The Sky Sports Racing presenter looks back on Ascot and Windsor and ahead to Cheltenham and Doncaster this weekend.
Who were your top five stars of the Berkshire Winter Million meeting?
Jonbon’s performance speaks for itself, and I was impressed by his display. The analysts will tell you that was an exceptional performance from a clinical point of view and the way he jumped was breathtaking. He’s been nudged to a BHA rating of 171 which cements his position as the highest rated chaser in Britain. I’m surprised he wasn’t raised further. His Timeform rating now sits at 178, which still has him some way behind Sprinter Sacre (192), Shishkin at 181 and Altior at 180. He’s 11/10 with Sky Bet to win the Champion Chase and it would be a travesty were he not to win one.
It was a good weekend for Nicky Henderson. The vibe around Lulamba before he made his British debut in Ascot’s Juvenile Hurdle on Saturday was incredibly positive and he fulfilled expectations and more. Henderson and Nico de Boinville were fizzing after he strolled home 3 ½ lengths clear of the fierce pulling Mondo Man. Lulamba was slick and professional and he’s adapted to British racing well. Nico said he was barely blowing when he came back in and there’s more to come. He’s now as short as 11/8 for the Triumph. It might be worth noting at this point that his stablemate Palladium is entered to make his hurdle debut at Huntingdon on Thursday. The German Derby winner cost a whopping 1.4m euros to join Henderson and is currently 12/1 for the Triumph.
Gidleigh Park was back with a bang after pulling up at Kempton in November. He was suffering from an irregular heartbeat that day and the quick reaction of jockey Bryan Carver to pull him up was applauded by trainer Harry Fry. The configuration of Windsor’s new track wouldn’t strike you as being the perfect fit for Gidleigh Park, but he handled it sufficiently to beat Caldwell Potter comfortably in the Lightning Novices’ Chase.
Secret Squirrel catches the eye before he even breaks into a trot. He’s a chestnut with a flaxen mane and tail and that adds to his presence. Hughie Morrison and wife Mary bred the six year old, so to see him put his recent fall at Ascot behind him in Windsor’s Sovereign Handicap Hurdle must have given them real pleasure. He beat a young, improving horse in Kabral Du Mathan and he’s now a leading contender for the William Hill Handicap Hurdle at Newbury next month, priced at 8/1 with Sky Bet.
There were so many horses that could have made it into this list, but it would be remiss of me not to mention Protektorat after his breathtaking win in Sunday’s Fleur de Lys Chase. By all accounts he’s a right royal pain in the backside at home but all credit to the horse, he may race aggressively but at least he has the decency to jump like a stag when he gets to his fences. It was a thrilling win and team Skelton were buzzing afterwards. It’ll be harder for him to retain his Ryanair crown given the strength of opposition this time round and his price of 9/1 reflects that.
Was there one beaten horse from Windsor or Ascot that you’d be happy to afford another chance next time?
The Evan Williams-trained Minella Missile is one to stick in your tracker. He finished ninth in Sunday’s three-mile handicap hurdle on his first run for 14 months and it was good to see him back on the track. He travelled well for a long way and was entitled to get tired.
He wasn’t disgraced by any means and his record before his layoff was excellent. He was winner of an Irish point and won both his starts over hurdles including a Grade 2 at Cheltenham where he beat Captain Teague. He’s a staying hurdler to watch.
What are you looking forward to most of all on Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham this Saturday?
I was hoping we’d see the ex-French trained Sauvignon at Ascot on Saturday, but he sensibly swerved that and is entered in the opening JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial for Paul Nicholls. He’s 4/1 for Saturday’s contest.
Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero have plenty riding on Saturday after a quiet January so far. Many trainers give their horses a flu jab in January which results in fewer runners, I’ve no idea if that’s the case here, but they’ve barely run anything this month, so that could be the reason. They have Jagwar entered in the Timeform Novices’ Handicap Chase and Iroko (4/1) in the Betfair Exchange Handicap Chase, both for owner JP McManus, and both have obvious claims in their respective races but neither have been missed in the market.
It's exciting to see Nicky Henderson change the programme for star hurdler Constitution Hill and give him an entry for the Unibet Hurdle. He’ll face Lossiemouth once again if they both make it to the start line with Constitution Hill 1/4 favourite.
It’ll be interesting to see if Crambo can back up his hard fought win in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot. The race seemed to get to the bottom of him last year but if he’s come out of that bouncing, I’d hope he can win the Betfair Cleeve Hurdle on Saturday. He’s 2/1 joint favourite with Strong Leader but I’m a Crambo fan in that match.
Finally, Potters Charm is even money favourite to maintain his unbeaten rules record in the closing AIS Novices’ Hurdle. The Twiston-Davies team hope he can be the next The New One and at this stage the world is their oyster.
Do you have one in mind for the Great Yorkshire Handicap Chase at Doncaster?
We are obviously a little way off Saturday’s action so things can change, but at this stage Forward Plan is an obvious contender. He was runner up in the race last year and goes well at this venue. His recent third over this course and distance would suggest there could be more to come despite him racing off a 9lb higher mark than twelve months ago.
More from Sporting Life
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
