One loud, one quietly getting on with things
The weights for the Becher Chase have been confirmed this week but with no further long-term handicap entries published, it looks a decent opportunity to underline a few observations on what’s been and gone in the past seven days.
Cheltenham is the obvious starting point but before the ratings ups-and-downs from Prestbury Park, I’m keen to mention a couple of recent winners from elsewhere who are progressing very nicely and might not be the easiest for the BHA assessors to contain.
White Noise, trained by Kim Bailey and Mat Nicholls, is clearly a mare heading in the right direction but having started handicap life with a lowly mark of just 109, the 10lb hike for her Market Rasen win last Thursday might not be anywhere near enough to anchor her upward trajectory.
She’d won a two-mile mares’ novice event from the front easily enough at Worcester in October and looked a cut above on her first go in a handicap last week, travelling sweetly just off the pace this time before going between rivals like they were running on fumes. She was eased down to win by six and a half lengths.
Hers is a yard in good nick at the moment, after going 0-19 through the months of June, July, August and September, and point-to-point recruit White Noise has untapped potential when stepping up in trip again in the coming weeks.
Look out for her stablemates High Tea and Isle Of Gold at Chepstow this Friday too, particularly the former who could be thrown in off 105 on handicap debut over hurdles.
The other one to keep tabs on is Ben Pauling’s Meetmebythesea, who has quietly gone about his business winning four of his five starts under Rules, the sole defeat coming in March’s EBF Final at Sandown when seemingly booked for victory before some early exuberance appeared to take its toll very late in the piece that day (ended up beaten less than a length in third).
On the face of it Meetmebythesea going up 5lb for winning Saturday’s novices’ handicap chase at Wetherby could be deemed on the harsher side, but the five-year-old has that irresistible combination of a fine attitude and a reasonable dollop of class.
Throw in the fact he appeared to measure his fences exceptionally well at the first time of asking, plus the visual impression that he wasn’t fully extended to beat a race-fit recent Carlisle winner, and I can’t help but conclude he will cope with the rise just fine.
Wetherby’s chase course is probably sharp enough in configuration and Meetmebythesea is yet another Pauling horse (more to follow) bound for better things this season.
The ups and downs of Cheltenham
The November meeting at Cheltenham was quite a frustrating one, from a personal perspective. As Legends Have It (also Pauling) and Aeroplane Blonde both ran very well in the non-televised handicap hurdles on day one, with the latter an obvious one to atone down in grade off the same mark (107) wherever he shows up next. His jumping is improving steadily and he arguably got a bit lit up and went for home a fraction too soon last week.
Strong fancy Coming Up Easy ballooned the open ditch (three-out on this occasion) in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and lost all chance given how awkwardly he landed, but there will surely be other days for Henry De Bromhead’s seven-year-old as he’d jumped and travelled really well in a prominent position up until that point. It’s not hard to envisage the Plate – or even the Ultima over the longer trip – back here at the Festival in March being his ultimate goal this term.
Paddy Power glory went to Panic Attack who was 10lb higher than for her Windsor win in January but saw off 100/30 favourite Vincenzo with four lengths to spare. The runner-up is up 2lb (to 139) and third Hoe Joly Smoke’s mark (131) has been left unaltered.
The winner, who had reportedly been aimed at the race since her aforementioned victory on the Winter Million card in the New Year, now has the option of a much shorter preparation into the Coral Gold Cup, for which she would be 3lb well-in under a 4lb penalty having been nudged up another 7lb to 142 for future engagements beyond Newbury next Saturday.
Celestial Gold was the last to do the Paddy Power/Hennessy double in 2004, with the December Gold Cup on the New Course back at Cheltenham a month later the far more common route to take these days.
Great Endeavour, who ran in the same Johnson family silks as Celestial Gold, was a well-backed 5/1 shot when attempting the big handicap double 14 years ago and he ran well in fourth having failed to get the three mile, two furlong trip. No Paddy Power winner has attempted it since.
Panic Attack was beaten 17 lengths in a four-runner affair on her only previous attempt at three miles over fences, although she does have some decent placed form at and around that distance from her hurdling days.
Paddy Power eighth Il Ridoto is down another pound, meaning he’s now on exactly the same mark as for last year’s win in the race, and he will be much happier back on a relatively sound surface, while the same applies to the Pauling-trained Bad - the horse to take from the race as far as I'm concerned.
Still only six, Bad has plenty of time on his side and will no doubt be going right-handed again before long. His three chase wins have all come at Kempton and while his stamina for the intermediate trip at Cheltenham could be called into question after Saturday's effort, when looking menacing before weakening up the final climb and eventually finishing fifth, the flatter track at Kempton really helps him get into a rhythm and finish off his races stronger. I don't think he's done improving just yet.
WATCH: Saturday's Paddy Power Gold Cup
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Sunday’s adjusted official figures won’t be available until next Tuesday but I’ll be keeping a close eye on Fiercely Proud’s mark after he got back on track with a creditable fifth in the Greatwood Hurdle.
Yes, Pauling again, but he’s bound to get a pound or two back following this run and he won the Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle at Ascot a couple of weeks on from finishing sixth to Burdett Road in last year’s Greatwood.
I wonder if he’s going to need to go out a little in trip in order to be seen at his very best this time around.
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As already touched upon, we now have the weights alongside the 35 initial Becher Chase entries and, seeing as the old Aintree factor is no longer a thing for these races over the famous fences, it’s only the Irish marks that are news to anyone.
Pat Griffin’s Roi Mage is 7lb lower than for the Cross Country at Cheltenham in March which does seemingly give the 13-year-old a glimmer of hope back at the scene of his 2023 Grand National seventh (and eighth the following spring), but the two most interesting are The Short Go and Bioluminescence.
Gavin Cromwell’s mare Bioluminescence has never raced in the UK before so her perch of 147 is noteworthy if she’s to try and form part of the JP McManus raiding party on the big one back here in April, while the De Bromhead-trained The Short Go has gone up 2lb to 134 following his encouraging comeback fourth behind Three Card Brag, Backmersackme and Hoe Joly Smoke at Cheltenham’s Showcase meeting.
In the interest of full disclosure, Gordon Elliott’s pair Better Days Ahead (154, top weight) and Favori De Champdou (142) are the two other Irish-based possibles at this stage. Neither looks particularly well treated.
Published at 1500 GMT on 19/11/25
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