Timeform highlight four notable performances from the weekend, including an impressive debut over fences from Final Demand.
L’EAU DU SUD 165+ from 156+
Jonbon started odds on to complete a hat-trick of wins in Cheltenham’s Shloer Chase on Friday, but looking as if the race would bring him on and facing ground more testing than he usually races on, he had excuses but proved no match for an impressive younger rival in L’Eau du Sud.
In contrast, Dan Skelton had the winner very much ready for the day and he put behind him some slightly underwhelming efforts in Grade 1 novices in the spring, having won his first four starts over fences, including the Grade 2 novice at this meeting. He looks a major player in the top two-mile chases this season, though his fitness edge and the testing conditions exaggerated his superiority over Jonbon to some extent.
Going with zest behind the pace, L’Eau du Sud led from the eighth before being headed approaching three out but was back in front on the bridle entering the straight and was soon clear, coming home fifteen lengths ahead of Jonbon who profited from Matata’s bad blunder at the last to take second. A rematch between the first two in the Tingle Creek should be interesting, with Jonbon likely to be more competitive at Sandown next month.
FINAL DEMAND 154P
Navan’s Saturday card was washed out but racing went ahead there on Sunday, enabling Final Demand to make a hugely impressive debut over fences in the beginners chase. Final Demand had looked as exciting a prospect as any embarking on a chase career this term after a hurdling campaign for Willie Mullins which had brought him three wide-margin victories, including in Grade 1 company at both the Dublin Racing and Punchestown Festivals and a creditable third behind The New Lion in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle.
A winning pointer and a well-made chasing type on looks, fences had looked sure to suit Final Demand and he didn’t disappoint, making a faultless transition to the larger obstacles. Travelling well and jumping accurately, he jumped on at the fourth and drew clear between the last two, beating runner-up Wingmen by a similar margin to when they’d met at Leopardstown in February. Final Demand will stay three miles and will be winning graded races in this sphere before long.
JULY FLOWER 146p from 135p
It was a pair who had shown useful form in winning their only starts over fences who headed the market for the Arkle Challenge Trophy Trial Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday and the same two duly had it to themselves. Runner-up Be Aware came out best at the weights but found the task of conceding 7 lb to Henry de Bromhead’s mare July Flower just beyond him.
A useful hurdler, firstly in France and more recently for her current yard, July Flower had made a smooth transition to chasing at Limerick last month and followed up with a smart effort here, coping well with the demands of the track dropping back to two miles. Taking a keen hold, July Flower led two out and asserted in the final furlong to beat Be Aware by a length and a half. Her stable won this race in 2019 with Put The Kettle On, who came back to win the Arkle itself, and this looked like a renewal that’s likely to have a bearing on similar events as the season progresses, with July Flower set to progress further and win more races.
ALEXEI 144 from 134
Joe Tizzard has had a remarkable three days, not only winning with all three of his runners at Cheltenham, but the yard’s two other runners elsewhere over the weekend also being successful. The stable’s biggest win among those five came in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle where the thriving Alexei took his record to four wins from seven starts over hurdles.
Runner-up to Celtic Dino in the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Chepstow on good to firm ground (the winner was taken out of the Greatwood because of the soft going), Alexei had confirmed that promise when winning well at Ascot next time and made light of a 7 lb rise in the weights to follow up here. A close battle with runner-up Helnwein looked likely after the last but he put in a strong finish to draw six lengths clear by the line. Alexei had a fitness edge over plenty of his rivals who were having their first starts since the spring, and he faces another hike in the weights, but he’s only a five-year-old and, in a thin two-mile hurdle division, he could yet make his mark in something better.
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