Newbury Saturday review and free video replays on Coral Gold Cup day

Hansard wins Feilden debate

Hansard (15/2) got the better of a three-way finish in an exciting renewal of the Bet In Race With Coral Intermediate Handicap Hurdle (registered As The Gerry Feilden).

The top-weight was given a patient ride by Niall Houlihan and it appeared as though Bad had stolen a march of his rivals when going three lengths clear having jumped the second last.

However, he was almost flanked by Hansard and Brentford Hope by the time they reached the last and it was the former who ran on best to score by three parts of a length.

Under Control, trained by Nicky Henderson, had been a little uneasy to back - sent off the 9/4 joint-favourite - and dropped out quickly in the straight having travelled well for much of the contest.

Gary Moore, trainer of Hansard, said: "I was slightly disappointed with him at Wincanton because I didn't think we finished off but maybe we got beaten by a far better horse, I don't know.

"He was spot on today, he looked sharper in the paddock and his work had improved at home and he's just a nice horse. There was pace in the race which he needs, a strong gallop; he's a strong traveller which always makes it easier for a jockey when they travel strong and jump well, you couldn't ask for much more.

"He wouldn't want to run tomorrow but he's a hardy horse, takes his racing fairly well. I think the pace of the race got the fizz out of him, they went hard from the word go which suits him.

"He's in the £150,000 race at Ascot just before Christmas and after that it just depends what the handicapper does to him; we'll be in trouble if he overrates him. He does all the right things so you think he probably could do (make up into a graded performer) but he'd need to improve again though."

When asked if the Betfair Hurdle back at Newbury in February would come under consideration, Moore responded: "Absolutely but I don't think you can that with 12 stone!"

The future looks good

Stay Away Fay, Stage Star and Bravemansgame were the last three winners of the Coral Committed To Safer Gambling Novices' Hurdle with Santini and Champers On Ice a little further back on the roll of honour and Jingko Blue (7/4 joint-favourite) has added his name to the list.

The field were tightly grouped heading into the home turn with the exception of Jeu Des Champs, the subject of market support, who was pulled up on the flat between flights two and three and quickly attended to.

Jingko Blue jumped past the pace-setting Emailandy at the third last but the latter hadn't run his race, fighting back to form a line of three at the last with Masaccio, under a 6lb penalty, joining issue between the pair having stalked them throughout.

Emailandy pecked on landing, losing valuable momentum, as Masaccio took up the running but Nico de Boinville conjured another run out of Jingko Blue with the point-to-point winner collaring his market rival on the post, winning by a nose.

Winning trainer Henderson was also responsible for Jeu Des Champs and revealed in the post-race interview that his charge had suffered a heart attack and passed away before the vet was able to attend to him.

Of the winner, he said: "I think he did well to get back there.

"I said to Kingy and Max that it deserved to be a dead-heat, we talked together about the race last night and I think they're smart horses, to be fair to their horse they were giving us a penalty so it was a good performance from both of them and the future looks good.

"I've absolutely no idea (where Jingko Blue runs next) to be honest with you; it's a juggling game a little bit with the novices at the moment because they are a nice bunch and spreading them out is important.

"I think he is good but he's only a young horse so let's go one step at a time."

Manimole digs deep

Manimole (8/11 favourite) had to be game to follow-up last month's course and distance success in the Play Coral "Racing-Super-Series" For Free Mares' Novices' Hurdle.

Sam Twiston-Davies set out to make all in the two mile Listed contest and had the challengers queuing up behind him at the top of the home straight. He kept winding it up aboard Manimole and one-by-one they dropped by the wayside until only 50/1 outsider Brave Jen was left.

Brave Jen wandered around a little after the last but once on a true line, rattled home to force a photo finish. However, the line came just in time for Manimole, conceding 3lbs to her rivals, who had a head to spare.

Manimole has been something of a late bloomer but has belatedly thrived on a busy campaign with this run her fourteenth of 2023 and sixteenth career outing; she's now won three of her last five completed starts and been beaten in photos on the other two.

"She's wonderful, she just keeps getting better and better and better," said trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies.

"To think back to her first run and the BHA people very kindly fined me £3,000 for not trying. That's all in the past but they haven't apologised and I think they shouldn't have taken it off me but never mind. She's the easiest thing to train, she doesn't take a lot of work and does it all herself. She's just getting better and better but I don't know why.

"Maybe the key is jumping off and going flat out rather than trying to ride a race on her, the faster you go, get all the others in trouble; that's probably it. Poor girl, she'll probably have to go to the Cheltenham Festival now. I think she should have a little break but we'll come back just before Cheltenham hopefully."

"I must have been very ordinary on her in the summer because how she hasn't won more by now is astonishing," added the winning jockey.

"She started off being 98 and I thought she was badly handicapped off that as she proved at Warwick and now we're stood here in the Newbury winner's enclosure with two bottles of nice champagne at my feet and you're thinking 'has this really happened?'.

"She's just a very straightforward, genuine thorough stayer over two. I didn't apply any sort of twist today, sat with my hands on her withers, jumped three out and kicked like mad. The simplest form of race riding seems to suit her very well and seems to put the opposition under a lot of pressure. Incredibly tough, credit to her and credit to the team at home."

Favourite House obliges

Inch House (6/4 favourite) won more cosily than a winning margin of a length and a quarter suggests in the Sir Peter O'Sullevan Memorial Handicap Chase.

Settled behind the pace-setting pair of Way Out and Killer Kane, Jonjo O'Neill Jr eased Inch House out approaching the fourth last at the top of the straight. He bided his time, however, racing alongside Killer Kane until asking Inch House for his effort on landing after the last.

The six-year-old, an impressive winner over course and distance on his second chase start last time out, responded immediately and pulled clear of Killer Kane and Lord Baddesley who had been held-up for a late challenge.

Inch House didn't appear to do a great deal in front but the progressive youngster was always in control.

Interviewer Lydia Hislop suggested to winning trainer Jonjo O'Neill that Inch House had won quite snugly.

"Well, he won anyway," he replied with a smile. "He loves the fences, jumps well and travelled away well all through the race and hopefully keeps improving.

"He doesn't do a lot in front really but he (O'Neill Jr) was happy with him all the way and everything went according to plan; it doesn't always happen that way but it's nice when it does."

Inch House came back with a small cut but O'Neill hoped that it wasn't too serious.

"I don't think it's too bad, hopefully," he added. "I think it's more a knock that he did himself but you never know until you investigate."

Perfect Tonic for Skeltons

Get A Tonic (28/1) left a disappointing reappearance over fences behind her to win a competitive renewal of the Coral Racing Club Handicap Hurdle.

Harry Skelton jumped off in front on the mare and the pair were still there entering the final mile with the field closely grouped. The race quickly changed complexion from thereon in with favourite Jet Powered pulled-up after weakening sharply and the field fast becoming spread out as Get A Tonic poured it on.

Anytimeinasking made smooth progress through the runners on his first run beyond two miles but he was never able to get to within hailing distance of the mare who wasn't for catching. He did hold on for second, seven lengths adrift, while North Lodge, returning from a lengthy absence, finished fast and late to 'win' a head-bobber for third.

Skelton, riding for his brother Dan, said: "She's a mare that we've always thought had quite a lot of ability but it didn't go right last time when tried over fences.

"After a good start last year at Haydock she didn't really go the right way but she's been going really well at home and back on a bit better ground today.

"To be honest, a lot of the plaudits go to Bridget (Andrews); she rides her every day and she said to me 'get out and make the running with her'. She just looks after herself a little bit so we made her mind up for her and when she puts her right foot forwards, she's got ability.

"The handicapper had given her a bit of a chance because of her in-and-out patchy bit of form, she does enjoy some nice ground but we'll just enjoy today and see if we can get some black type further down the line."

The trainer added: "I had grand ambitions for her last year and she let us down repeatedly but that's maybe because we were dropping her in and not riding her the way she wants.

"I can't say I didn't expect it; she had to run well because the only thing that got in the way at Warwick - and it's a big thing to get in the way - was the fences, she couldn't get into a rhythm, she banked a ditch and that was the end of it. She didn't actually finish all that far behind Iroko who was probably as good a novice chase winner as there's been in the UK this year so I wasn't too despondent.

"She's been working fantastically and it's the first run where she could be competitive since the wind-op, taking the chase away, so I was surprised to see her that price but she's always been quite good; she chased Marie's Rock home at Warwick once, there's plenty of form in the book to suggest a race of this nature wasn't beyond her.

"Bridget rides her a lot at home and always says she'll give you everything as long as it's on her terms. Sometimes you've got to change tactics if it's not working and we did just that.

"She won a £50k pot today, we'll go to the Relkeel and see. If it goes well at the Relkeel you're back on to run in the mares' race at Cheltenham, if you don't you're back in handicaps."

Golden Elixir

Progressive novice Master Chewy was expected to take all the beating in the Coral Get Closer To The Action Handicap Chase (For The Jim Joel Memorial Trophy) but he couldn't catch the front-running Elixir De Nutz (9/2).

The odds-on favourite was held-up last of the six runners while Elixir De Nutz, under conditional jockey Freddie Gingell, set the pace.

Master Chewy tried to make up his ground in the straight but never looked like reeling in the resurgent nine-year-old, winner of the Haldon Gold Cup last time, who ran on well to prevail by a length and a half.

Delighted trainer Joe Tizzard said: "The Haldon Gold Cup went to plan but Fred, if you saw on the Wednesday before Exeter, schooled this horse and it was like that; a young man on an older horse and he just keeps asking these questions and the horse keeps throwing it out.

"I'm chuffed to bits with the horse, with Fred especially, he's given the horse two brilliant rides in the last two runs. I feel like I'm the one that gives Fred a hard time. Dad was always hard on me but I don't think grandads are as hard on their grandsons so I'm kind of hard on Fred and he keeps producing.

"I said to him you don't have to make it today, you can just sit and let Calgary Tiger go......but we know he gets two and a half and his jumping in the stretch was fantastic.

"The horse is the best we've ever had him. He was prone with injuries after he won a Tolworth and was nearly favourite for the Supreme and then he gradually built his way back-up and last year we thought the handicapper had hold of him to be honest. For whatever reason he's in a vein of form that you'd want him to be a five-year-old again because then we'd be away.

"I think that's where we'll go (the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton). It's quite key to him, he does love these small fields. He's been to Cheltenham the last couple of years and it hasn't worked, he's pulled up. So probably the Desert Orchid, then the Game Spirit here and then back up to Ayr."

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