Betfair Chase weekend


 

With the Betfair Chase taking centre stage this weekend it seems like Haydock is the right place to start, we will start with the Graduation Chase which saw Master Tommytucker record his 2nd win over fences this season. He made all and jumped really well throughout never looking in any trouble at all and going on to win by 15 lengths from Good Boy Bobby, the funny thing is for a horse that falls a fair bit he’s a pretty good jumper, could this season be the one that we finally see the best of him?. Next the Stayers Handicap Hurdle, this went the way of the David Pipe trained Main Fact who in winning this made it 9 wins on the bounce, he won it really well being held up towards the start before making smooth headway only to lead in the final stages but ultimately winning going away. His record on soft and heavy going speaks for itself so he will be one to keep an eye on if the ground is testing on next appearance. Two that I think ran decent races were West To The Bridge who came to challenge at the last but ultimately got tired on the ground, the other was Kalashnikov who was making his first appearance over hurdles since the 2018 supreme, he was pushed along and was also in contention jumping two out but was another who got tired due to trip and going, hopefully they’ve stopped the bleeding which he had done on his last two runs, if so he’s another that I will be looking forward to seeing out again be it over fences or hurdles. Next was the feature race, The Betfair Chase, which saw last years winner Lostintranslation sent off the 7/4 favourite he was travelling alright in 3rd behind Bristol De Mai and Clan Des Obeaux before a poor jump 4 out where from there on he just weakened, with 2 fences to jump Clan Des Obeaux was travelling the better of the two and it just looked a matter of how far he was gonna win, but to British  De Mai’s credit he kept on better in the conditions which we know he loves, to go a win by 2 lengths and record his 3rd Betfair Chase win putting him level with Cue Card and 1 win off equalling Kauto Star’s record. As for Clan Des Obeaux, I’d still take him as the King George winner come Boxing Day, you’d just hope that this run didn’t take too much out of him come then.

Also on the Saturday as well as the Friday we had Ascot, on the Friday we saw Chantry House make his chase debut, he jumped well and eventually won by 26 lengths, things would of been different had Pic D'Orhy not fell with 3 to jump as he was travelling really well, not saying he’d of beat Chantry House but he wouldn’t of had it all his own way, either way it was a nice debut over fences with hopefully bigger and better things to come. Onto Saturday and the 1965 chase, which saw Imperial Aura continue his rapid progression over fences by adding a Grade 2 to his CV, he lead from the 9th jumping well out in front beating Itchy Feet with Real Steel in behind him. It’s hard not to be impressed with Imperial Aura this season and this win on Saturday saw him shoot to the top of the Ryanair market come March where he’s now 7/1 favourite. I wouldn’t give up on Real Steel either, Paul said he’s still learning about him and I’d expect him to come on a lot for that run. The disappointment on the Ascot card on the Saturday was Laurina who was beat 46 lengths in the Coral hurdle she raced too keenly and after the race it was reported that she burst a blood vessel again, it was announced on Tuesday afternoon that she has been retired so we wish her all the best as a brood mare in the future. The winner was Song For Someone who made all and kept on strongly in the run in to win unchallenged and in doing so wins another Grade 2 to add to the one he won last year when winning the Kingwell Hurdle. 

In Ireland on Saturday, at Naas there was the Grade 2 chase which went the way of Notebook, for much of the race this didn’t look likely with him being towards the back and pushed along, but he had the lead 2 out from Fakir D’oudairies and eventually went on to win by 12 lengths, the race became wide open after the favourite Cash Back fell at the first fence. Although Notebook won going away, I doubt him or any of the others will be challenging for the main Grade 1’s in the next few months. To Sunday and Cork where Appreciate It made his hurdles debut and won it easily as expected, obviously hard to know much about the form at this stage, but he can only beat what’s in front of him, with bigger and better tests to come in the future. Navan now where there was another debut, this time a chase for Blackbow, he was once again another easy winner, making all before making a mistake at the 2nd last but then made up for it with a good jump at the last before starting to pull away on the run in to beat Entoucas by 4 1/4 lengths. This was a very smart looking performance and having never won over hurdles it will be interesting to see if he can make up for lost time over the bigger obstacles. Finally Minella Indo took the Grade 2, and let’s just say winning easily doesn’t quite cut it, he was never challenged and went on to win by 7 1/3 lengths from Brahma Bull. It was another easy race on his way to possible Gold Cup glory come March.

Thanks again for reading, another action packed weekend with the Ladbrokes winter carnival and the Fighting Fifth Hurdle from Newcastle. 

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