Ben Linfoot picks out his moments of the day from a compelling afternoon of sport at Cheltenham as Midnight Shadow hung on from Protektorat in the feature Paddy Power Gold Cup.
Horse to take out of the day… Protektorat
Mister McGoldrick, Vintage Clouds and now Midnight Shadow. Sue Smith has had some great days with her handicap chasers at Cheltenham and today was another one, as the latter horse desperately clung on at the line in a raucous Paddy Power Gold Cup.
Coole Cody – brave Coole Cody – set out to become the first back-to-back winner since Bradbury Star for Josh Gifford back in 1993-94 and he didn’t deserve to come down at the second last. He gave it a hell of a go from the front and wasn’t beaten when he fell.
That left Midnight Shadow with the race at his mercy, but it didn’t end up being quite as simple as that as Ryan Mania had to cajole an idling/tired horse who had given his all. The line came in time, though, and the trophy went to the Smiths.
Cornelius Lysaght takes up the rest of that story here, but we’ll focus on the runner-up, PROTEKTORAT, who made the climax of the contest more exciting than looked likely at the final fence, his powerful late burst turning a 10-length deficit from the back of the last to a three-quarter length one by the line.
Off a mark of 154, this was the performance of a Grade One horse, alright. He comes out the best horse at the weights, and with it the promise of even more to come when he steps up in trip to three miles.
Skelton, though, was exasperated, having had to settle for second last year, too, when Spiritofthegames landed the silver medal.
“It was a great run, argh, it’s just that race,” he said. “It’s stressing me out. We were second in it last year, we were second in it this year. Top weight, great run, I’m just very proud of him.
“There’s a lot of chat about not running top horses in handicaps, well there you go. I’ve run a top horse in a handicap for you and it’s finished second. I haven’t gone the easy route and picked a conditions race. It’s hard off top weight, people ask why not many do it and that’s why.
“He’s the best horse in the race but he got beat.
“We’ll step him up in trip, in class and see from there. I might go to Ireland over Christmas [for the Grade One Savills Chase at Leopardstown]. Give it a go at that level and see how it goes.”
The last British-trained horse to win the Savills Chase was Bobs Worth for Nicky Henderson in 2013 and a raid on one of Ireland’s most prestigious prizes would go down very nicely indeed in the current climate.
This meeting is a great spectacle in its own right, but the November Meetings that stick out in my mind are the ones that proved a launchpad for Grade One winners. Rooster Booster. Denman. Imperial Commander.
If we’ve had one of those moments at this year’s jamboree, it might just be Protektorat, a Grade One-winning novice who looks destined to dine at the top table in open company judging by this gallant effort in defeat.
Antepost dilemma of the day… Third Time Lucki
Rightly or wrongly, I can’t bring myself to take on Appreciate It in the Sporting Life Arkle – yet. Or can I?
The 10/1 odds dangled about THIRD TIME LUCKI would have tempted me in most years given his class, but when you think of Appreciate It and others to be unleashed from Ireland it becomes more difficult to part with the cash.
Skelton spoke at length after he won the four-runner From The Horse’s Mouth Podcast Novices’ Chase at odds of 2/5 in great style, a nice serene victory after the Friday drama with My Drogo.
Once the clear round gags were out of the way Skelton offered some second-hand Ruby Walsh insight into what makes an out-and-out two-mile chaser and why this horse is exactly that.
“He feels like he’s a horse with a lot of natural pace,” Skelton said. “During my apprenticeship with Paul [Nicholls] Ruby [Walsh] always used to talk about the difference between speed and pace and in a race pace is so important because you can go at your speed very, very comfortably and he can do that. He can go at a speed through the race that he’s just in second gear in and that’s great.”
This was a simple assignment for him and tougher tests await, particularly when he tackles the best of the Irish. I know. I keep going back to that.
That saucy leap four out was x-rated stuff, though, and when you combine jumps like that with the controlled pace Skelton talks about then the signs are he’s got a serious horse to go to war with.
10/1, you say? I just don’t know…
🏇😍 Just look at 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 leap!#ThirdTimeLucki@CheltenhamRaces | @DSkeltonRacingpic.twitter.com/f6xHZIz4s1
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) November 13, 2021
Icing on the cake moment of the day… Knight Salute
Assessing KNIGHT SALUTE’s JCB Triumph Hurdle chances aren’t easy and it’s hard to know what to make of 20/1 quotes about him for the Grade One juvenile in March.
He could easily be the best of the British come the Festival – insert your shoulder shrug here – but is that saying an awful lot when you think what the Irish battalions will unleash over the next few months?
We shall see on that score, but this was a popular winner and Paddy Brennan’s fist-punch celebration towards the stands prompted an extraordinary roar of the like usually reserved for the Triumph Hurdle winner itself.
But this story is less about the horse and more about the man who does the training, Milton Harris.
Bankruptcy saw off the first incarnation of his training career and he was in the wilderness for seven years as the BHA denied his applications for another licence as he failed their ‘fit and proper person’ criteria.
Since he came back at the end of 2018 it’s been a slow road back for Harris, but the last three months have been extraordinary.
He’s had 23 winners from 67 runners at 34.32% since September 1 and Knight Salute, at the home of jumps racing, was his biggest winner since his return to the training ranks.
“It’s been a long road, it’s quite emotional really as it’s been a tough road,” Harris said as he tried and failed to hold back the tears. “He’s a good horse. He’s got a bit of pace.
“We have a good team, good people and good owners. I fought for eight years, I won’t go into it now but I’ll write a book about it one day as that wasn’t straight, believe me.
“I’m a stubborn bastard. I’m a fighter. I came from the wrong side of town as a kid so you’re not going to give up are you? It’s in you. It’s the way you are made.”
There’s certainly something in Knight Salute, who looks a different horse to the one whose Flat career petered out tamely for Andrew Balding. He travelled really well here, clearly loves good ground and he’s got a good turn of foot, too, so the Triumph weaponry is there if Harris can keep him sweet.
He continued: “He might go for something like the Adonis or we might just wait until the spring now. He looks like he’s alright. He had two runs as a two-year-old and got a mark of 91, which wasn’t easy for him. Andrew Balding, who I bought him off, was very open with me and said he’s by Sir Percy out of an Unfuwain mare which cries out middle-distance Flat.
“The problem with him is he was keen, but we’ve put earplugs in and a hood on him and he switches off a bit better. This horse won’t will a Gold Cup will he? But you never know, he might win the Triumph Hurdle.”
The flagbearer for an astonishingly revitalised yard, Knight Salute’s season will at the very least be followed with great interest.
🏇👏 Strictlyadancer strikes gold in the Amateur Jockeys Handicap Chase at @CheltenhamRaces, for @CWilliamsRacing!
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) November 13, 2021
✅ A Members Extra winner for @BenLinfoot, with one tip still to come - simply sign up or log in to your Sporting Life account to access 👇https://t.co/2GuLjPW6vx
Burgeoning jockey of the day… Ben Bromley
Ben Bromley, son of bloodstock agent Anthony Bromley, landed his first Cheltenham winner on Strictlyadancer in the amateur jockeys handicap chase and I loved his giddy reaction walking to the weighing room as he soaked it all in.
“When I crossed the line I thought have I actually won it?” he said. “I can’t describe the feeling of a Cheltenham winner it is just unbelievable. You hear everyone say you can’t describe it but I thought they were just saying it for the cameras but you can’t describe it as it is unbelievable.
“I thought I might have hit the front too soon as he idles a bit in front but he didn’t show that today. He has kept on the bridle and taken me into the last two and he has just winged them both. It is a fantastic feeling. I did feel I had enough in reserve after the last as he came up nice and long and stayed on galloping and booted clear. He is a lovely horse to ride.”
He probably did get there a tad too soon but this was a cool ride and the boy Bromley has clearly got something. His father’s connection with Paul Nicholls might well have helped him get some good rides for the master of Ditcheat - but he’s still got to go and do it – and doing it he is as he’s won five from seven for Nicholls this season.
This victory was achieved for a Ditcheat old boy, however, Christian Williams, and Bromley’s father was as excited as his son in the winner’s enclosure afterwards.
“I’m totally thrilled for my son and I’m so thankful for Christian giving him the ride. That was a nerve-wracking race to watch.
“To be fair I’d say it went quite smoothly for him. The horse idled a bit at the last meeting and the other one came at him so I did worry a bit if he had gone too soon but he travelled for him. He is very laid back and much more laid back than me. He has definitely got the temperament for it.
“These are very important things for a young lad as it was on television. There is pressure riding a favourite but I don’t think he felt too much of it. Of course this means as much as all those big winners I’ve been associated with as this is your own flesh and blood. When he rides a point-to-point winner it gives me a great buzz. What a great game.”
What a great game, indeed. And we’ve still got Greatwood Hurdle day to come.
