potential runners on Sunday, including the unexposed Harbour Lake, who was featured among Timeform’s Horses To Follow this season having won three of his four starts over hurdles in 2021/22.
Harbour Lake returned last month with a comfortable victory at Market Rasen (watch the replay below), only winning by three quarters of a length but looking value for extra having conceded first run as the second was sprinting for home off a false pace.
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It looked a very good performance to overcome such adverse circumstances against some more seasoned handicappers, a view which is certainly shared by King.
“I would agree with that,” he said. “I’m pleased with him and he won well in the end at Market Rasen, although that was two miles and three furlongs. He’s quite a delicate horse, he wouldn’t stand an awful lot of racing, but he’s had a good break since last time.
“He’s due to do his final bit of work on Wednesday morning and if we’re happy we’ll let him take his chance. Hopefully, there’s more to come – both of ours are horses who are still on the up I think.”
The other horse in question is Nina The Terrier, who needs to bounce back having suffered a heavy fall in a Listed mares’ event at Wetherby last time. It was not the first time her jumping has let her down over hurdles and King has resorted to a different tactic at home to try and prevent any further mishaps.
He explained: “I actually schooled her over fences on Monday to try and get her to show a little bit more respect. That’s twice now she’s had crashing falls when stepping at them. She fell at the last at Newbury last year as well.
“She’s also in the intermediate hurdle on Saturday. I’ve got to speak to the owner and see what he thinks, but I might let her take her chance on Sunday. I thought she was travelling very well at Wetherby when she came down.”
King didn’t leave Wetherby’s Charlie Hall fixture empty-handed thanks to the novice hurdle winner Hall Lane, but it was a frustrating couple of days for the team otherwise.
Not only did Nina The Terrier suffer a heavy fall, but Tuddenham Green could manage only second when sent off favourite for the Listed juvenile hurdle on the Friday card, while Deyrann de Carjac hit a low of 1.03 in-running in the two-and-half-mile handicap chase on the Saturday before being collared near the finish.
Both Tuddenham Green and Deyrann de Carjac feature among the seven horses trained by King who hold at least one entry at Cheltenham this week, but it seems unlikely that we’ll see them in action.
Described by King as “a big, weak horse”, Tuddenham Green will reportedly benefit from a bit of time to strengthen up, while a losing run stretching back to November 2019 is set to go on for at least a bit longer for Deyrann de Carjac, who is deemed an unlikely runner in the Paddy Power Gold Cup.
One horse who had no trouble winning last season was The Glancing Queen, who is set to make her return to action in the two-mile handicap chase on Friday’s card.
Successful on three of her five starts over fences last term, The Glancing Queen still has the look of a well handicapped mare from a BHA mark of 145 and King is hopeful that there could be more to come from her this season.
However, the trainer warned that Friday might not be the day she shows it, something to bear in mind for anybody looking to get involved at short odds.
He said: “The Glancing Queen is only just ready as we had a slight hold up a couple of weeks ago. It was nothing major and it will be good to get her started.
“She’s a grand mare and I think around Cheltenham two miles is probably her trip. But whatever she does this week, she will come on for it.”
Incidentally, The Glancing Queen is already a winner at the November Meeting having made a successful Rules debut in the Listed mares' bumper on Saturday's card back in 2018.
That was just the start of what has already been a very productive career and King will be hoping there are more memorable days to come with her, Edwardstone and co in the weeks and months ahead.
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